African Cities in Transition: Solutions and the Way Forward

The quality and sustainability of future African urban living, apart from other important considerations, will be determined by the vision, capacity, commitment and tenacity of its leaders, both in the public and the private sector, to produce such futures. Good leaders guide governments to perform effectively in the interests of their citizenry, and they produce results in terms of enhanced standards of living, abundant personal and development opportunities, quality basic education, skilled medical care, reduced crime and basic infrastructure. In contrast, benevolent or even malevolent leadership results in roads falling into disrepair, currencies depreciating, inflation, declining health, increasing poverty and crime and overall security becoming tenuous. Consequently, the notion of good or bad leadership will impact either very positively or negatively on the African city and the local communities as alluded to above. Failure to achieve this collaborative governance between the key role players and stakeholders clearly predicts a dystopian future, as the slum population of Africa has increased to approximately 200 million people and is predicted to grow rapidly if smart interventions are not devised.