Cities Alliance Annual Report 2018

• Embedded sustainability and safeguard mechanisms;
• Minimum quality and competence requirements for partner organisations to
implement projects and programmes; and
• Stronger reporting, accountability and output-driven requirements for
implementing organisations.
The Country Programme 3.0 has been applied to the Liberia Country Programme
and to the second phase of the Tunisia Country Programme, and is guiding the
next phase of the Uganda Country Programme. Cities Alliance believes that
this approach, as well as further refinements, will greatly benefit the Country
Programme’s impact, significantly strengthen local ownership, and improve
prospects for additional funding and follow-up investment.
Slum dwellers
are increasingly
recognised as
citizens who need
to be fully engaged
in city planning and
development. An
indication of this
shift is the National
Housing Authority’s
establishment of
a dedicated Slum
Upgrading Unit,
which is a direct
result of work
spearheaded
by Habitat
for Humanity
International.
Liberia
OVERVIEW
Emerging from the combined ravages of a brutal civil war and the Ebola virus,
the people of Liberia embody the concept of resilience. In January 2018, the
country underwent a peaceful and orderly transfer of power with the inauguration
of President George Weah.
Despite the burdens of many developmental and other challenges, the Liberia
of today is a country with ambition, aiming to achieve middle income status by
2030. The Cities Alliance Country Programme is designed to provide long-term,
programmatic support to help Liberia realise these developmental objectives,
in a way that benefits the urban poor. Programme activities aim to improve the
lives and opportunities of up to 400,000 slum dwellers in Greater Monrovia, with
interventions at the community, municipal and national levels.
In many ways, the original decision by Comic Relief and National Lottery to not
only make a significant financial contribution, but also to offer a five-year fundingcommitment,
laid the essential conditions for a comprehensive developmental
approach. Now in its third year of implementation, the Country Programme is
achieving concrete results and changing the discourse on urban issues.
At the national level, there is a growing recognition that efficient, effective cities are
critical to developing the national economy, along with mechanisms for mobilising
capacity and engaging citizens. Slum dwellers are increasingly recognised as
citizens who need to be fully engaged in city planning and development. An
institutional indication of this shift is the National Housing Authority’s establishment
of Liberia’s first dedicated Slum Upgrading Unit – a direct result of work
spearheaded by Habitat for Humanity International.
Cities and townships are building capacity and engaging with citizens on urban
planning. Thanks to the active role played by WIEGO as part of the Country
Programme, they are also increasingly viewing petty traders as economic
contributors instead of nuisances, even reaching formal agreements with the
traders so they can practice their livelihoods without fear of harassment.
Through the mentorship of SDI and the commitment of the local YMCA, community
profiling, verification and settlement forum activities that identify community priority
needs have helped informal settlements become acknowledged as an integral part
of the city and are informing small infrastructure projects.
10 Cities Alliance