Experts review new ECA report on role of cities in domestic resource mobilisation

Abstract

Senior government officials and experts are gathered in Addis Ababa for an Economic Commission for Africa Expert Group Meeting to review the ECA’s new report on the State of Urbanization in Africa: The Role of Cities in Domestic Resource Mobilization. The two-day review meeting is being led by the Urbanization Section of the Gender, Poverty and Social Policy Division at the ECA which is technically supporting countries to unleash the potential of cities in financing national development. The report argues that African cities are yet to tap into revenue opportunities that rapid urbanization offers and proposes a framework for consideration which focuses on cities as drives of domestic resource mobilization. The report highlights that African cities are generating a large share of GDP and are home to the manufacturing and services sectors that are leading structural transformation. The report also states that urban-based tradable economic sectors can provide a broad, stable and growing tax base in Africa. The experts are expected to validate the practical policy options highlighted in the report which can help member States improve the socio-economic performance of African cities, through revenue generation.