Raising the Local Government Voice in the Delivery of MDG’s

Siphamandla GumbiUnited Cities & Local Governments of Africa

22 November 2007WISA Africa ConferenceVictoria Falls, Zambia

Overview• The UCLGA

• Mission

• Structure

• Partnerships

• Summary of Programs

• Partnership with WISA

• UCLGA’s view on MDG’s

• Role of Local Government

• Conclusion

• ICT Africa

The UCLGAMembership: Municipalities, LG Associations, Entities & individuals

with Interest in African LG All 54 African states are members with 38 being active

Founded in Tshwane, May 2005 to:• Unite and represent African local government, ending the colonial

legacy of language & Cultural divisions

• Build African local government capacity

• Coordinate development funding and programme implementation by African local government

• Mobilise resources and promote development at local level

• Create strategic networking opportunities for African local government

• Promote good governance in African local government

• Represent African local government in the African Union, international organisations and forums

Mission of the UCLGA• Unite African local government, place it in the continental political

and economic development context and represent it in all relevant structures

• Strive for the establishment of local government as a distinct sphere of government, working in support of national and other spheres of government in Africa

• Promote sharing of human and intellectual capital and other resources among local authorities in Africa

• Empower African LG through research, training and capacity development

• Pursue sustainable development with structures and programmes similar in mission

• Pursue sustainable development in partnership with institutions, structures and programmes of the same mission

Structure• Continental Head: President

• Secretary General

• 5 Vice-Presidents – 5 Regions: Southern, North, East, West and Central Africa

• 2 Executive Committee Members per Region

• Secretariat headed by Secretary-General

• An Administrative Office per Region

PartnershipsMOUs in place with:

• New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)• Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF)• Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign

Countries (CPAFFC)• Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA)• Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

MOUs pending with:

• All-Africa Ministerial Conference on Decentralisation (AMCOD)

• MOU with the African Union (AU) being finalised

Summary of ProgramsUpstream Activities: • Institutional strengthening• Recognition of the UCLGA by the AU as the High Council of Local

Government• Developing relationships with regional economic communities• Post-conflict management

Downstream Activities:• Support to members• UCLGA Programs

– LED– Gender & HIV AIDS– GOLD– State of African Cities Report– Portal– Etc

MOU Signed on 01 Oct 2007UCLGA and WISA share a commitment to:

•support the attainment of the MDGs•build professional expertise•promote knowledge sharing

in order to strengthen municipal service delivery to improve the quality of life of communities in cities, towns and villages across the continent.

Partnership with WISA

UCLGA’s View on MDG’s• MDG’s are achievable by 2015

• MDG’s will not be achieved without the participation of all actors in society

• Recognises that the achievement of the MDGs depends on political will & requires active political action on the part of Local Authorities in the North and South

• Need to recognise the role of LG as the “frontline agent”, delivering services associated with poverty reduction –

• Closest to the people - play vital role in educating, mobilizing and responding to the public to promote sustainable development

UCLGA’s View on MDG’s• National government need to make the legislative

environment possible for local government to be effective - Decentralisation

• To encourage the planning and implementation of local actions to support the realisation of MDG’s

• Must strengthen governance, accountability and transparency

• Must allow more effective civil society and citizen monitoring of progress

Role of Local Government• Local authorities – in both rich and poor countries – have the

political legitimacy to lobby national governments directly on the MDG’s on behalf of their local constituents

• Local government organizations and their policies, procedures and regulations are important determinants of what services are provided and who can access them

• Local authorities construct, operate and maintain economic, social and environmental infrastructure, oversee planning processes, establish local policies and regulations, and assist in implementing at local level

• This is not simply an issue of whether local governments have the resources and capacities to support the meeting of these goals; it is also a question of what they choose to prioritize and to ignore

Conclusion

• Rich country governments must create the global conditions to allow poor countries to meet the Goals

• Must provide more and more effective aid, more sustainable debt relief and trading opportunities for the world’s poorest

• Must ensure that existing partnerships with local authorities in the South are focused on the achievement of the MDG’s

• Governments of developing countries, for their part, must implement the policies and budgets necessary to directly achieve Goals

A Conference & Exhibition for African Local GovernmentEkurhuleni, South Africa, 26-28 February 2008

Email: ict2007@uclgafrica.org or visit: www.uclgafrica.org