A resilient and financially empowered city is essential to the country’s broader goals of industrialization, economic transformation, and inclusive, and sustainable growth, says Atkeyelsh Persson, Chief, Urbanization and Development Section, Gender, Poverty and Social Policy Division, of the Economic Commission for Africa.

Persson was speaking on behalf of Sweta Saxena, Director of the Gender, Poverty, and Social Policy Division, ECA at a Senior Officials and Experts Meeting, to review and validate the Financial Performance Assessment Report of Addis Ababa City in Bishoftu, Ethiopia.

ECA organized the meeting in collaboration with UN-Habitat, the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the Municipal city of Addis Ababa to offer a valuable opportunity to exchange experiences and lessons learned from Addis Ababa with other African cities.

In the context of the rapidly expanding city of Addis Ababa, she said financial performance assessment is critical for expanding the city’s financial capacity as it helps evaluate financial management, identify areas for improvement, and ensure efficient use of resources.