Accountant. Mai Malek Abdin
Senior Auditor, SAI Egypt M. Sc. in Accounting and Auditing
Abstract
This article examines SAIs’ crucial role in ensuring accountability and progress towards achieving SDG 11: "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable." It emphasizes the SDGs’ interconnected nature, demonstrating how achieving SDG 11 intersects with other goals like poverty reduction, health and well-being, and responsible consumption and production.
Focusing on the Egyptian government's commitment towards achieving SDGs, particularly SDG 11, the article explores the establishment of the Urban Development Fund and its dedication to financing sustainable urban development projects. Finally, it presents a case study of an audit conducted by SAI Egypt on the Fustat area renovation as part of the larger Renovation Project of the Historic Downtown Cairo Area. This large-scale initiative aimed to revitalize the historic area while adhering to sustainable urban development principles. The article also underscores the importance of analyzing audit methodology, key findings and recommendations as well as the importance of SAIs’ role in holding projects accountable as a contribution in achieving a more sustainable future for Egyptian cities.
Introduction
SAIs and SDGs - Ensuring Accountability for a Sustainable FutureThe 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda is a comprehensive and ambitious framework that allows humanity to prosper within Planet Earth. This Agenda focuses on implementing 17 SDGs which tackle pressing global challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change and environmental degradation. In this context, SAIs undertake a key role in promoting accountability and advancing towards achieving these critical goals. Being the accountability guards, SAIs are essential for ensuring that the efforts exerted towards achieving SDGs remain on the right track.
1. Focusing on SDG 11: Building Sustainable Cities and CommunitiesAmong the SDGs, SDG 11 holds a particular significance. Cities are considered innovation hubs, economic engines and cultural centers. However, rapid urbanization could lead to exacerbate existing challenges like poverty, pollution, climate change exposure and social inequality.
SDG 11 recognizes the urgent need to make cities more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. It encompasses a wide range of targets, including:
- Access to safe and affordable housing
- Improved public spaces
- Sustainable transportation systems
- Reduced disaster risk and climate change adaptation
- Cultural heritage preservation
It is worth noting that SDG 11's significance goes beyond its urban focus where as its targets and indicators are closely linked to other SDGs, forming a network of goals that collectively confront the complex nature of sustainable urbanization.
For example, efforts for combating poverty and improving health, which fall under SDGs 1 and 3 are tightly connected to SDG 11’s urban environment. Likewise, achieving sustainable urban environments requires addressing issues related to water and sanitation (SDG 6) and clean energy (SDG 7).
These connections are not just random; they show how sustainable development problems are complicated and depending on each other. Urban areas are included in the middle of these problems as they are centers of economic, social, and environmental activities.
Inadequate urban management could lead to exacerbate problems related to waste management, energy security and climate change. These problems could also have an impact on more general goals like SDGs 4, 5 and 16 which tackle gender equality, education and good governance.
Figure 1: Connection between SDG 11 and other SDGs Source: UN-Habitat 2020 Catalogue of services
2 - The Egyptian Government's Commitment towards achieving SDGs, particularly SDG 11: Urban Development FundThe Egyptian government recognizes the importance of achieving SDGs through developing Egypt's strategy on its vision 2030, and it has made significant strides towards their implementation. SDG11 is considered a core axis of this strategy which is reflected in the establishment of the Urban Development Fund.
The Urban Development Fund is a specialized government initiative designed to finance projects that prioritize sustainable urban development practices. The fund focuses on key areas critical to achieving SDG 11 targets, namely:
- Infrastructure Development: The fund supports projects that create sustainable infrastructure, including energy-efficient buildings that use renewable energy sources, and establishments resilient to climate change.
- Urban Areas’ Regeneration: Revitalizing existing urban areas is considered a key focus axis with projects aiming to preserve cultural heritage, promoting social inclusion and improving overall residents' life quality.
- Green Spaces: The fund allocates resources necessary for the creation and maintenance of green spaces within cities. This contributes to improving air quality and recreation opportunities as well as conserving urban areas biodiversity.
- Public Transportation: Developing efficient and sustainable public transportation systems is a priority seeking to reduce reliance on private vehicles and enhance cleaner transportation options.
Through the Urban Development Fund, the Egyptian government demonstrates a solid commitment to building sustainable and resilient cities. However, ensuring the effectiveness of these projects requires robust oversight mechanisms.
3 - SAI Egypt's Role in Auditing Efforts for Achieving SDG 11’s Targets A Case Study: Auditing the Renovation of Fustat; A Historic Downtown Cairo Area.SAI Egypt plays a crucial role in auditing projects funded by the Urban Development Fund to assess their contribution to implement SDG 11’s targets.
Fustat, one of the oldest districts in Cairo with rich cultural heritage, was chosen as a key area for renovation within the larger Renovation of Historic Downtown Cairo Area Project. The project aims to transform Fustat into a vibrant and sustainable urban space while preserving its historical significance. SAI Egypt conducted a performance audit of the Fustat renovation project to assess its contribution in achieving SDG 11's targets.
Source:https://www.behance.net/gallery/71285155/Al-Fustat-Urban-Development-Urban-Planning-Project/ modules/415643783
Audit MethodologyThe audit employed a risk-based approach, focusing on three key domains:
- Social Impact: Did the project improve the quality of life for residents and businesses in Fustat? This includes evaluating aspects like access to essential services, being able to afford housing expenses and local community engagement in the planning and implementation processes.
- Cultural Heritage Preservation: Did the project effectively succeed in conserving the historical and architectural character of Fustat? The audit assessed the restoration techniques used, protection of archaeological sites and the overall impact on the area's cultural heritage value.
- Sustainability: Did the project incorporate elements of sustainable urban development, such as energy usage efficiency, waste management and green infrastructure development? The audit examined the use of energy-saving technologies in buildings, waste collection and recycling initiatives and the creation of public green spaces.
- Auditing project documents (planning proposals, architectural designs, environmental impact assessments, social impact studies).
- Conducting site visits to assess restored buildings, infrastructure improvements and public spaces.
- Interviewing project's officials, architects, urban planners, cultural heritage experts, residents and business owners in Fustat.
- The project successfully upgraded the efficiency of the fundamental infrastructure within Fustat, including water supply, sanitation systems and wastes collection. This resulted in improving residents’ living conditions and in increasing the area's attractiveness for commercial businesses and tourism, recommending the necessity of considering to achieve the balance between modernity and heritage preservation in all future similar projects.
- The creation of new green spaces contributed to establishing a more vibrant and welcoming public spaces in Fustat. These spaces encouraged community interaction as well as improved residents’ overall life quality. On the other hand, the project has led to an increase in property values which could negatively impact residents’ affordability of housing on the long run. This could be overcome through providing mechanisms for rent control, income-based housing subsidies as well as enhancing mixed-income development projects.
- Increasing tourism potentials as the project's focus on heritage preservation and restoration of historical buildings has the ability to attract more tourists to Fustat, boost local economy and create new job opportunities.
Figure 3
Before and After Renovation
Source: http://www.cairo.gov.eg/ar/pages/CoursesDatails.aspx?CoID=288
In order to overcome the resistance to change of current and future residents, community participation should be enhanced by developing and implementing robust mechanisms to participate in all stages of urban development projects’ planning and implementation. This could involve holding regular public meetings, forming citizens’ advisory committees and utilizing online platforms for feedback and information sharing.
The general impact of Fustat Renovation Project has contributed in the effectiveness of SDG 11’s implementation by perusing a more sustainable approach as a base for future urban development initiatives.
References
http://www.cairo.gov.eg/ar/pages/CoursesDatails.aspx?CoID=288
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/
UN-Habitat 2020Catalogue of services