Baku, May 22, AZERTAC
“Africa’s urban development is most hindered by financing challenges, as cities have restricted capacity to prepare viable revenue-generating initiatives,” said Jacob Mafume, Mayor of the City of Harare, Zimbabwe, in his remarks at a session titled “United for Change Translating Africas Urban Position into Transformative Actions” organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa as part of the WUF13 in Baku.
He noted that while cities hold substantial land assets, they lack the mechanisms to transform them into formal financial instruments. Without land banks or modern land governance systems, inherited properties are preserved as ownership assets rather than being used to generate economic value.
Mayor Jacob Mafume added that, in collaboration with the UN Economic Commission for Africa, work is ongoing to enhance Harare’s capacity to design revenue-generating projects, underlining the value of multilateral institutional experience.
Source: azertag.az