Africa-Press – Liberia. The Mayor of Winston-Salem, North Carolina Mr. Allen Joines has concluded a five-day working visit to Liberia, the first sitting Mayor from a city in the US to visit Liberia in the last 40 years.
The five-day working visit was facilitated by Sister Cities International.
At the event marking the climax of the visit, the Deputy Internal Affairs Minister for Urban Affairs, Ellen Pratt, described Mayor Joines’ visit as a defining moment in Liberia’s quest for the improvement in its urban governance and development.
She highlighted the historic significance of the mayor’s trip, something she says underscored its potential to reshape Liberia’s urban landscape.
“Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming to Liberia and for your openness to see so much of our urban development and challenges, and some of our strides we continue to face,” Pratt said.
She added: “We hope at the end of this trip, we now have a good appreciation of the area of collaboration, which includes the technical area, looking at technical assistance to support our mayors, as well as our city planners, urban developers.”
Pratt said the delegation’s engagements across Montserrado and Grand Bassa counties revealed both the potential and urgent needs of Liberia’s cities.
She stressed that the visit has already laid the groundwork for long-term partnerships in urban planning, sanitation, and smart city technologies.
“We are looking at support in the areas of IT, as we look at smart cities and digital cities, “she added. “And we are also looking at the major challenge that we have, which is sanitation.”
In response, Mayor Joines was moved by what he described as the hospitality and the resilience of the Liberian people.
“I’ve been absolutely blown away by what we’ve experienced here, the friendliness of the individual as well as those we work with,” Mayor Joines said.
Mayor Joines also held meetings with three Liberian mayors on how to address strategic planning within their cities, not a huge, long-range plan but one that addresses the next three to five years goals.
“We’ve done a lot of this in Winston-Salem,” he said. “So, what I’m going to offer is to send over our director of planning or one of his chief deputies that will help these cities put together a strategic planning initiative.”
He added: “Another area is sanitation. I have heard that from all of the mayors, they are trying to figure out a way that addresses that in a great way. We have a very strong program in Winston for collecting the trash, disclosing the trash, and keeping things running there. And also, the other issue is Information Technology. Perhaps we might be able to send our director of Information Technology over here that can help figure out ways that these cities can become more available to the citizens through the use of technology.”
Adding up, the Sister Cities International’s Country Representative, Madam Efua McGowan, admonished Deputy Minister Pratt for what she termed the outstanding coordination and behind-the-scenes leadership that ensured the success of the visit.
“She never left our side. From the moment the idea was conceived, Madam Pratt mobilized a team and ensured every detail was covered,” McGowan said.
She added: “Her commitment reflects the spirit of Sister Cities partnerships rooted in peace, collaboration, and people-to-people connection.”
Mr. Ralph Pearson, representing the Liberia Organization of the Piedmont in Winston-Salem, described Mayor Joines as a long-time friend of Liberia.
He recounted the mayor’s critical role during the Ebola crisis, when he helped coordinate the shipment of over $50,000 worth of medical supplies to the country.
Mr. Pearson added: “When mayor Joines sleeps, he dreams about Liberia. And whatever it takes to make Liberia better; he is willing to do it.”
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