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

1. Raising the Local Government Voice in the Delivery of MDG’s Siphamandla Gumbi United Cities & Local Governments of Africa 22 November 2007 WISA Africa Conference Victoria Falls, Zambia

2. 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

3. The UCLGA Membership: 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 organisationsand forums

4. 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

5. 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

6. Partnerships MOUs 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

7. Summary of Programs Upstream 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

8. Partnership with WISA • MOU Signed on 01 Oct 2007 • UCLGA 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.

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. A Conference & Exhibition for African Local Government Ekurhuleni, South Africa, 26-28 February 2008 Email: ict2007@uclgafrica.org or visit: www.uclgafrica.org