Saidia Declaration -2nd Edition of the African Forum of Territorial Managers and Training Institutes targeting Territorial Governments in Africa

PARTICIPANTS IN THE SECOND EDITION OF THE AFRICAN FORUM OF TERRITORIAL MANAGERS AND TRAINING INSTITUTES TARGETING TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES held in Saïdia on 25 and 26 April 2018 on the theme: “Mobilizing for the Human Capital Development of Territorial Governments: a key requirement for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals “:

* Aware that the fate of Africa is now playing out in its regions, cities and territories, depending on how they contribute to the promotion of employment and income-generating economic activities, whether or not they adopt economic growth dynamics respectful of the requirements of sustainable development, and whether or not they succeed in safeguarding the feeling of solidarity and justice both within communities and between communities;

* Taking into account the increasingly important role that local and territorial Governments play in managing the multiple challenges Africa is facing pertaining: peace and security; uncontrolled urbanization; climate change; migration, youth expectations, discrimination against women; endemic public debt, technological catch up, etc.;

* Convinced of the strategic importance of local governments human resources in the development and implementation of public policies, as well as the urgent special attention they should be given in order that decentralization policies gain credibility in Africa;

* Convinced that current actions in the field of human resources management and skills development of territorial administrations are characterized by numerous shortcomings which limit their effects, and remain, in any case, still lower than the required levels to effectively support implementation of the SDGs;

DECLARE THAT:

1. We stress the urgent need for modern management of the human resources of the territorial governments of Africa, in order to improve the quality and the performance of the services offered to the populations as well as the contribution of the African communities to the implementation of the African Union Agenda 2063 and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and other global agendas adopted by the United Nations in 2015 and 2016.

2. We draw the attention of national governments, African Union leaders and the international community to the need to place the issue of training of human resources and the enhancement of the professions of local authorities on top of the priorities of the decentralization policies with a view to gradually making them one of the preferred options for young people entering the professional life.

3. We reiterate our support for the African Local Governments Academy (ALGA) set up by UCLG Africa, and call on national governments, national associations of local governments, and development partners to recognize it as the institution of reference to develop the skills of the senior staff of territorial administrations for improving performance, methods and tools in the management of human resources of these administrations.

4. We ask UCLG Africa to take appropriate initiatives to ensure that the Academy contributes to ordering the accreditation and empowerment of African training institutes targeting local authorities, and to collaborate with African institutions dedicated to capacity building of public administrations such as the Africa Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and the African Association of Public Administration Management (AAPAM).

5. We call for the establishment of a permanent mechanism for financing the job training of the personnel of the territorial administrations of Africa in all the States of the continent, which we propose to be fed by a levy of 1% the payroll paid to the said personnel.

6. We welcome the establishment of Local Governments Human Resources Managers, also called “Local Africa HR-NET”, and the appointment of the office bearers tasked its animation; and we support its framework for action as adopted by the members of this Network.

7. We encourage the Local Africa HR-NET to establish a peer review and learning mechanism among its members in order to enhance the collection, documentation and dissemination of experiences as well as the exchange of good practices in the field of management of territorial administrations in Africa.

8. We reiterate our willingness to participate and contribute to the strengthening of international cooperation between communities and regions of Africa in the field of capacity building and improvement of the management of human resources of territorial governments in order to boost solidarity and pool resources between the regions, cities and territories of Africa.

9. We congratulate the main actors of the Oriental Region, under the leadership of the Council of the Region and its President, for their priority commitment to the promotion of human capital and participatory democracy, particularly through the implementation of the Territorial Coaching program within the Region; and the development of South-South cooperation programs between African regions.

10. It is in recognition of these commendable efforts that we propose to make the Oriental Region the annual African meeting place to reflect on the human resources of territorial governments in Africa and propose reforms and accompanying measures in order to improve the professionalism and performance of the territorial administrations in Africa.

Done in Saïdia, Morocco, 26 April 2018.

THE PARTICIPANTS