Eastern Africa Regional Caucus of UCLG Africa: Kisumu County supported by the Subnational and Local Governments of the East Africa Region to contest for UCLG Africa President (PRESS RELEASE)
United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) held his regional caucus for the Eastern Africa Region from 7 to 8 March 2022, in Nairobi (Kenya) at Safari Park Hotel. The meeting was organized in collaboration with the Council of Governors (CoG) of Kenya, the Kisumu County Government and the Ministry of Devolution of Kenya.
Subnational and local governments associations of 8 countries out of the 11 countries of the region took part to the caucus. They were the chairpersons and permanent secretaries of the national associations of subnational and local governments of the East African countries, as well as the chairpersons of the country chapters of the Network of Locally Elected Women of Africa (REFELA) and the Network of Young Locally Elected Officials of Africa (YELO). The caucus was held in preparation of the 9th edition of the Africities Summit scheduled from 17 to 21 May 2022 in Kisumu, Kenya. The theme of the Summit is: « The Role of Intermediary Cities of Africa in the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations and the African Union´s Agenda 2063 ».
The caucus was officially opened on March 7th 2022, by Hon Eugene Wamalwa, Cabinet Secretary for Defense, in presence of : Hon. Ndegwa WAHOME, MBS, Chairman of County Assemblies Forum, H.E Prof. Peter ANYANG’ NYONG’O, Governor, Kisumu County and Representative of the Chairperson of the Council of Governors (CoG), Cllr Innocent UWIMANA, Vice President of East Africa Region, UCLG Africa, Mr. Julius KORIR, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Devolution, Mr. Oumar SYLLA, Director, African Office, UN-HABITAT and Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General, UCLG Africa.
The different allocutions highlighted the importance of the coming Africities Summit as a platform for dialogue on decentralization in Africa, exchange on best practices on the governance of African cities and territories across Africa, interaction between subnational and local government authorities with various stakeholders such as ministers, civil society, academia, private sector or development partners.
For the first time, the Africities Summit will be held in an intermediary city. The Governor of Kisumu is of the view that the success of this summit will open the door to other intermediary cities in future to host the event.
In his opening address, Hon Eugene Wamalwa, called on all the Member States from the East African Region, to be present in Kisumu. He also expressed his expectation that, in the framework of this caucus, the Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Devolution, and UCLG Africa sign the agreement establishing the East Africa Regional Office of UCLG Africa ( EARO) in Nairobi.
The two days of the caucus have allowed the participants to discuss the main agenda items of the Africities Summit in Kisumu and the way the East Africa Region should be present in the proceedings of the Summit. A special attention was called on the need for subnational and local governments of the East Africa Region to define the priority issues they want to put forward during the Summit’s debates, the 5 questions they wish to table to ministers on the one hand, to development partners on the other hand, urging the tripartite dialogue Roundtable scheduled on 21 May 2022. They also discussed the contribution of the Region in the special events organized during the Summit, namely, Climate Day; Diaspora Day; Digital Day; Culture Day; Urban Planning Day; Housing Day; Women’s Day; Youth Day; and Africities Investment Forum. For this last special event subnational and local government authorities from East Africa were requested to identify priority projects to be presented to investors for their financing. The Africa Territorial Agency, a special purpose vehicle aiming at facilitating access of African cities and territories to the financial market was also presented and discussed.
Furthermore, the participants received a presentation on the UCLG Africa e-learning platform which aims to support local authorities of the continent in their digitalization process. Seemingly a presentation of the UCLG Africa Trombino platform allowed the participants to appreciate the urgency to be present on the Internet in an organized manner to take advantage of the branding and territorial marketing possibilities offered by this tool. Cities and territories were called upon to be on the Trombino platform and participate in its update.
The other aim of the caucus was also to designate the candidates of the East Africa Region on the governing bodies of the UCLG Africa, REFELA and YELO to be elected during the general assemblies of these entities scheduled during the Africities Summit in May 2022 in Kisumu, Kenya.
The Eastern Africa region has designated its 9 candidates to sit on the Pan-African Council of Local Authorities, which has 45 members in total (9 per region); its 3 candidates to sit on the Executive Committee of UCLG Africa, which has 15 members in total (3 per region), and its candidate on the UCLG Africa Presidency, which has 5 members, (one Vice-President per region). The same process was followed for REFELA and YELO. The caucus also designated the candidate of the region to be among the 5 members of the Financial Management Committee of UCLG Africa, and the representative of the region on the Electoral Commission set up to supervise the electoral operations for each of the above entities (UCLG Africa; REFELA; YELO).
Hereafter are the nominations on the different bodies of UCLG Africa, REFELA, and YELO.
The 9 candidates from Eastern Africa to sit on the UCLG Africa Pan-African Council
| Office holder
|
Substitute | |
| 1 | County Government of Kisumu (Kenya) | City of Djibouti |
| 2 | Rwanda Association of Local Governments Authorities (RALGA, Rwanda) | Association of Mayor of Comoros
|
| 3 | District of Victoria (Seychelles) | Association of Local Authorities of Mauritius |
| 4 | County Assemblies Forum (CAF, Kenya) | Ethiopian Cities Association(ECA) |
| 5 | Association of Local Authorities of Tanzania (ALAT, Tanzania) | Kampala City (Uganda) |
| 6 | City of Antananarivo (Madagascar) | Bujumbura City (Burundi) |
| 7 | Region of Anjouan (Comoros) | Uganda Local Government Association (ULGA) |
| 8 | City of Kapchorwa (Uganda) | Kigali City (Rwanda) |
| 9 | Association des Communes du Burundi” (ACO Burundi ) | City of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) |
The 3 candidates from Eastern Africa to sit on the Executive Committee of UCLG Africa
| Office holder | Substitute | |
| 1 | County Government of Kisumu (Kenya) | City of Djibouti |
| 2 | Rwanda Association of Local Governments Authorities (RALGA, Rwanda) | Association of Mayor of Comoros |
| 3 | District of Victoria (Seychelles) | Association of Local Government of Mauritius |
Candidates
| Regional Vice-President of UCLG Africa | |
| 1 | County Government of Kisumu (Kenya) |
| Financial Management Commission | |
| 1 | Association des Communes du Burundi” (ACO Burundi) |
| Electoral Commission | |
| 1 | A city of Kenya (Name will be give before the 17 May by the County Assemblies Forum (CAF) |
The caucus decided also that the Kisumu County Government, the candidate of the East Africa Region to sit on the UCLG Africa Presidency will also be candidate for the seat of UCLG Africa President.
Result of the REFELA Caucus
The 9 candidates from the Eastern Africa region for the Pan-African Council of REFELA
| Office holder | Substitute
|
|
| 1 | Council of Governors (CoG) of Kenya | City of Nairobi (Kenya) |
| 2 | Rwanda Association of Local Governments Authorities (RALGA, Rwanda) | Gitega City, Burundi |
| 3 | Association of Local Authorities of Tanzania (ALAT, Tanzania) | Masaka City, Uganda |
| 4 | “Association des Communes du Burundi” (ACO Burundi) | Singida Municipality, Tanzania |
| 5 | Uganda Local Government Association (ULGA) | ADV, Seychelles |
| 6 | Holota City ( Ethiopia) | ECA, Ethiopia |
| 7 | Association of the Mayors of Madagascar Large Cities (AMGVM) | Madagascar – City |
| 8 | City of Djibouti (Djibouti) | ANCLD, Djibouti( Djibouti national Association of Local Governments) |
| 9 | National Association of Mayors of the Comoros(ANMC) | Huye City, Rwanda |
The 3 candidates from Eastern Africa to sit on the REFELA Board
| Office holder | Substitute | |
| 1 | Council of Governors (CoG) of Kenya | TBD |
| 2 | Association of Local Authorities of Tanzania (ALAT, Tanzania) | TBD |
| 3 | Rwanda Association of Local Governments Authorities (RALGA, Rwanda) | TBD |
Candidates
| Regional Vice-President of REFELA | |
| 1 | Rwanda Association of Local Governments Authorities (RALGA, Rwanda) |
| Electoral Commission | |
| 1 | Council of Governors (CoG) of Kenya |
Result of the YELO Caucus
The 9 candidates from Eastern Africa for the YELO Pan-African Council
| Office holder | Substitute
|
|
| 1 | Association of District of Victoria(ADV, Seychelles), | TBD |
| 2 | Council of Governors (CoG, Kenya) | TBD |
| 3 | National Association of Mayors of the Comoros(ANMC, Comoros) | TBD |
| 4 | Association des Communes du Burundi” (ACO Burundi), | TBD |
| 5 | Association of Local Authorities of Tanzania (ALAT, Tanzania) | TBD |
| 6 | Ethiopian Cities Association (ECA) | TBD |
| 7 | Rwanda Association of Local Governments Authorities (RALGA, Rwanda) | TBD |
| 8 | Uganda Local Government Association (ULGA, Uganda) | TBD |
| 9 | Association of the Mayors of Madagascar Large Cities (AMGVM). | TBD |
The 3 candidates of Eastern Africa for the YELO Board
| Office holder | Substitute | |
| 1 | Association of District of Victoria (ADV, Seychelles). | TBD |
| 2 | Council of Governors (CoG, Kenya) | TBD |
| 3 | National Association of Mayors of the Comoros(ANMC, Comoros) | TBD |
| Regional Vice-President of YELO | |
| 1 | Association of District of Victoria (ADV, Seychelles). |
Celebration of International Women’s Day
On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, participants received a video message by Mrs. Macoura Dao, President of the Network of Locally Elected Women of Africa (REFELA). In her address she highlighted that beyond the celebration, of March 8, a deep questioning should be made on the role of women in society, on the effectiveness of their rights, and on the challenges that still need to be taken up so that equality between women and men is a source of opportunities now and for the future. All women present at the caucus meeting received a gift in the framework of the celebration of the International Day of Women Rights.
Press contact: Gaëlle Yomi: Tel: +212 06 10 56 71 45/ E-mail: gyomi@uclga.org / www.uclga.org
