August 24th, 2015 / Premises of the Ministry of Urban Renewal and Informal Settlements
On Monday, August 24th 2015, the final results of the latest Participatory Needs Assessment (PNA) studies conducted by PDP were presented to the Ministry of Urban Renewal and Informal Settlements (MURIS), and to the Governorates of Cairo, Giza, and Qalyubeya. The meeting was hosted by H.E Dr. Laila Iskander, Minister of State for Urban Renewal and Informal Settlements. It was attended by H.E the Governor of Qalyubeya, Engineer Mohamed Abdelzaher, H.E the Governor of Giza, Dr. Khaled Zakaria, General Ahmed Taymour; Deputy Governor of Cairo, Dr. Gihan Abdlerahman Deptuy Governor of Cairo and Dr. Manal Awad, Deputy Governor of Giza as well as the heads of the Urban Upgrading Units and the respective Districts. Other key figures from MURIS including Dr. Sherif El Gohary, Dr. Howaida Barakat; Dr. Maha Elbesheer and Ms. Norhan Taha also participated in the meeting.
Opening remarks were made by H.E. Dr. Laila Iskandar followed by an introductory presentation by Dr. Günther Wehenpohl, PDP Programme Coordinator who explained that the main objective of the PNA study is to investigate what the inhabitants of PDP’s target areas identify as the most pressing issues and important assets of their urban areas. This, on the one hand, allows local decision-makers to improve their knowledge of development priorities in the area, and on the other hand, enables PDP to tailor its grant scheme for small and medium-scale upgrading measures to the needs of the beneficiaries in these areas. The PNA is a crucial participatory tool that ensures careful attention to the demands and perceptions of the local communities and becomes the basis for informal area upgrading as explained by Dr. Günther in his presentation.
The results were well received by all those present. The Governor of Qalyubeya praised the efforts done by PDP in the field of SWM and acknowledged the pressing need for SWM interventions in Shubra EL-Kheima, a priority identified by the PNA study in the area.
The Giza Governor, Dr. Khaled Zakaria El Adli, reflecting on PDP’s work stated:
“The participatory approach is necessary…[to ensure] a sustainable product…[The] local population should participate not only in the decision-making processes but also in implementation; at least 15-20% of local work force should, whenever possible, participate in the construction and development of their communities.”
The PNA studies were conducted between November 2014 and April 2015 in PDP’s five new intervention areas in the Greater Cairo Region namely: Boulaq al-Dakrour, Matareya, Shubra al-Khaima, Qalyoub and Khosoos. The Studies were carried out in close collaboration with GIZ’s consulting firms Ecoconserv and CID Consulting who reflected on the methodology and presented the final results and the ranking of the priority needs in each of the five targeted areas. Alongside the study results, the consultants presented first propositions for potential interventions to address the identified priorities.
The presentation was followed by an open question and answer session which allowed for the clarification of research methods, data collection processes and representativeness of presented data. The final discussion between PDP and its partners also touched upon the next steps ahead and discussed the launch of the third call for proposals, which will pave the way for upgrading measures in the five new intervention areas.
