Good governance will enable cities to effectively address urban problems, said UN-Habitat director-general Maimunah Mohd Sharif at the ninth World Urban Forum (WUF) in Kuala Lumpur today.

Cities worldwide suffer from a lack of sustainable infrastructure, housing and services and a transparent method of governance was a key ingredient towards finding solutions for them, she said.

“The way in which human settlements and cities are planned, designed, governed and financed influences our success in achieving every single one of the (17) UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Good governance is very crucial. This includes (having) competency, accountability, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness when doing things,” she said at the WUF closing ceremony at the KL Convention Centre this afternoon.

Also in attendance at the ceremony were Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Noh Omar, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan as well as UN Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) president Maria Chatardova.

Public-private-people partnership

Maimunah, who was formerly the mayor of Penang before becoming the first Asian woman and Malaysian to helm the UN agency last December, also called for a more collaborative approach to urban problems.

Mayors, local governments, grassroots leaders and citizens needed to work together to make cities more liveable, sustainable and safe.

“It must be holistic, integrated and consultative. We must gather and create an enabling environment (for cooperation).

“I still remember the principle I used when I was a mayor, a public-private-people partnership is the key to success,” Maimunah said.

She also announced that this year’s forum was the most well-attended and diverse since its inception in 2002.

Some 22,778 participants from 165 countries took part in almost 560 events held over the last week at various locations across Kuala Lumpur.

The goal of this year’s WUF was to discuss how countries could implement the New Urban Agenda, which stipulates a range of standards and principles guiding urban planning in order to attain the SDGs and create more sustainable cities.

Findings from the forum were compiled into the KL Declaration on Cities 2030, which calls upon governments to implement findings from the forum in their respective countries.

The capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, will host the next WUF in 2020.