PACJA Team plots to rope in African cities on climate action

The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) in partnership with United Cities and Local Governments Africa hosted a water resilience dinner conference in Raddison Blu in Dakar, Senegal.

The high level delegation in the meeting included ambassadors (members of diplomatic core); ministers, mayors of cities across Africa, governors, CSOs and the leadership of UCLG Africa led by its president.

At the meeting, the convening role of PACJA was positively identified with speakers acknowledging the broad-based, inclusive pan African mobilization supportive role PACJA is playing towards COP 27. Speakers also were grateful to PACJA in its role in unifying the African voices in major discourses.

Present include representatives from the embassy of Egypt, the government of Senegal and Prof Anyang Nyongo, former minister and now Governor of Kisumu County, Kenya

The Secretary General/ President of UCLG Africa echoed some of the positions PACJA has generated through consultative Forums on the Road to COP 27 process.

The PACJA team, which included Philip Kilonzo, the head of Policy, advocacy and Communication and Eugene Nforngwa, the thematic lead on Energy had an opportunity to shape some perspectives and rubbing in more on influencing decentralized design and implementation of NDC as basis for cities/ devolved systems playing a bigger role in adaptation.

The duo emphasized on water-related indicators under the new urban agenda and the need to organize beyond those in power and have the over 300 million residents of cities in Africa being part of the activism action on climate justice.

The import of what Mohamed of UCLG Africa said is the need to see how to seize the agenda in afrocities. It was agreed that two planning meetings, with possibility of framing webinars and hopefully a pre-afrocities event be set up with the hope to ensure issues for NDC implementation at local level are reflected in national priorities.

There was also an invitation for PACJA to develop a concept in this direction.