… First ever winner of the award
BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
MBABANE – The Best Urban Development Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Initiative of the Year!
SURE: Strengthening Urban Resilience in Eswatini through climate proofing Green, Grey and Blue Infrastructure.
This is the strategy which has seen Eswatini awarded for the Best Urban Development NDC Initiative of the Year in the African NDC Investment Awards. The Government of Eswatini was notified of this achievement by the Chairman of Africa Investor Group and the Chair of the NDC Awards Adjudication panel, Dr Hubert Danso, through the Prime Minister’s Office.
“We congratulate The Government of The Kingdom of Eswatini, for championing innovative projects that mobilize investment at scale. The continent requires US$3 trillion of green investment by 2030, to pursue Africa’s NetZero aspirations, for which projects such as those in your country are critical,” said Dr Danso in the notification letter to the Government of Eswatini.
As the first ever winner, Eswatini beat out projects from Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, and Tanzania among others. The adjudication was based on the investability of the plan, industry engagement, advocacy, CO2 reduction, youth and gender impact, innovation, regional impact, implementation, jobs created, and capital mobilized for NDC projects.
Explaining the genesis of the SURE strategy on LinkedIn, NDC Coordinator Eswatini and Technical Assistant to the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs Deepa Pullanikkatil (PhD) says that the strategy was created to address the problem of flash flooding from cloud bursts, cyclones and heavy rainfall in urban areas.
“This global recognition will unlock finance for this project. NDMA and partners with guidance from Government will be able to implement the SURE project and build resilience to flooding in urban areas of Eswatini. The project will support integrated planning and infrastructure development incorporating a mix of solutions from green infrastructure, grey infrastructure and blue infrastructure in order to build and manage resilient and green cities in Eswatini,” said Dr Pullanikkatil in reference to the recognition by the African NDC Investments award.
The award will be presented to Eswatini at the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), which will be held from November 6 to November 18 in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh. COP27 is the largest annual gathering on climate action by Heads of State, ministers and negotiators, along with climate activists, mayors, civil society representatives and Chief Executive Officers (CEO’s).
The NDC Investment Awards were announced at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, in June 2022. The purpose of the awards is to recognize achievements across the main NDC sectors, and reward the governments, institutions, and individuals driving transactions and improving the investment readiness of Africa’s NDC projects.
The NDC Investment Awards are the only international, pan-African awards that recognise and reward both public and private sector institutions who are working to innovate and break new ground to mobilize investment and private sector participation at scale, in NDC Paris Accord-aligned climate investment commitments and projects.
