Building bridges: Mayor of Accra appreciates predecessors for fostering sister-city relationships

The Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Elizabeth Kwatsoe Sackey has expressed sincere appreciation to her predecessors for building and fostering sister-city relationships.

According to her, building a sustainable and liveable city was a continuous process and not a job for one person.

The AMA boss acknowledged the tireless efforts and vision of her predecessors in establishing these valuable connections, on Wednesday night, September 6, when she hosted a 10-member German delegation led by Martin W.W Horn, Mayor of Freiburg to a dinner at the City Hall.

The dinner which formed part of activities to fortify diplomatic relations between Accra and Freiburg saw a plethora of attendees including the German Ambassador to Ghana, Daniel Krull, Dr. Dirk Abmann, Country Director for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Ghana, traditional leaders, Municipal Chief Executives of the Ayawaso North and Ablekuma North, Hon Aminu Mohammed Zakari and Kofi Ofori respectively and Coordinating Director for the AMA, Douglas Annoful, among others.

"This visit wouldn’t be possible without the contributions of my predecessors and others who have been intentional about building relations with other cities and with the international community... We are grateful to them, " the Mayor of Accra said.

Elizabeth Sackey underscored the importance of international connections in fostering cultural exchange, economic collaboration, and global understanding and expressed the city's commitment to cultivating friendship and identifying areas of mutual interest between Accra and Freiburg.

She noted that Accra’s relationship with Freiburg started in 2019 but was halted due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic adding that the two cities had agreed to cooperate in the areas of women empowerment, youth skills development, and education among others.

"Mayor Horn and his team as well as my team and I have agreed to cooperate in women empowerment programs, youth skills development projects, education, and sustainable development, among others... We will also explore and experience the cultures of both cities as that is the easiest way to build a bridge between our two cities... The people of Freiburg led by their leader are intentional and committed to building a sustainable city and we are glad to learn their best practices and experiences in that regard... Their town, Vauban is a model town in Europe for sustainability and social inclusion and exemplifies hope for us in Accra that with commitment and buy-in from all stakeholders, it is possible to build Accra into a sustainable city," she said.

"The Government of Ghana is keen on building multilateral and bilateral relations and sister-city links are a great avenue to share best practices, research as well as collaborate on programs that will ensure the benefits of citizens of our cities and other cities", she added.

She also used the opportunity to thank Mayor Horn and the city of Freiburg for resourcing health facilities in the city with PPEs and other needed items to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor Horn in a remark said his city believed in international friendship and solidarity hence the knowledge in developing the partnership between the two cities.

He was hopeful the two cities would work closely together to ensure sustainable developments in science, business and research, women empowerment, and mobility as well as learn best practices from each other.

He said his desire to become Mayor stemmed from the need for a concrete change on the local level citing global challenges like migration and climate crisis.