The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) have hosted a two-day workshop in Accra, with a focus on the preparation of a COVID-19 economic recovery and resilience plan for the city to withstand shocks.

The hybrid workshop focused on the economic and financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Accra. It forms part of a wider UN project covering 16 cities around the world.

Participants discussed priorities for the drafting of the city’s Economic Recovery and Resilience Plan (ERRP). The plan falls within the context of the city’s Medium-term Plan (2022-2025) which is currently underway.

Ultimately, the goal of the Plan is to put Accra on a resilient, inclusive and sustainable urban development path. This will then contribute to the improvement of governance, productivity and living standards.

The Mayor of Accra, Hon. Mohammed Nii Adjei-Sowah, highlighted that the “plan will prepare us for the years to come in becoming more resilient”. He added that the plan will also help improve the labour markets whilst “strengthening our services and financial institutions”. Moreover, Hon. Adjei-Sowah noted that the plan will be useful in “enhancing our productivity, particularly of the informal sector”.

Need to boost digital economy

Furthermore, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Finance, Hon. John Kumah, emphasized the need to boost local productivity in food production, digital economy and construction.

“To accelerate the resilience of Accra, productivity needs to be enhanced. Significant challenges exist, however, related to the high prevalence of informality”.

Also, the UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana, Mr. Charles Paul Iheanacho Abani, stressed that sustainable urbanization is crucial for the resilience-building efforts to succeed in Accra. He emphasized the importance of identifying catalytic and transformative policy interventions that will support these efforts.

The Chief of the Urbanization section of the ECA, Ms. Edlam Abera Yemeru, emphasized that “cities are engines of economic dynamism and innovation”. According to her, the cities “can help us overcome development deficits and accelerate recovery from COVID-19 while strengthening future resilience”.

The workshop concluded with a set of defined priorities to strengthen the immediate recovery and longer-term resilience of Accra’s business environment. It also outlines priorities for strengthening the labour market, economic & financial arrangements as well as physical infrastructure.

UN Development account project

This forms the basis for the drafting of the city’s Economic Recovery and Resilience Plan. Importantly, the deliberations outlined the mechanisms through which the Economic Recovery and Resilience Plan will contribute to Accra’s Medium-term plan 2021-2025.

This workshop feeds into the wider UN Development account project. This project focused on strengthening the capacities of local governments in 16 cities globally, including three from Africa. The UN selected these cities on a demand-driven approach to design, implement and monitor sustainable COVID-19 response.

The project assists cities in developing a better understanding of the key factors and drivers of urban resilience. The UN works closely with city authorities across the countries. The project supports the identification of solutions that work and contributes to a practical framework for creating more resilient cities and local governments. The aim is to equip them to withstand shocks such as COVID-19 and other broad-based socio-economic stresses.

According to the ECA, cities are the epicenters of the COVID-19 crisis, accounting for 90% of the globally reported cases. African cities are also home to most COVID-19 cases, facing considerable strains to their economies.

The ECA outlined certain factors that rendered African cities particularly vulnerable to the pandemic’s effects. They include deficits in services and infrastructure, revenues and planning capacities. However, African cities are also major hubs of productivity, growth and innovation. This makes them central to the region’s recovery and building forward better agenda.