Unep elevated to full UN Assembly

By David Odongo

Even before attaining county status, Nairobi has received a major boost with its elevation to match international diplomatic hubs such as Vienna and Geneva.

Last week, the Nairobi-based United Nations Environmental Programme was upgraded to a full-fledged UN Assembly.

This means it will now be involved with all the world’s 193 members of the United Nations.

The elevation has in effect transformed it into the world’s environment capital.

Experts and diplomats believe the upgrade has the potential to turn Nairobi into Africa’s leading diplomatic hub, which would in turn attract massive investment and economic growth.

This is welcome news to a city with population of 4 million out of which only half are engaged in gainful employment.

Previously, only Geneva and Vienna could host international meetings attended by heads of state or government.

More business

“If there is an increase in the number of diplomats, there definitely will be an increased demand for accommodation in Nairobi, boosting real estate. Increased envoys means more business for hotels,” explained Prof Macharia Munene.

The decision, taken on March 14 at the UN headquarters in New York, means Unep will now have the “political voice and visibility” as the leading authority to set global environmental agenda.

This is a major victory for Kenya, which has been pushing for the upgrade of Unep.

 The Kenyan mission to the UN said the diplomatic representation in Nairobi would be increased to a possible 193 member states from 58.

“The formal adoption of the resolution by the General Assembly has opened up the initial limited membership of 58 states to universal participation of all the 193 UN member states,” said the statement.

Financial resources allocated to Unep from the UN regular budget and other voluntary funding will significantly increase to match its new mandate.

“The elevation of Unep is simply a sign that Kenya is perceived as a serious state, and this is a vote of confidence for anybody to invest in the country,” said Kenya Private Sector Alliance chairman, Patrick Obath.

Obath said the move will market Nairobi as a stable city in the continent.

“Anybody traveling across Africa will find it easier to come to Nairobi, then catch a connecting flight to another country. That’s how central Nairobi is,” added Obath.

 Steven Mutoro, the chairman of Kenya Residents Alliance says the announcement didn’t come as a shock since Kenya was already hosting the Gigiri United Nations facility.

 New terminal

“Look at other African cities and compare. Nairobi is very well connected by air traffic; it’s the hub of all flights coming or leaving Africa. While our airports are congested with air traffic, we even have to build a new terminal at JKIA, other African countries have airports that aren’t even used to capacity,” says Mr Mutoro.

He added, “Many international carriers from Europe like Emirates and Qatar have a direct flight to Kenya. It’s their gateway to Africa.”

 Kenya Association of Investment Groups vice chairman, Vincent Abwao hailed the move as ‘a shot in the arm for the Nairobi business community’

“We have had a lot of bad international press, especially after the 2007 post-poll violence. But with the UN setting up a full office in Kenya, investor confidence has beeen restored, which is good for business.

“This simply translates to more money, more jobs, and a more vibrant economy, ” says Abwao.

 He noted that over the past few months, technology giants Microsoft, IBM, and Google top brass have made their way to Nairobi.

Hub

In public forums and university lectures, the corporate chiefs have extolled the virtues of the city, justifying their need to suddenly turn to Kenya for profits.

“Nairobi has emerged as a serious technical hub and may become Africa’s leader,” noted Google chairman Eric Schimdt in a blog post following his visit.

According to the Nairobi Central Business District Association chairman, Timothy Muriuki, Nairobi’s elevation will boost conferencing, hotel facilities and real estate business.

 But Alfred Omenya,  the dean of Kenya Polytechnic University College’s School of the Built Environment argues that although real estate will get a boost, there are potential problems.

 He cited the nightmare of spontaneous growth, unplanned infrastructure, uncoordinated initiatives, and weak laws, which might hamper further development.

 Urbanisation

According to Prof Omenya, planned urbanisation remains the easiest route to economic development.

 “The US is a superpower that relies on urbanisation (not agriculture) for economic development,” Prof Omenya says.

 Prof Omenya observes that Nairobi alone employs 25 per cent of the population who produce over 70 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to Civil Society Urban Development Programme (CSUDP) chief executive officer Prof Edward Kairu, it is a huge task to ensure proper planning of the city and other urban areas.

 Dialogue

University of Nairobi’s director of Centre for Urban Research and Innovation, Prof Peter Ngau says the United Nations has reached out to business by increasing its number of partnerships.

The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue.

It contains multiple subsidiary organisations to carry out its missions.

In February, President Kibaki during the opening of Universal Session ofUnep Governing Council and Global Ministerial Forum in Nairobi said Kenya was looking forward to the upgrade.

This he explained would improve the country’s environmental issues and bolster the war against climate change. 

“Kenya appreciates developments that will lead to the enlargement of Unep’s co-ordination mandate,” the President said.