Pressure On Ghanaian Cities To Ease As Technocrats Visit Rwanda To Build Capacity

Per forecast, 65% of Ghana’s population will be living in urban areas by 2030 (51.5% in 2010). The country’s main cities and secondary urban centres are expected to be put under pressure due to the rapid urban growth.

The Ghana Urban Management Pilot Project (GUMPP) has been tailored to improve the living conditions in urban areas for the inhabitants of the four selected cities of Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, Tamale and Ho.

The GUMPP Project is composed of programmes for urban infrastructure development, maintenance and district capacity building tailored to each of the four cities.

It includes:

- physical investments, selected as priority investments by the cities;

- support of capacity building actions for administrative and financial management in the cities;

- institutional strengthening of the Urban Development Unit (UDU) of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD).

For this reason, technocrats from the ministry of Local Government and Rural Development are currently in Rwanda to learn more about the design and implementation of GUMPP.

The study tour is expected to be at operational and policy levels and would last for two weeks.

The visit will also afford the delegation an opportunity to visit Malaysia as part of capacity building and exchange of knowledge between city managers there.