Monrovia – The President of the Mayors Association of Liberia, Jefferson T. Koijee, the Mayor of Foya City of Lofa  County Cecelia T. Hallie and the Mayor of Zwedru City, Grand Gedeh County Cecelia H. Jalo have returned to Liberia after participating in a  three-day conference in South Africa.

Several Mayors from African, Asian, European and US cities gathered from November 9-11 to participate in the ambitious Annual Summit of the Global Parliament of Mayors (GPM) conference.

The Global Parliament of Mayors says that those critical challenges that humankind faces around the world must be solved in cities.

It also believed that More than 50% of the world’s population lives in cities, so it is inconceivable that national and international bodies decide on policy actions without the cities and their mayors present as equal partners in shaping global policy.

This year’ GPM Summit focused on ‘Empowering Cities for the 2020s, a decade of change: shaping multi-level governance on a global scale’ through its work bringing Mayors’ voices to the fore.

The GPM also offers a complementary governance approach to the current nation-states system.

Mayors Koijee, Hallie, and Jolo joined forces with their colleagues from around the world to formulate progressive yet achievable resolutions to tackle critical issues confronting cities globally.

Mayor Koijee, who is an Executive member of the GPM, along with the other two mayors from Liberia expressed their excitement about the summit.

They said that event was significant because it l provides a platform for Mayors to deliberate on how cities can be better equipped to deal with issues of rapid urbanization, climate change and other related issues.

According to them, working with other global mayors in an effort to promote efficiency in the delivery of services to citizens was rewarding.

They also noted that the Summit was intended to ensure a clear, united message to amplify city voices in support of the 030 Agenda for the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

More than 65 mayors including the  Mayors from Beira (Mozambique), Braga (Portugal), Bristol (UK), Bulawayo (Zimbabwe), Cape Town (South Africa), Dayton (USA), Freetown (Sierra Leone), Hebron (Palestine), Kampala (Uganda), Kingston (Jamaica), Lubumbashi (Congo), Mannheim (Germany), Monrovia (Liberia), Montpellier (France), The Hague (the Netherlands) and Vyas (Nepal) participated in the Submit .

Mayor Koijee, who is the chairperson on Health of the GPM, promised to continuously serve as a bridge for many more opportunities that can benefit Liberia.

According to him, several Mayors from developing countries around the world expressed optimism to work with several cities in Liberia including Monrovia, Foyah and Zwedru.