On August 11th, 2022, in Mamou, more than 42 Participants from administrative and local authorities, public and private sector, civil society, traditional authorities, and professional orders, attended the regional consultation workshop for the elaboration of the National Urban Policy (NUP) of the Republic of Guinea. This NUP project is one of the result areas of the SANITA[1] programme, funded by the European Union. This workshop is one of the seven regional workshops scheduled from 29 July to 20 August 2022, for the elaboration of the Guinea NUP, and which also aimed to collect local issues in a participatory and inclusive approach, for inclusion into the NUP.

Mr. Lansana Fatoumata Camara from the Strategic and Development Office of the Ministry of Urbanism and Housing, opened the session, highlighting the importance of these multi-stakeholder consultations, encouraging participants to make their contributions to be included in the NUP.  Mr. Ibrahima Kaba, Mamou’s Regional Inspector of Urbanism, Housing and Development emphasized on the ongoing projects planned, as the region is the center of the country and therefore expanding rapidly. The Governor of Mamou, Colonel Aly Badara Camara, then kicked off the workshop activities, recommending that the workshop focuses on land governance to have a positive environmental impact in the development of the region.

The session was conducted in in two main parts: a plenary session and a group work session in a bid to ensure all the participants’ views and propositions were included in the consultations. The first presentation summarized the diagnosis of the urban sector that was carried out in 2020. It presented to the participants the current situation of urbanization in Guinea, the challenges, opportunities for urban prosperity, as well as the proposed initiatives. The presentation enhanced the knowledge and awareness among participants, actors, and stakeholders on the importance of the urban development issues for the regional and also at national level. The second presentation introduced the concept of urban policy, demonstrating to the participants the content and process of developing a NUP as well as the actors and their role in its implementation.

The group work session was based on two main exercises. The first exercise dealt with the links between the urban diagnosis and the national urban policy, focusing on the recommendations. The second exercise focused on the regional priorities of the National Urban Policy, where the groups discussed local views and development priorities. At the end of the focus group sessions, the groups presented their views and proposed priorities for inclusion into Guinea’s NUP. These include:

1. Reorganizing the urban sector to enhance the sustainable urban development process
2. Integrating urban rural linkages into the NUP process
3. Fostering an effective decentralization for improved territorial development
4. Capacity building of the local administration among other stakeholders on sustainable urban development

The outcomes and actions of this workshop in Mamou, among the other 6 regional workshops, will be consolidated, presented, and discussed during the next workshop in Conakry, Guinea.

The workshop concluded with a synthesis of the exchanges on the National Urban Policy and the appropriation of the process by the participants.

_{[1] The Urban Development and Sanitation Programme in Guinea (SANITA), is a programme funded by the European Union, with National Urban Policy being one of the five result areas of the programme.}