African Development Bank Group President, Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina, assures mayors at the African Mayoral Leadership Initiative (AMALI) of the Bank’s support to creatively and sustainably transform their cities
The number of people living in African cities is predicted to double by 2050, from 600 million to 1.2 billion, reflecting the world’s fastest pace of urbanisation. This presents huge development issues that will necessitate creative, African-led responses.
Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, delivered rousing remarks to the mayors of 15 African cities gathered for the inaugural forum of the African Mayoral Leadership Initiative (AMALI), outlining how city leaders, with the support of national governments, can rapidly transform urban development on the continent in sustainable ways.
AMALI is a partnership between the African Centre for Cities (ACC) at the University of Cape Town and Big Win Philanthropy.
According to Dr Adesina,“There is need to provide greater autonomy and fiscal responsibility to cities and towns and for national governments to allow them to raise financing to meet the huge needs of development. Instead of simply depending more on transfers from national governments, cities and towns should build their institutional capacity to raise their own financing.”
Dr. Adesina emphasised the essential role that programmes such as AMALI can play in sharing best practises among cities and assisting leaders in overcoming the obstacles that urbanisation presents. He also emphasised the African Development Bank’s commitment to collaborating with city leaders to develop their cities, adding that the Bank’s board approves more than $2 billion each year for projects and programmes that have a direct beneficial impact on African cities.
The Bank’s support includes the establishment of an Urban and Municipal Development Fund to provide technical assistance and capacity building for integrated urban planning, governance, project preparation, and broader urban management, including municipal fiscal management. The Fund provides support in more than 15 cities—to help improve the lives of millions of urban residents.
In a clear call to action to Africa’s city leaders, Dr Adesina said,“The Africa we want must be one where our cities are well planned to become drivers of greater economic growth and prosperity for Africa. This cannot happen by chance. The future is not created by a roll of the dice. So let us act to transform Africa’s cities,” Dr Adesina said.
Speaking at the event, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs of South Africa, exhorted African city leaders to always put people first. To reduce urban migration, she urged African countries to invest in rural areas and small towns. The Minister also encouraged African countries to prioritise the skills revolution, citing the African continent’s skills gap as a barrier to development.
Alan Winde, Premier of the Western Cape, spoke at the event, emphasising strategic ways in which regional and national governments may assist mayors in transforming their cities, having effect that goes well beyond the city lines.
“I believe in decentralisation. I believe, where possible, it gives local authorities the power to dream big, to have visions, and to move forward into the future,” he said. According to Premier Winde, decentralisation “lets us, at national levels and provincial levels, empower and enable local authorities and cities, because it’s cities that are going to be growing out of proportion over the next 50 and 100 years.”
The event also included remarks from Prof. Edgar Pieterse, Founding Director of the African Centre for Cities and Co-Chair of AMALI, Prof. Mamokgethi Phakeng, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, and Jamie Cooper, Founder and President of Big Win Philanthropy and Co-Chair of AMALI.
CONTACT:
For more information, please contact Eva Barboni on behalf of AMALI at communications@bigwin.org or Amba Mpoke-Bigg on behalf of the African Development Bank at media@afdb.org
