The €15 million (Euros) project, to be implemented within a 58-month period, also seeks to improve and develop strong sustainable, and inclusive municipal services such as urban solid waste segregation, shared access to water and recreational spaces.

Six Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the northern part of the country, namely the greater Tamale area (Tamale and Sagnarigu Assemblies), Yendi, Wa, Bolgatanga, Damongo and Nalerigu, are the beneficiaries.

It is being implemented by the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development in partnership with Expertise France and funded by the European Union (EU) in Ghana.

Mr Irchard Razaaly, EU Ambassador to Ghana, speaking during the launch in Tamale, said the project would provide critical support to other national key institutions such as the Ghana Statistical Services, Ghana Water Company Limited amongst other agencies to help strengthen their policies for sustainable urban development and to develop better data- driven urban planning mechanisms.

He said, "We are not just unveiling a project; we are igniting a vision of hope, cooperation, and sustainable development that will uplift cities in the north. The EU will continue to support their growth and enrich the lives of their people." Madam Laura Bright Davies, Project Manager, Expertise France, said the project was designed to improve national and city level policy framework for gender responsive integrated urban development.

She said it was also to help improve environmental management and climate change adaptation and mitigation within the targeted cities.
She touched on some components of the project, which included structuring and operationalising the urban observatory, supporting integrated urban planning, fostering cities in the management of their public services including accountability.

The project would also focus on building green and sustainable waste management systems and enhance access to water and recreational facilities to the most vulnerable in the cities including women and children.

Mr Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, whose speech was read on his behalf by Mr Yidana Zakaria, North East Regional Minister, said the project was yet another strategy to address issues such as sprawling and uncontrolled development through special planning, and inadequate data and limited monitoring and evaluation capacities.

He gave assurance of the Ministry's commitment to working with the various stakeholders, MMDAs, service providers and the local communities to ensure that the project was successfully implemented.

Mr Sule Salifu, Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, who spoke on behalf of the beneficiary MMDAs, thanked the EU and partners for initiating the project and gave assurance of the assemblies' commitment to its implementation.