ALGA, a committed actor for investment in the Human Capital of African Territorial Governments through learning, training and capacity building
In the Margin of the Regional Strategic Meeting of UCLG-Africa in West Africa and the
organization of the 1st Focus Group of Observatory of Human Resources of Territorial
Governments in Africa, a delegation of UCLG-Africa and the African Local Government
Academy (ALGA) led by its Director Dr. Najat ZARROUK, carried out an institutional visit
day to anchoring Institutes of ALGA based in Ghana, as well as to NALAG and to the West
African Regional Office of UCLG Africa on Thursday, May 31, 2018 in Accra, Ghana.
In accordance with the program of this visit, the Director and her delegation visited the
following offices and training institutes:
– Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) ;
– West African Regional Office of UCLG Africa ,
– The headquarter of National Association and Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) ;
– Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS);
– Urban Management Institute (UMI).
The purpose of these visits is to fulfill the mandate and visions of the Academy which are to empower the Members and Networks of UCLG Africa through Learning, Training, Capacity Building, Networking, Benchmarking, Sharing Knowledge and Best Practices and making the most of Partnerships, Cooperations and Collaborations.
It was therefore necessary to visit the anchoring institutes based in Ghana, such as ILGS and UMI, and one of the members of UCLG-Africa (NALAG) as well as the Regional Office, and to identify and extend the ALGA Network of Institutes in the Region.
The day started with a visit to GIMPA. Dr. Najat ZARROUK and her delegation met with Professor Samuel ADAMS, Dean of the School of Public Services and Governance and his team; then they were received in audience by Professor Philip DUKU OSEI, Vice Rector of GIMPA.
During the interview which took place in a spirit of frankness and conviviality, a presentation of the activities of the two Structures was reviewed as well as different opportunities of collaboration and possible partnership. In this regard, it was emphasized during the various exchanges the importance of capacity building at Local level, guaranteeing the success of the implementation of the different African and World Agendas.
Thus, the meeting was an occasion to agree on the preparation of a draft Partnership Agreement between the two institutions. This draft will be prepared by the Academy and will be soon submitted to the attention of GIMPA. This was followed by a visit to the Campus including the Distance Learning Center, the elearning, the Conference and the Accommodation Centers for Participants. The program of the day was then punctuated by the visit of the West African Regional Office, led by Mrs. Juliet SALE MEKONE, Regional Director, and the visit of the NALAG
Office.
Finally, the delegation of the Academy continued with the visit of its two Anchoring Institutes in Ghana, where it was received respectively:
– Within ILGS, by Dr. Margaret SACKEY, Head of the Local Governance Administration Department and Dr. Frederick AGYARKO ODURO, Head of the Urban and Environmental Management Department and
– Within UMI, by Dr Prosper DZANSI, Executive Director of the Urban Management Institute (UMI) and his team.
These two visits are part of an approach to implement the Partnership Agreements already signed with these two Institutes in 2016. They discussed the various aspects of collaboration in progress, in particular the ILGS Accreditation process, the preparation of the launch of the Executive Master in Management of Cities of the Academy as well as the strengthening and identification of new projects that can be carried out together, such as: the organization of Side Events, the setting up of joint on-site training, the definition of new training topics on which each Institute has expertise so that it can be identified as “Center of Expertise of Excellence” in the field.
It was also an opportunity to raise the question of the delay in the transmission of Training Modules by ILGS and UMI to ALGA of the Executive Master in Management of Cities, and this, in accordance with the commitments made at the Seminar of harmonization and coherence held in Rabat in March 2018.
In the permanent will of the Academy to serve and respond to the needs of the African Territorial Governments, Dr. ZARROUK specified the importance of developing partnerships with the Anchoring Institutes to promote relevant joint actions. In the end, these visits allowed the various parties to further strengthen not only their dialogue but also the relationships of mutual understanding and trust that bind them together.
During these various visits, documentation was provided by the ALGA team for the marketing on its various activities./.
