Victoria Okoye writing in the Guardian:
City in brief: Accra's a dynamic city shaped by many forces – strong local traditions, regional migration, international trade, colonialism then and globalisation now.
Image courtesy of Victoria Okoye
Its greatest strengths are its warm, easygoing people (generally), recent peaceful political history (which stands out by regional comparison), a growing overall economy and the city's strategic political and economic positioning, enabling it to benefit from Ghana's immense natural resources.
The main challenge is translating economic gains (eg from oil, from private sector development) into real sustainable social and economic development that trickles down to improve the life of the average person. The way to do this is by better linking rural production to urban markets and strengthening and leveraging local production, localising international influences, formalising the "informal" sector (the invisible economy – forms the backbone of the city's economy) and getting more integrated, stronger urban planning controls (rather than reactionary "planning") for a more liveable, more inclusive city...[continue reading]
