Coordinated investments, strong institutions key to success
WASHINGTON, February 20, 2019 – Bamako, Mali’s capital city, has an opportunity to promote growth and improve service delivery, however this window of opportunity is narrow, a new World Bank Group report finds.
Launched today, Bamako – An Engine of Growth and Service Delivery analyzes how Bamako can become a city that works, increasing productivity and livability for its residents. According to the report, Bamako dominates Mali’s urban landscape, so reforms and investments in the capital would impact the entire country’s development.
The report highlights that to unleash Bamako’s potential, a balanced approach to reforming institutions, putting the right policies in place and investing in infrastructures and attention to implementation will be needed. This would require coordinated use of land and connective infrastructure, fiscal and technical capabilities to finance and manage better public service delivery, and strengthening of urban institutions.
“Many of Mali’s development challenges have a spatial dimension – with Bamako at its core. The economic and social importance of the capital city cannot be understated. Decisions made in Bamako will have long-lasting effects on Mali’s development as it is the nerve center of the national economy. Reforms and investments aimed at tackling urban development challenges in the capital will have knock-on effects on national economic development,” said Soukeyna Kane, World Bank Country Director for Mali.
The report looks at factors underlying Bamako’s current challenges. It finds that inefficiencies in the land market deter productive investments. This, combined with low quality of transport, hampers urban accessibility within the city – keeping people away from jobs and services. And these challenges are further exacerbated by institutional fragmentation and lack of adequate investments.
“Bamako has an opportunity to make early investments in urban infrastructure in close coordination with long-term planning. Moreover, digital and disruptive technologies offer an opportunity for Bamako to tackle major challenges like never before. ” said Anna Wellenstein, Director, Social, Urban, Rural, and Resilience Global Practice, World Bank.
Despite Bamako’s prominence, its progress on increasing its competitiveness over time and on urban service delivery for its citizens has been falling behind. The report finds that urban development in Bamako has been fragmented – providing an important explanation of the failure to realize the advantages associated with the city’s growth.
“The high level of urban fragmentation is fettering both - productivity, by preventing opportunities for matching people and jobs - and livability, by driving up the costs of urban infrastructure and service delivery,” said Megha Mukim, Senior Economist and Lead Author of the report.
To become an engine of growth and service delivery, Bamako needs to scale up investments in a bottom-up, innovative ecosystem by developing the right platforms and engaging citizens in finding solutions to transform the city space.
