What Role can African Cities Play in Low-Carbon Development? A Multilevel Governance Perspective of Ghana, Uganda and South Africa

This study examined the potential for African cities to proactively govern climate change mitigation by exploring the constraints and enablers of local governance institutional structures in three smaller cities: Jinja in Uganda, Ga East in Ghana and Polokwane in South Africa. In Uganda and Ghana, uneven progress with implementing decentralisation reforms greatly limits local government action, while South Africa’s highly devolved governance structure and supportive national frameworks assist with greater local governance of low-carbon development. Systemic capacity and resource constraints within municipalities suggest a more collaborative mode of climate governance is required in African cities (Louise Tait & Megan Euston-Brown, 2017).