Cities today are larger, with a more diverse population, and are growing rapidly. They require technical skills to manage the delivery of urban services and provide an environment in which the industry and service sectors can become globally competitive. Larger expenditures have to be combined with better governance structures, strong political and administrative will to collect taxes and user charges, and an improved capacity to deliver. Cities must be empowered, financially strengthened, and efficiently governed to respond to the needs of their citizens.
This report covers urbanization, from a bird’s eye view, and its correlation with economic growth and structural change, rural-urban migration, poverty, and complications resulting from city congestion. Highlighting the local context, urban service delivery is discussed in addition to water supply, sewage, sanitation, and poor service delivery. Investment, too, posing a problem for service delivery, and quality of life, tends to be inadequate, scant, and disorganized. The urban infrastructure investment scheme, over the 20-year period of 2012-2031, also, is discussed, with estimates, methodology, and rationale.
Findings suggest that governance techniques need overhauling coupled with creating a socioeconomic environment favoring investment and development. A number of short-term and long-term solutions are furthered, such as the creation of one Ministry for Urban Affairs and Housing, with a centralized location handling national urbanization and housing challenges. The authors also call for the establishment of a regulatory regime for urban services, addressing pricing challenges, ensuring service delivery, and avoiding environmental degradation; some other viable suggestions are:
- urban spatial planning must take precedence in all levels of government
- planning and housing for the poor and voiceless also needs to be address by government; market forces alone cannot close the housing gap
- urban financial systems and accounting practices needs reform, if outside sources of funding will apply
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