[{"bbox": [134, 167, 808, 195], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Lack of integrated service delivery planning and implementation;"}, {"bbox": [134, 208, 500, 233], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Poor coordination mechanisms;"}, {"bbox": [134, 248, 563, 276], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Weak enforcement and accountability."}, {"bbox": [97, 287, 1134, 448], "category": "Text", "text": "All of this is exacerbated by **severe resource constraints** in terms of capacity, technology and finances. The financial constraint is stronger than ever and will remain for several years due to the colossal debt to repay after Ghana had effectively defaulted and had to renegotiate its debt with its main private and public creditors. This means that investments should be carfully selected and municipal services should be financially sustainable and at the same time as much as possible ensure inclusivity and affordability for the poorest and most marginalised segment of the population."}, {"bbox": [97, 458, 1134, 617], "category": "Text", "text": "In 2022, only 43% of Ghanaians living in urban areas had access to basic sanitation and less than 15% of liquid waste generated in Ghana was safely managed. Climate change, rapid urbanisation, growth of informal settlements, poor urban governance and lack of sanitation put also more people at risk of disasters. Climate hazards, like extreme heat and urban floods, increased rapidly in recent years in Ghana with a bigger impact on the most marginalized population, such as persons with disabilities, female-headed households and others, of the urban areas."}, {"bbox": [97, 630, 1134, 712], "category": "Text", "text": "**Increasing urbanization and economic development are likely to put an additional burden on existing, already constrained, urban infrastructure and services such as water supply, waste management, sanitation, drainage and urban mobility.**"}, {"bbox": [97, 722, 1134, 936], "category": "Text", "text": "The volume of wastewater will increase significantly as the production of liquid waste will increase along population growth and urbanisation. While investment in wastewater treatment facilities is becoming a priority in the coming years, septic tanks and non-sewered sanitation are expected to remain the most common systems, in most of the cities in Ghana. Bio-digesters have just started to enter the market, and it will take time until they become a solution to be widely adopted across the households. The provision of desludging services (removing of sediments by draining and cleaning a tank) thus needs to be significantly expanded, both in quantity and quality. The new focus on livelihoods and circular economy in the sector calls for increased efforts towards resource recovery and re-use of waste rather than the current scenario of treating and dumping."}, {"bbox": [97, 947, 1134, 1160], "category": "Text", "text": "Tamale will experience an increased vulnerability as of climate change. It is estimated that the annual rainfall should increase by 50 mm per year minimum and the rainy season should shorten by 17 days minimum, meaning that an increase in intense rainy events should take place. The topography of Tamale is generally hilly, with a few shallow valleys that serve as streams, a landscape that favors the extension of floods over large areas. Low vegetation cover coupled with inefficient drainage infrastructure makes rainy episodes particularly violent especially in some highly populated areas of Tamale, as it was observed in August 2021, with human casualties and extensive damage to habitat, road infrastructure and civil engineering works, especially in the low lying informal neighbourhoods (Sakasaka, Gumani)."}, {"bbox": [97, 1171, 1134, 1253], "category": "Text", "text": "These conditions compound already high levels of inequality, slow the pace of economic transition and increase risks of social tension, disorder, instability and migration. This has resulted in a proliferation of under serviced settlements and urban under resources areas which account for around 33% of Ghana's urban population."}, {"bbox": [97, 1263, 1134, 1319], "category": "Text", "text": "The need for sustainable urbanization in Ghana is also underscored by an increasing economic contribution of urban areas/cities to the national economy, with urban areas serving as centers of economic growth and new jobs."}, {"bbox": [97, 1330, 777, 1356], "category": "Text", "text": "In this context, the Government of Ghana has undertaken several actions:"}, {"bbox": [134, 1370, 1134, 1478], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Developing an Urban Policy (2023 – 2030) which provides a vision for urban transformation and to harness opportunities while mitigating inevitable challenges. The urban policy comprises nine (9) policy objectives with a core intention to make Ghanaian urban communities transform from mere administrative and political conveniences to strategic centres for national development;"}, {"bbox": [134, 1491, 1134, 1599], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Establishing when necessary a more central driven approach coherent with the principle of subsidiarity while maintaining MMDAs leadership in the urban planning and supervision process and an implementation done in some cases through several specialist service delivery authorities and agencies, with a more corporatized structure and operational / fiscal autonomy;"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1681, 1144, 1707], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 8 of 30"}]