Postponement of the Africities 9 Summit (PRESS RELEASE)

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The pan-African organization of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) informs the public and partner institutions that the ninth edition of the Africities Summit (Africities 9) initially scheduled to take place from November 16 to November 20, 2021 in Kisumu (Kenya) ), is postponed for the period from April 26 to 30, 2022, still in Kisumu.

The Government of Kenya has requested the postponement of the Summit due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which is affecting the country, along with other nations of the world.

The theme of the Summit remains: “The role of Africa’s intermediary cities in the implementation of the UN’s Agenda 2030 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063″.  

Kisumu is the very first intermediate city to host the Africities Summit. The previous Africities 8 edition, held in Marrakech in November 2018 in Morocco, was attended by a record 8,300 participants from 79 countries, including 52 African countries.

The Africities summit is the largest democratic gathering organized on the African continent. It brings together the ministers every three years; mayors and leaders of local authorities; representatives of civil society, the private sector, academia and research; national, regional and international financial institutions; development partners; and other stakeholders.       

The Africities summit offers a unique platform for dialogue on the role of local authorities in the development and unity of Africa, and on the place of decentralization in improving the governance of public affairs in Africa.   

For further information please contact:
Gaëlle Yomi :
Phone: + 212 610 56 71 45
e-mail : gyomi@uclga.org
Visit the UCLG Africa website : www.uclga.org

Watch the message of the SG of UCLG Africa

European Union 2021-2027 Programming Process: Africa’s Local and Regional Authorities Hold National Seminars

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The preparation of African local governments is intensifying with a view to taking part in the negotiations for the 2021-2027 programming of European cooperation. Benefiting from the technical support of UCLG Africa since May 2020, the national associations of local authorities of the continent are working hard to meet expectations during the exchanges scheduled for the end of February 2021.

January 2021 was marked by the holding of national seminars for the validation of the roadmap that the associations will bring to the negotiating table. This roadmap highlights the priority areas of financing for local authorities according to the needs of the populations of their country. For this EU programming cycle (2021-2027), they will be around the table with national governments.

The first associations that have already organized their national seminars to validate their roadmap are : Libya (14 December 2020), Nigeria (19 January 2021), Cameroon (21 January 2021), Zambia (21 January 2021), Cape Verde (26 January 2021).

As a reminder, the national associations of African local authorities will have to lead the advocacy on 3 points:

1) To have local governments recognized as state actors. Associations must obtain this status from national governments on the basis of the EU Communication made in 2013;

2) To have national associations of local and regional authorities considered as political representatives of local governments and have them integrated into negotiations alongside national governments;

3) To ensure that all public policies are territorialized since there is a national dimension and a territorial dimension to any policy that will be implemented, including the financial support to be provided by the European Union.

The financing made available in the new programming of the European Union Commission for the period (2021-2027) amounts to Thirty-two billion euros.

24th session of UCLG Africa’s Executive Committee

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The Executive Committee and the Pan-African Council of UCLG Africa attended ordinary sessions by video conference, on Monday 07 December 2020.

The session of the Executive committee was mainly devoted to the adoption of UCLG Africa’s budget and 2021 work plan, whilst the session of the Pan-African Council primarily focused on the 2021-2030 ten-year strategic plan of the organization (GADDEPA 2.0). Sessions were led by Dr. Mohamed Boudra, Mayor of Al Hoceima, President of the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Communal Councils (AMPCC), Vice-President of UCLG Africa, and President of UCLG World.

The opening speech of the Executive committee was made by General Mahmoud Shaarawy, Minister of Local Development of the Arab Republic of Egypt in the presence of Ms. Soham El Wardini, Mayor of Dakar (Senegal), Vice-President of UCLG Africa for the West Africa Region; Mr. Uwimana Innocent, President of RALGA (Rwanda), Vice-President of UCLG Africa for the East Africa Region; Ms. Dao Macoura, Mayor of Foumbolo (Côte d’Ivoire), President of REFELA (Network of locally elected women in Africa); General Khaled Abdel Aal, Governor of Cairo (Egypt); Ms. Fatimetou Abdel Malick, President of the Regional Council of Nouakchott (Mauritania); and Mr. Jean-Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of UCLG Africa.

General Mahmoud Shaarawy welcomed the cooperation between his country, Egypt, and UCLG Africa and announced the signing of the Headquarters Agreement for the North Africa regional office of UCLG Africa, which is scheduled for February 2021 in Cairo (Egypt). “In addition, we would like to reiterate our call to host the second edition of the conference, ‘African cities, locomotive of sustainable development’, to continue the momentum of the first edition, organized in June 2019. We are eager to emerge from this Covid crisis to find out how our African cities have been able to face this major challenge. I would like to express our support for the celebration of Rabat as African Capital of Culture for 2020-2021. Rabat is a historic city that has contributed to the enrichment of Arab and African culture through the ages. I take the opportunity to report that we are continuing the work for the signing and ratification by our country of the African Charter of the Values ​​and Principles of Decentralization, Local Governance and Local Development and of the Civil Service Charter of the African Union. We will let you know once the process is complete.”

The Executive Committee adopted the 2021 budget and work plan of UCLG Africa and approved the activity report of the general secretariat for the period from June to November 2020 and the budget execution report, dated 30 October 2020.

Read more.

Recommandations of the 4th Edition of the African Forum of Territorial Managers and Training Institutes Targeting the Local Government (FAMI 4 )

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The 4th Edition of the African Forum of Territorial Managers and Training Institutes Targeting the Local Government (FAMI 4 ) brought together from 23 to 28 November 2020 nearly 686 participants on the Zoom Platform, 33%  were women, representing , 33 African countries and 12 non-African countries: Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Nepal, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, USA.

The theme of the meeting was : “Promoting Effective, Ethical, Transparent, and Accountable Local Public Institutions in Africa to act and impact the Decade of Action ” . FAMI was punctuated by an official opening, 5 Plenary Sessions, 6 Parallel Workshops, a Meeting of the Local Africa HRNet, the holding of the 5th Meeting of the Academic Council of ALGA of UCLG-Africa and a Virtual Excursion to discover the Potential, the Structuring Projects, the Heritage and Culture of the Region Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima.

The following recommandations were made by the participants:

1) The Political Will: “Zero Tolerance to Corruption and the Corrupt”, Acting by Example, Setting the Example
(Corruption is not and should not be African; corruption should not exist in our Communities)
2) Work, Promote and Anchor the Moralization of Public Life.
3) To have solid, responsible and respectful Institutions of the Rule of Law, Law and Order.
4) Respect for ethical principles and values in all institutions and in all spheres of governance.
5) Promote, Respect and Anchor Participatory and Inclusive Approaches.

6) Understand, appropriate and implement the New Principles of Effective Governance.
7) Investing in Human Capital at all Levels (Education, Socialization, Training, Capacity Building, Tutoring, Mentoring, Peer Learning, Case Studies, Good Practices, Networking, putting an end to the Assistantship Spirit and Learning to Count on Self, ….).
8) Have Principles, Institutions, procedures and mechanisms to anchor and respect Accountability.
9) Have an enabling environment and holistic and systemic approaches.
10) Transform Leadership at all levels.

Read the full report of the forum here.

A multi-level structured dialogue on climate finance: the untapped potential of investments in mitigation and adaptation at the subnational level

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As part of its participation in the work of LOCs4Africa, a session was organized by UCLG Africa, in partnership with ICLEI and CoM SSA, on vertical governance under the theme,     A multi-level structured dialogue on climate finance: the untapped potential of investments in mitigation and adaptation at the subnational level.

The session, organized in two parts, was moderated by Stéphane M. Pouffary, General Manager of ENERGIES 2050 and Mr. Mohamed Nbou, Director of the Climate Task Force at UCLG Africa, with the participation of the following panelists: Ms. Giorgia Rambelli and Mr. Andy Deacon (GCoM), Ms. Kobie Brand, Regional Director ( ICLEI Africa ), Mr. Frédéric Vallier, Secretary General (CEMR), as well as Mr. Mohamed Sefiani, Mayor of Chefchaouen and Co-President of the Climate Task Force of UCLG Africa and Mrs. Georgette Djenontin Daba, Climate Change Focal Point of the National Association of Communes of Benin (ANCB).

The efforts undertaken within the framework of the CoM SSA were the entry points of discussion to identify the salient points of the debate. Special thanks go to the CoM SSA initiative, the Climate Task Force of UCLG Africa, that has made it possible to institute an approach that structures and facilitates the establishment of a collaborative framework between a national government and the local governments. The CoM SSA was also the initiator of the proposal to revise the NDCs starting with the definition of Locally Determined Contributions (LDCs) through the establishment of a Structured Dialogue between the two levels of local and national decisions to achieve effective territorialization of NDCs.

This proposal for LDCs was endorsed by the Africa group at COP 25 in December 2019 in Madrid and is currently the subject of a pilot study in the Souss-Massa region in Morocco. The results of this pilot project will be presented during the Local Authorities Day, scheduled during COP 26 in November 2021 in Glasgow and will be disseminated to local authorities in Africa.

The LDC concept also aims to amplify the voice of African local authorities with regional and international financial institutions and mobilize the still poorly exploited potential at the local level for a better implementation of the Paris Accord.

Following this perspective, the main part of the session debate focused on the means of building bridges of climate finance and removing the obstacles and barriers to lay the foundations of a framework that will foster the pooling of efforts between the two decision-making levels, the national and local one, in order to speed up the pace of implementation of NDCs.

Read More.

24th Session of the Executive Committee of UCLG Africa

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On 7 December, 2020, the Executive Committee and the Pan-African Council of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) will meet in ordinary sessions by videoconference.

The Executive Committee will hold its 24th session at 10:00 am. This session will focus on the adoption of the 2021 budget and work plan of UCLG Africa.

The Pan-African Council will meet at 3:00 p.m. It will receive and give its orientations on the proposed ten-year strategic plan 2021-2030 of the continental organization of local governments (GADDEPA 2.0). It will also discuss the participation of members of UCLG Africa in the activities of the commissions and working groups of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).

The official ceremony of the meeting of the Executive Committee will be opened by General Mahmoud Shaarawy, Minister of Local Development of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

The two meetings will be chaired by Dr. Mohamed Boudra, Mayor of Al Hoceima, President of the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Communal Councils (AMPCC), Vice-President of UCLG Africa and President of UCLG World.

As a reminder, the Executive Committee of UCLG Africa is the body responsible for the political leadership of the organization. The Executive Committee has 16 members: 15 members representing each of the continent’s 5 regions, (i.e. 3 members for each of the 5 regions), to which is added the President of the Network of Locally Elected Women of Africa (REFELA), UCLG Africa’s commission on gender.

The Pan-African Council of UCLG Africa is the body responsible for the annual supervision of the management of UCLG Africa between the meetings of the General Assembly, which take place every three years within the framework of the Africities Summits. It has 45 active members, i.e. 9 for each African sub-region.

 

For further information please contact: 

Gaëlle Yomi: Phone : + 212 610 56 71 45

e-mail: gyomi@uclga.org 

Visit the UCLG Africa website :  www.uclga.org

4th edition of the African Forum of Managers and Territorial Development Institutes targeting Local Authorities (FAMI 4)

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From 23 to 28 November 2020, UCLG Africa through its African Local Government Academy (ALGA) is organizing the 4th edition of the African Forum of Territorial Managers and Training Institutes targeting Local and Subnational Governments (FAMI 4). The 2020 edition is held in a virtual format in partnership with the Region of Tangiers -Tetouan – Al Hoceima (Morocco).

More than a hundred participants from Africa and other continents around the world, will meet around the theme: “Promoting Responsible, Integral, Transparent, Effective and Accountable Local Public Institutions in Africa to act and impact the Decade of Action“, on the occasion of the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations (UN), of the International Civil Service Day (June 23), and of the African Anti-Corruption Day (July 11).

The Forum will be an opportunity to discuss the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16) at the local level, particularly in Africa, to discuss the obstacles and challenges that continue to hamper this implementation and share good practices and successful experiences contributing to the promotion and anchoring of responsible, transparent, honest, efficient and accountable local public institutions in order to resolutely head towards Sustainable Development. Particular emphasis will be placed on the different Targets of SDG 16, in this case the prevention and fight against corruption, the promotion of efficient public institutions, participation, inclusion, transparency, access information, accountability, and other issues.

In In 2020, the international community entered a decisive decade for the present and future of generations and for all life on this planet, and it was decided to make it a Decade of action and service for sustainable development. Achieving this goal inevitably requires an investment in human capital and particularly at the local level, as well as in good governance at all levels. Indeed, the Local Public Institutions embodied by Local or Subnational Governments have a decisive role to play within this framework in order to be real Actors of change able to act and impact the Decade of Action proclaimed., wanted and supported by all the components of the international community through the global agenda 2030 and the African Agenda 2063.

During the six days of the Forum, participants will benefit from plenary sessions, parallel workshops, information days, awareness-raising, capacity building and exchange of good practices on various themes related to the implementation of SDG 16. As usual, the Forum will also organize a virtual cultural excursion this time to discover the structuring projects of the region of Tangiers – Tetouan- Al Hoceima, its Monuments and its historical sites, its craftsmanship, its local products as well as its culinary art.

A special session will be marked by the presentation of the principles and strategies of effective governance to achieve the SDGs, moderated by Dr. Louis Meuleman, Member of the Committee of Experts of the United Nations Public Administration (UN-CEPA, 2018-2020), Policy and Governance Advisor, from Holland.

The following will take part in the event: Representatives of International Organizations, Representatives of States and National Governments, Local and Subnational Governments, National Associations of Local Governments, Local Elected Officials, African Territorial Managers, Universities and Training Institutions, representatives of the private sector, as well as the various components of civil society./.

 

For further information please contact:

Gaëlle Yomi : Phone: + 212 610 56 71 45

e-mail : gyomi@uclga.org

 

Tribute to Jerry Rawlings, friend of local Africa and advocate of the municipal movement

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The news of the death of the former President of the Republic of Ghana, HE Mr.  Jerry  John Rawlings on Thursday, November 12, 2020, has plunged the country, as well as the entire African continent in deep sorrow. Messages of condolence, pouring in from all sides, reflects the loss that Africa is suffering.  Jerry John (JJ) Rawlings was considered a remarkable political leader who stood out and marked his generation. “Africa has lost a stalwart of Pan-Africanism and a charismatic, continental statesman,” wrote the chairman of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat on Twitter.

A 7-day national mourning period has been decreed to pay homage to the one who ruled Ghana from 1981 to 2000. “A great tree has fallen and Ghana is poorer for this loss,” said the current president of the Republic of Ghana, HE Mr. Nana Akufo-Addo.

Jerry  John  Rawlings was a great advocate of the municipal movement in Africa and had always supported UCLG Africa in its main mission of promoting decentralization on the continent. In 2009, Rawlings gave the opening speech at the Africities 5 summit in Marrakech. He invited Africans to take care of their economic destiny by relying on local governments. “Decentralization is a system of power devolution that garners respect and confidence from the people who choose us as leaders. Decentralization allows for governments to share their burden with the ordinary people. This is what has been structured and elevated into what we call local government. Everything possible should be done to encourage local government. It shares the central government’s burden with the people, demystifies what governance is about and brings people in touch with the problems that central government faces.” (Read the full speech here).

JJ Rawlings received in 2013 a distinction from the Executive Committee political leadership of UCLG Africa for exceptional services rendered to the cause of decentralization and the unity of the municipal movement in Africa. He was one of the major players in the reconciliation of UCLG Africa in 2010 during its meeting in Abuja (Nigeria). He was made an honorary member of UCLG Africa along with His Excellency Mr. Nicephore Soglo, former President of the Republic of Benin, His Excellency Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, His Excellency Mr. Pedro Pires, former President of Cape Verde, His Excellency Mr. Thabo Mbeki, former President of the Republic of South Africa.

JJ Rawlings provided invaluable advice to UCLG Africa and to the Secretary General Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, including that in May 2018, as a prelude to the Africities 8 Summit.

The executive committee of UCLG Africa with JJ Rawlings in 2013 in Brazzaville during the award of the honorary degree (Congo)

 

JJ Rawling in 2016 in Accra, in audience with Mr. Khalifa Sall, President of UCLG Africa and Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, SG of UCLG Africa.

The municipality of Accra paid special tribute to Rawlings in its message posted on Facebook and acknowledged the extent to which Rawlings was a pioneer of decentralization in Ghana. “President Rawlings was the first President of the Fourth Republic. The history of contemporary decentralization can be credited to the former President Jerry John Rawlings’ administration.”

Jerry John Rawlings’ life counted and his ideas will continue to live on for future generations.

 

World Cities Day 2020 -Roundtable 1 on Towards Africities: Achieving the SDGs through Resilient Intermediate Cities in Africa (Video)

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