A delegation of the French Agency for Development (AFD), including Mr. François Tirot, Head of the Division “Local communities and urban development” and Ms.

Marie Bjornson-Langen, project manager, attended working sessions at the Headquarters of UCLG Africa in Rabat, Morocco, within the framework of a preparatory mission for a structured partnership with the Panafrican Organization.
These meetings, which were held from 29 to 30 April 2013, aimed at presenting the actions and strategic orientations of UCLG Africa as well as their context of intervention in order to identify areas of common interest and to understand the expectations of the organization vis-à-vis the AFD within the framework of a strategic and structured partnership that goes beyond the ad hoc partnership.

Four highlights marked this mission:

– A working session of the Delegation of AFD with UCLG Africa, the afternoon of April 29;
– A working session of the Delegation of AFD with the Committee on Local Finance for Development (CLFD) of UCLG, the afternoon of April 29;
– A working session of the Delegation of AFD with the NGO Echos Communication, on the initiative of the territorial coaching project, regarding its concrete implications, the afternoon of April 29;
– A field visit took place in the city of Salé, on the site of a territorial coaching project, the morning of April 30

With a mission to promote the financing of local governments, the Committee on Local Finances for Development (CLFD) deploys a number of “pilot” activities on the African

continent, with the intention to extend them to all sections of UCLG.
Africities Summit in Dakar gave the opportunity to the Committee on Local Finances to encompass and coordinate a network of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) from over 30 African cities.
Thanks to this network, it has been possible to gather financial data on these cities and launch, in conjunction with UCLG Africa, an operation on a larger scale covering the “state of local finances in Africa”: the objective is to collect financial and institutional data for six cities per country by relying on CFOs network members. This study is a test phase for the observatory of local finances whose feasibility study is conducted jointly. Analyzes produced by this tool should help to strengthen the advocacy for financial and budgetary autonomy of Local Governments.
Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA), an evaluation framework for financial management, has been presented to the CFO’s gathered in Dakar as a tool for capacity building for Local Governments. It has already been implemented in 5 African Local Governments. By highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of local management, this methodology allows better targeting of actions to be taken under a program of capacity building, ensures the possible coordination of donors, as well as identifies national reforms that will help increase local governments capacities for financial management. This evaluation also promotes Local Governments‘s access to loans. A PEFA training program for CFOs is being developed with the CLFD partners.
During Africities, the network of CFOs also participated to a session on funding local infrastructures by the Land Value. A first pilot project on the latter subject has emerged. CLFD could launch, in connection with the Global Fund for Cities Development, a more ambitious program that capitalizes on past experiences and helps disseminate later, on a large scale, a methodological guide, much-anticipated by the professionals who attended this workshop.
A partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) is currently being formalized within the context of the implementation of the urban strategy of the AfDB. A side event jointly organized by UCLG Africa and CLFD will be held at the Annual Meetings of the AfDB in May in Marrakech, and will highlight the challenges of development and financing of Local Governments.
The Africities Summit was also an opportunity for CLFD to broaden its activities to other regional sections of UCLG thanks to the participation of a CFO of a Mexican city. He participated in the sessions and gave to the Committee a number of financial information on the city. He is the first focal point of the CLFD in the region.
The committee is also in contact with several countries in the Mediterranean area. Invited by the Mayor of Rabat, President of CLFD, the Marseille Center for Mediterranean Integration organized a seminar dedicated to municipal finance. It was an opportunity to discuss issues related to the financial autonomy of Local Governments in the region and promote a platform of knowledge on urbanization in the Mediterranean space.

Development should include a territorial approach: Statement of Local Governments to the UN Habitat Council

Mr. Muchadeyi Masunda, Co-President of UCLG and Mayor of Harare , representing UNACLA delivered the statement of local and regional governments before the Plenary of the 24th Session of the UN Habitat Governing Council.
Mr. Masunda stated that “The Urban Agenda will need to be people-centered, bridge the rural urban divide and understand urbanization as a territorial issue not limited to urban centers. It will need to put cohesion among territories at the forefront acknowledging important metropolization processes that are taking place and positive effects in development, as well as the increasing role of intermediate cities in developing countries. It will further need to recognize culture as a fundamental cornerstone for development”.
The 2013 Session of this Council is of particular importance in view of the upcomingHabitat III Conferencein 2016 that will define the international urban agenda. The focus of this Session will be on “sustainable urban development: the role of cities in creating improved economic opportunities for all, with special references to youth and gender”.