Accra receives world recognition
Accra has been recognised as one of 100 resilient cities in the world. The acknowledgement is for efforts the city is making to address physical, social and economic challenges.
The Resilient Cities Network (RCN), an initiative of the Rockefeller Foundation, a philanthropic firm in New York, will fund member cities and provide them with technical assistance and resources to enable them to build resilience to major challenges they face.
The foundation has committed $100 million to the initiative. Cities that are adjudged to excel will become model cities for other metropolises.
Benefits of the initiative
At a press briefing in Accra, the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuye, lauded the initiative and said it would assist the city address challenges like flooding and the growing strains on health care.
He said Accra was announced as part of the 35 winning cities at a summit held in Singapore last week Wednesday.
He said under the scheme, the foundation would allocate a resilience officer to oversee implementation of strategies and provide technical assistance.
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), he said, worked assiduously to retain its position on the roll call of cities.
Dr Vanderpuye said one measure that enabled Accra to become part of the network of cities was its ability to end the school shift system in Accra.
According to him, within three months, the assembly provided 300 classrooms for basic schools in the metropolis, and this was noticed by the international community.
2015 projects
He said the assembly had put plans in place to address issues regarding sanitation in the country, and that the assembly was seeking funds to build a waste processing plant that would turn waste into energy.In addition, he said, the assembly would construct huge drains to channel rain water away from communities as a way of minimising flooding in Accra.
He noted the city’s commitment to efforts at ensuring development to make Accra a model city for others to emulate.
The AMA Chief Executive assured the public that the assembly was doing all within its power to ensure proper sanitation for the city.
