Sustainable urbanization is known to be a vehicle for national economic and social transformation. By sustainable urbanization we mean the transition of rural-urban landscapes that structure both rural and urban economy, ecology and society in ways that reward the present generation with higher quality of life but without endangering and diminishing the living standards of future generations.

This structural shift is underpinned by proper planning, supported by enforceable legal mechanisms and, by so doing, brings about rapid economic progress and the equitable development of citizens. When rural-urban shift is properly managed alongside industrialization and planned urban space, it tends to lead to higher productivity and, eventually, rising living standards and better quality of life.

Sustainable urbanization spawns cities that evolve into centres of change and innovation, mainly because the concentration of people, resources and activities support human creativity. However, research has shown that there are a number of countries that are highly urbanized without having seen a large shift of economic activity towards manufacturing and services in most developing countries. This phenomenon is discussed in this study.

Structural transformation is defined as the transition of an economy from low productivity and labour-intensive economic activities to higher productivity and skill intensive activities. The driving force behind structural transformation is the change of productivity in the modern sector, which is dominated by manufacturing and services. It is also characterized by the movement of the workforce from labour-intensive activities to skill-intensive ones.

The movement of labour is severely affected by the existence of opportunities in skill-intensive sectors because, even if these opportunities exist, labour might only move to a new sector if it is properly trained to be absorbed by the sector. The existing labour force would therefore require requisite training before moving to the new sector. Empirical evidence also suggests that structural change can take place without much change in labour productivity.

The pattern of structural change observed in many African countries is a case in point. In that scenario, changes in economic structure are driven largely by the export of natural resource-based products. A study by Vries et. al. (2013) analysed structural transformation in 11 Sub-Saharan African. This study analyses the reasons for stagnant or declining productivity in”modern”sectors”on”the” African”continent.