Mr. George Wasonga
Chief Executive Officer Civil Society Urban Development Platform (CSUDP)
George Wasonga, MSc, is a seasoned Urban Governance and Management Practitioner and Expert with over 25 years senior level experience in the Kenyan and East Africa Local Government System. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the Civil Society Urban Development Platform, specializing in governance and leadership training for cities / municipalities, partnership / networking for local action, civic empowerment and innovation for policy and governance advocacy. George has most recently been a lead trainer on governance and leadership for the ten municipalities under the Sustainable Urban Economic Development Programme (SUED) supported by FCDO-UKAID. He has also recently led an Expert team that developed governance and management instruments and tools for City/Municipal Boards and Citizens Forum in Kenya commissioned by the Kenya Urban Support Programme (KUSP) with support of the World Bank.
George’s recent specialized assignments has been in the field of circular economy, supporting establishment of ‘waste to wealth’ projects in Kisumu City and Taita Taveta through UN-Habitat support. He is a Trainer for the Lake Victoria Region Local Authorities Cooperation (LVRLAC) and currently leading a regional team tasked with the responsibility of establishing the Lake Victoria Lead Partners Forum (LVLPF) to coordinate implementation of the shared vision for the Lake Victoria Basin domiciled in the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC). Through CSUDP, he was instrumental in the formulation of the National Urban Development Policy (NUDP) and National Slum Upgrading and Prevention Policy (NSUPP). He has served in various advisory and institutional boards, including being the pioneer co-secretary of the Global Stakeholder Advisory Group of UN-Habitat, member of the National Programme Steering Committee of the Sustainable Urban Economic Development (SUED) programme of the UK Government in Kenya, and National Convener of the Just City Working Group of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in Kenya, amongst others. Most recent publications on the Just City include http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/kenia/17107.pdf, https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/kenia/19638.pdf