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 organisations and 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. 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. Partnership with WISA

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.orgict2007@uclgafrica.orgwww.uclgafrica.org