Kigali, 31 August, 2017: The Ministry of Infrastructure in collaboration with the Institution of Engineers Rwanda (IER) and the Federation of Africa Engineering Organizations (FAEO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) and World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO), is organizing the 2^nd Africa Engineering Conference that will be part of the 4^th UNESCO – Africa Engineering Week to be held at Kigali Convention Center, from the 25^th to 29^th September 2017 under the theme “Effective Waste Management in Africa”

The conference is expected to draw attention to the current diverse challenges of waste management in Africa and to consider the prospects for adequate, reliable and sustainable development of this critical sector of human existence and well-being as the Continent rapidly urbanises.

The conference anticipates to bring together over 1,000 local and international delegates including Engineers, consultants, industrialists, economists, development partners, policy makers, academia and civil society in general from the African Continent and beyond.

According to experts, addressing waste management in Africa’s fast growing cities will require innovative engineering and technology-based solutions.

The Housing, Urbanization and Human settlement Division Manager at the Ministry of Infrastructure, Edward  Kyazze noted that waste management has been an issue that  has been ignored in the past across the African Continent and now is the time that critical attention to address it is needed in order to ensure sustainable urbanisation.

He underscored the importance of a proper and efficient mechanism to make waste management a profitable business across its value chain right from sorting, transportation to disposal or reuse of wastes through proper recycling or treatment.

He further said, for the Nation to be green, clean and smart, innovations in waste management are needed to turn wastes into solutions instead of rendering them a threat to urbanization in Africa. “A waste becomes a waste when you waste it” he said!