Detroit, USA – The Paynesville City Mayor, Honorable Pam Belcher-Taylor, has ended a visit to Detroit, Michigan on a tour to learn how resilient the city was in bouncing back from bankruptcy.
Detroit, a City built on exemplary leadership, has emerged from bankruptcy under the able leadership of mayor Mike Duggan.
Detroit exemplifies how cities with intractable challenges can overcome them with the right leadership.
While in Detroit, Mayor Belcher-Taylor met with Alexis Wiley, Mayor Mike Duggan’s Chief of Staff and Thomas Lewand, Group Executive for Jobs and Economic Growth.
During the meeting, Mayor Belcher-Taylor discussed with Ms. Wiley Paynesville City’s challenges with economic development, sanitation and capacity building.
The issue of Sister City was discussed, with Ms. Wiley in support of a sister City relationship between the two cities.
In furtherance of Mayor Belcher-Taylors vision to bring sustainable development to the people of Liberia’s largest geographic city, Paynesville, she met with African American Businessmen and investors, led by Rev. Dr. Jim Holley and Professor James Mays.
Mayor Belcher-Taylor highlighted the important role African American Investors can play in Liberia’s development, with Paynesville being the anchor.
Speaking on behalf of the Detroit African American Business Community, Professor Mays promised to lead a delegation to Paynesville next month to explore investment opportunities in Liberia and assess the challenges faced by the City of Paynesville.
He also spoke of the need for Detroit to host an economic conference on Liberia to be called “Liberia is Open for Business”.
The Detroit Conference will seek to demonstrate to American Investors that Liberia is ready for business and showcase the government’s pro-poor platform for economic growth.
The Detroit Conference will also bring together a cross section of Liberians in the Diaspora, in a Town Hall setting, to discuss how they can fully participate in the renewal of Liberia.
To cap her visit to Detroit, Mayor Belcher-Taylor met with the leadership of Michigan’s largest community college, Wayne County Community College District (WCCCD).
While visiting with Chancellor, Dr. Curtis Ivery of WCCCD, the Paynesville Mayor expressed her desire to have WCCCD assist the City in establishing the First Junior College in Paynesville.
Dr. Ivery promised to visit the City of Paynesville before the end of this year.
While in the United States, Mayor Belcher-Taylor also visited Leesburg, Virginia and met with Mayor Kelly Burk.
The mayors discussed economic development including trade and investment between their two cities.