Banjul Mayor Lowe advocates for local gov initiatives to achieve SDGs 2030 goals,

Mayor Malick Lowe of Banjul took center stage at the High-Level session of the Local 2030 Coalition, where she addressed key issues regarding the financing of localization and the imperative to leave no one behind in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

In her compelling speech, Mayor Lowe shed light on the pressing challenges faced by local governments worldwide, emphasizing their struggle to provide adequate housing and basic services to their communities.

The major disclosed this via her Facebook page on Sunday September 17, 2023.

She stressed the importance of planning cities from a feminist perspective, where human rights, care, and equality are at the heart of sustainable development initiatives.

Mayor Lowe made a strong case for the urgent need to enhance climate action, cautioning that without simultaneously developing a more robust fiscal and investment architecture, these efforts could fall short.

She elaborated on how local and regional governments can play a pivotal role in financing local sustainable development through public service provisions, infrastructure projects, and investments aimed at reducing inequalities and promoting ecological transitions.

The mayor expressed her unwavering commitment, on behalf of local and regional governments, to integrate localization into all global agenda initiatives.

She underscored the need for immediate action to reinforce and systematize fiscal decentralization and investment mechanisms.

Mayor Lowe also called for a renewed multilateral system that actively includes and systematizes the involvement of local and regional governments in decision-making processes.

Mayor Lowe didn’t stop there; she urged a political transformation within local and regional governments.

“Local and regional governments also need a political transformation and move away from top-down national policies that dedicate too little attention to inequalities in national urban and regional planning but a more decentralized sharing of power and responsibilities across different spheres of government, with the principle of subsidiarity at the centre.”

She argued for a shift away from top-down national policies that often neglect inequalities in urban and regional planning.

Instead, she advocated for a more decentralized approach, where power and responsibilities are shared across different levels of government, anchored by the principle of subsidiarity.

In conclusion, Mayor Malick Lowe emphasized the resolute commitment of local and regional governments to taking concrete steps to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

She proposed innovative financial projects, the strengthening of revenue-raising options, and the establishment of broad partnerships with the private sector and civil society as crucial strategies to turn these ambitious goals into reality.

Mayor Lowe’s impassioned speech serves as a rallying call for global efforts to prioritize localization and inclusivity in the pursuit of the SDGs, offering a vision of a more sustainable and equitable future for all.