A 19-member committee to implement the Ghana Smart Cities Sustainable Development Goals Programme for the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly was inau­gurated here yesterday.This will enable the assembly to formally sign the Participation Agreement that would govern their engagement in its transfor­mative programmes.The Ghana Smart SDG Cities Programme is being led and coor­dinated by the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs in partnership with UN-Habit and supported by the Government of Norway.The swearing-in of the members of the committee was conducted by the Northern Regional Eco­nomic Planning Officer, Alhaji Inusah Abubakari, here in Tamale on behalf of the Northern Re­gional Minister, Mr Ali Adolf John Mburidiba.Mr Mburidiba said the trans­formative programme would be geared toward achieving the target developmental goals in the metropolis.He charged the committee members to scale up their efforts to ensure that they achieve the set goals.The minister also advised the committee members to ensure that they work to improve the infrastructure development of the metropolis.Members of the committee included representatives of heads of government institutions in the metropolis.The institutions are Finance Department, Public Relations De­partment, Forestry Department, Environmental Health Depart­ment, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, and heads of the Metropolitan Assembly.The Metropolitan Chief Exec­utive (MCE) of Tamale Metro­politan Assembly, Mr Adam Abu Takoro, on his part said the aim of the programme was to accelerate the achievements of the Sustain­able Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level, through various approaches including data-driven urban planning, citizen participa­tion and improved service delivery.The MCE said Tamale Metro­politan Assembly was one of the 10 pilot assemblies that participat­ed in the Ghana Smart SDG Cities programme and they were com­mitted to leading a good example for others to emulate."The inauguration of our Dis­trict Implementation Committee is not a mere formality," he stated.This, according to him, repre­sented a deliberate effort to bring together government officials, traditional authorities, civil society actors, women and youth groups and the private sector to jointly plan, implement and monitor their SDG actions.He added that the signing of the Participation Agreement would also serve as a formal commitment to ensuring the effective coordina­tion and delivery of programme activities in the metropolis.The MCE further stated that the programme would offer them more than technical tools as they renew opportunities to strengthen accountability, improve transpar­ency and ensure that no one in their various communities was left behind.However, he said, the Smart SDG Cities Project recognised the cosmopolitan development changes of their Metropolis and therefore would support in providing solutions especially in the area of Information Commu­nication Technology (ICT) to fast track service delivery to meet the expectation of their clients.Mr Takoro also thanked the Local Government Ministry, UN-Habitat, all partners and stakeholders for their vision and leadership for continued collab­oration and commitment to help Tamale to grow. FROM YAHAYA NUHU NA­DAA, TAMALE