During the Green & Resilient UrbanShift Africa Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya, mayors and governors have united to sign an open letter addressed to African Ministers of Finance:
Dear Honourable Ministers,
As mayors and governors representing cities across Africa, we collectively urge for swift and cooperative action to secure the funding necessary for advancing sustainable urban development and enhancing our resilience amid the escalating climate crisis.
Africa’s cities serve as the continent’s economic powerhouse, contributing around 70% of its GDP. However, they are confronted with the dual challenges of rapid urbanization and the climate emergency. By 2050, Africa’s urban population is projected to nearly triple to 1.5 billion. With 92% of the continent’s fastest-growing cities already deemed at extreme risk from climate change, urgent investments in climate-resilient infrastructure and housing are essential. African nations are expected to lose between 2–5% of GDP each year due to extreme weather events. Investing in adaptation is not only critical but also financially sensible; the World Bank suggests that every $1 invested now could potentially prevent $4 in future climate-related damages and losses. Persistent underinvestment only exacerbates poverty and inequality.
Our cities are in dire need of funding for nature-based solutions to manage extreme heat and flooding, particularly for the most vulnerable communities; decentralized renewable energy to enhance air quality, access, and reliability; sustainable housing to provide affordable options for our rapidly growing populations; public transportation to enhance productivity and quality of life while reducing pollution from older vehicles; and waste and wastewater treatment to protect public health and improve services.
To tackle these pressing challenges and deliver tangible results, we require an immediate and substantial transformation in how financial resources from both public and private sectors are allocated to our cities. African cities face a significant financing gap concerning development and climate issues, with climate finance needs in sub-Saharan cities alone estimated at $155 billion annually, yet the region only secured $5.5 billion in 2021/22, amounting to less than 4% of required funding. In contrast, fossil fuel companies in Africa received an average of $24 billion per year from 2017 to mid-2021, underscoring the discrepancy between those striving for a sustainable climate future and those attempting to perpetuate the failing status quo. Redirecting these funds towards renewables would facilitate more decentralized, inclusive, localized, and affordable energy solutions for those most in need.
In light of this urgent situation, mayors like ourselves encounter specific barriers and limitations that hinder our capacity to attract public and private investment. Several of our cities grapple with arbitrarily low debt ceilings, a lack of regulatory clarity on how to raise and manage revenue, and restrictions on the types of entities that can finance cities. According to the OECD, African subnational governments have the least fiscal capacity compared to local governments globally, with the lowest investment levels as a portion of public spending and minimal intergovernmental transfers, even when matched against countries with similar income levels. For cities with more robust financial structures, global capital markets have yet to provide the necessary volume and variety of financing to satisfy their demands, thus leaving substantial gaps in infrastructure investments.
As city leaders, we are dedicated to transforming our municipalities into more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable places. We are proactively enhancing our financial management and budgeting practices, boosting creditworthiness, ensuring transparency, and integrating climate risk assessments into our decision-making processes.
We recognize the crucial role national governments play in shaping the policy framework and regulatory environment to improve financing for urban development. Numerous African nations have joined the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP), and many of you are part of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action. We also understand that national budgets currently face significant pressures, making resource allocation decisions challenging and complex.
Therefore, we respectfully suggest the following actions to improve finance flows into our cities:
Mainstream climate and nature urban priorities into national budgeting and planning
- Integrate urban needs and priorities within national policies, country strategies with development finance partners, cooperation agreements, and climate and nature commitments.
- Enhance climate-sensitive and nature-positive budgeting to ensure that major urban investment projects are evaluated through a climate and nature lens, including measures to mitigate climate risks.
Establish robust frameworks for municipal finance
- Bolster municipal finance governance frameworks that reflect cities’ capacities and investment needs; clearly articulate and strengthen cities’ financial mandates; and create the conditions and mechanisms for local governments to adequately finance and fund climate change initiatives sustainably.
- Improve the predictability of intergovernmental transfers. Since these transfers are a critical revenue source for cities, greater predictability would not only strengthen cities’ planning capabilities for climate-resilient projects but also enhance their creditworthiness.
Expand access to sustainable finance
- Enhance and equip national financial intermediaries to build local capacity and mobilize, pool, and scale funding for climate and development projects at the local government level.
- Create clear enabling frameworks that facilitate private sector and community investments in climate action initiatives, including, where applicable, defining guidelines for public-private partnerships (PPPs), municipal bond issuance, and other innovative financing vehicles along with taxonomies for sustainable investment.
We stand ready to collaborate with you and hope you can join us in strengthening our financial and institutional capabilities to play a key role in Africa’s sustainable development.
Sincerely,
- Governor of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire – Ibrahim Cissé Bacongo
- Deputy Mayor of Accra, Ghana – Douglas N.K. Annoful
- Mayor of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe – David Coltart
- Executive Mayor of Cape Town, South Africa – Geordin Hill-Lewis
- Mayor of Chefchaouen, Morocco – Mohamed Sefiani
- Executive Mayor of Durban (eThekwini), South Africa – Cyril Xaba
- Governor of Embu County, Kenya – Cecily Mbraire
- Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone – Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr
- Governor of Kajiado, Kenya – Joseph Jama Ole Lenku
- Mayor of Keur Massar Kord, Senegal – Adama Sarr
- Deputy Governor of Kisumu, Kenya – Dr Mathew Owili
- Mayor of Kloto I, Togo & President of the Regional Mayors Forum of CoMSSA – Yawo Winny Dogbatse
- Governor of Lagos, Nigeria – Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu
- Mayor of Lusaka, Zambia – Chilando Chitangala
- Governor of Nairobi, Kenya – Sakaja Arthur Johnson
- Mayor of Pikine, Senegal – Aboulaye Thimbo
- Mayor of Quelimane, Mozambique – Manuel Antonio Alculete Lopes de Araujo
- Executive Mayor of Tshwane, South Africa – Cllr Dr Nasiphi Moya
(Signatures updated as of 17 February 2025)
