Hajia Alima Mahama
Local Government and Rural Development Minister, Hajia Alima Mahama, says Ghana is poised to take advantage of growing urbanisation of the country, which she put at 52 percent.
“Planning is a very important tool for us. And urbanisation should be welcomed. Urban planning is a very important tool. We are linking it up with our industrial planning,” the minister stated.
“What needs to be done is to enhance the capacity in the area of urban planning and creating of services and jobs.
“We should not be afraid of migration; we should not be afraid of urbanisation,” Hajia Mahama declared at a high-level meeting on ‘Urbanisation and Development: Investing in Transformative Force of Cities’ at the World Urban Forum (WUF 9) in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.
Touching on planning, the Local Government minister, who is leading Ghana’s delegation to the WUF 9, stated that “we should ensure that we do the right planning to take advantage of the situation.”
She said slums should be discouraged because they create social nuisance, adding that urbanisation would transform the country’s economy.
The minister was on the panel with representatives from the European Commission, African Union, China, World Bank, among others.
Other members of the delegation are a Deputy Local Government Minister, Nana Boating Agyei, a Deputy Trade and Industrial Minister, Robert Ahomka-Lindsey, Tema Metropolitan Assembly Chief Executive and National President of NALAG, Felix Mensah Nii Annang-La, as well as some MMDCEs.
High Attendance
A record 25,000 delegates attended the ninth session of the World Urban Forum, which is taking place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The one-week event commencing from 7 – 13 February 2018 is being hosted by the Government of Malaysia and the City of Kuala Lumpur with participants from 173 countries.
The participants of WUF 9, convened by the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), would deliberate on urbanisation and city planning.
The World Urban Forum is the largest United Nations Conference on Sustainable Urban Development.
The Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, expressed gratitude to Government of Malaysia and the host city, Kuala Lumpur.
The Malaysian was particularly excited with the warm hospitality by her compatriots.
“I would like to convey my sincere gratitude to the Government of Malaysia and the City of Kuala Lumpur for hosting WUF9, and to my countrywomen and men, the Malaysian people, for the warm welcome you have extended to us, the United Nations family and the participants of WUF from 173 countries. I understand that over 25,000 people have registered for WUF, and this week some 470 organizations and representatives of Member States have come together to take part in nearly 560 official events,” she said.
This is the second time WUF is being held in Asia in a decade, with the city of Nanjing in China hosting WUF 4 in 2008.
The theme for WUF 9 is “Cities for All, Cities 2030: Implementing the New Urban Agenda.”
“Our cities today host more than half the world’s population, generate more than 70 percent of the GDP worldwide and are responsible for as much as 70 percent of global energy consumption. Our cities are also the backdrop to many armed conflicts in the world and play host to millions of refugees and migrants. The challenge facing our cities – in both developed and developing countries – are many, and we are only now beginning to identify and overcome those challenges,” Maimunah Mohd Sharif said.
According to her, the theme falls in line with the realization of the vision of cities in the year 2030, embedded in the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11.
“The complementarity of the New Urban Agenda and SDG11 provides the opportunity to bring together a diverse range of partners and stakeholders to integrate policies and actions that address multiple urban related issues, and to develop integrated multi-level governance, territorial strategies and urban plans to achieve sustainable urban development,” she said.
The UN under Secretary General explained that “Cities for All’ refers to the equal use and enjoyment of cities and human settlements and seeks to promote inclusivity and ensure that all cities’ inhabitants, of present and future generations, without discrimination of any kind, are able to inhabit and produce just, safe, healthy, accessible, affordable, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements to foster prosperity and quality of life for all.
From Fortune Alimi, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia