Southern Africa Regional Caucus of UCLG Africa: The Subnational and Local Governments of the region chose their representative for the governance bodies of UCLG Africa and expressed their rejection of xenophobia (PRESS RELEASE)
United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) held its regional caucus for the Southern Africa Region, in Pretoria (South Africa), on 14 & 15 March 2022 at Capital Menlyn Maine Hotel.
9 out of the 10 countries of the Region participated in the meeting organized in collaboration with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). These countries were represented by the Chairpersons and Permanent Secretaries of the National Associations of Subnational and Local Governments, as well as the Chairpersons of the country chapters of the Network of Locally Elected Women of Africa (REFELA), and a representative of young elected officials that should be part of the Network of young local elected officials (YELO).
The proceeding witnessed the presence of Ms. Thembisile Nkadimeng, Deputy Minister, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA); Cllr Bheki Stofile, President of SALGA; Mr. Jeffrey Sibisibi, President of the Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA) also Vice-President, UCLG Africa, Southern Africa Region; Mr. Joe Ager, Representative of the Governor, Kisumu County in Kenya; and Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General, UCLG Africa.
For this fifth and last in a series of regional caucuses organized in preparation for the 9th edition of the Africities Summit to be held from 17 to 21 May 2022 in Kisumu, Kenya, members benefited from an intensive informative session on Africa Territorial Agency (ATA), a special purpose vehicle to facilitate access of subnational and local governments to the financial market. The session on ATA was held in hybrid mode and provided to local authorities from other African regions the opportunity to participate in the discussions. A call was made to mobilize voluntary subnational and local governments to be part of the Club of Founding Members of ATA, whose meeting is contemplated in the framework of the upcoming Africities Summit in Kisumu. The Founding Members of ATA are the 100 subnational and local governments that volunteer to participate in ATA cooperative society by contributing 100,000 euros each in order to collect 10 million euros that will represent 50.1% of the ATA capital, making it a tool controlled by the beneficiaries of its lending activities.
The caucus also addressed the political priorities that the Southern Africa Region wishes to debate during the Africities proceedings. It also discussed and agree on key questions that the leaders of subnational and local governments of the Southern Africa Region propose to ask to ministers and to development partners in order to improve of their delivery capacity, and in particular for the implementation of the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda and of Agenda 2063 in intermediary cities of Africa. The leaders of subnational and local governments of the Region also discussed their contribution to the special events to be held during the Summit, namely: the Climate Day; the Diaspora Day; the Culture Day; the Digital Day; the Urban Development Day; the Housing Day; the Women’s Day; the Youth Day; and the Africities investment Forum. The Regional caucus asked also to launch a reflection at Africities in Kisumu on the role of cities and territories in the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The participants also issued a strong declaration against xenophobia. “We, the leaders of subnational local governments in Southern Africa gathered in Pretoria, Republic of South Africa, under the auspices of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), the Pan African Organization of local and regional governments, observe with grave concern the unprecedented and unacceptable growing actions against migrants carried out in the country with more planned in the coming weeks”. (Read the full declaration here).
The other aim of the caucus was also to designate the candidates of the Southern Africa Region on the governing bodies of 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 Southern 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). The caucus also designated the candidate from the Southern Africa Region to run for the position of UCLG World Co-President.
Hereafter are the nominees on the different bodies of UCLG Africa, REFELA, and YELO and UCLG World.
CANDIDATES OF SOUTHERN AFRICA REGION ON THE UCLG AFRICA GOVERNING BODIES
| PAN AFRICAN COUNCIL | ||
| Organization Nominated | Alternate Member | |
| 1 | Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA) | Zimbabwe Local Government Association |
| 2 | South Africa Local Government Association (SALGA) | Eswatini Local Government Association |
| 3 | City of Kwe Kwe | ANAMM – Associação Nacional dos Municípios de Moçambique |
| 4 | Association of Local Authorities of Namibia (ALAN) | City of Livingstone |
| 5 | Malawi Local Government Association (MALGA) | City of Windhoek |
| 6 | City of Matsapha – Eswatini | Lesotho Association of Local Authorities (LALA) |
| 7 | City of Massinga – Mozambique | Angola Association of Local Authorities |
| 8 | Lesotho Association of Local Authorities (LALA) | City of Gaborone |
| 9 | Local Government Association of Zambia (LGAZ) | City of Ethekwini (Durban) |
| Executive Committee | ||
| 1 | Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA) | Zimbabwe Local Government Association |
| 2 | South Africa Local Government Association (SALGA) | Eswatini Local Government Association |
| 3 | City of Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe | ANAMM – Associação Nacional dos Municípios de Moçambique |
| Vice President of the Southern Africa Region | ||
| Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA) | ||
| Financial Management Committee | ||
| Malawi Local Government Association (MALGA) | City of Windhoek | |
| Electoral Commission | ||
| City of Mbabane – Eswatini | ||
| CANDIDATE FOR UCLG World CO-PRESIDENT | ||
| Cllr Bhekhe STOFILE
President – South African Local Government Association (SALGA) |
||
Result of the REFELA Caucus
The 9 candidates from the Southern Africa Region for the Pan-African Council of REFELA
| Office holder | Substitute | |
| 1 | Municipio Mandlakazi (Mozambique) | Assemblea BOANE (Mozambique) |
| 2 | Lobatse Town Council (Botswana) | South East Council (Botswana) |
| 3 | Otjiwarongo Municipality (Namibia) | TBD |
| 4 | Lilongwe City (Malawi) | TBD |
| 5 | Maseru City Council (Lesotho) | Maseru City Council (Lesotho) |
| 6 | Lufwanyama District Council (Zambia) | Shangombo Town Council (Zambia) |
| 7 | Lupane Municipality (Zimbabwe) | Murewa (RDC) |
| 8 | Ezulwini Municipality (Eswatini) | TBD |
| 9 | Ms. Flora Maboa Boltman (South Africa) | Chairperson of SALGA Women’s Commission (South Africa) |
The 3 candidates from Southern Africa Region to sit on the REFELA Board
| Office holder | |
| 1 | Lobatse Town Council (Botswana) |
| 2 | Municipio Mandlakazi (Mozambique) |
| 3 | Lufwanyama District Council (Zimbabwe) |
Candidates
| Regional Vice-President of REFELA | |
| 1 | Municipio Mandlakazi (Mozambique) |
| Electoral Commission | |
| 1 | Ezulwini Municipality (Eswatini) |
Result of the YELO Caucus
The 9 candidates from Southern Africa Region for the YELO Pan-African Council
| Office holder | Substitute | |
| 1 | Chipata City (Zambia) | TBD |
| 2 | Berea Kanana Council (Lesotho) | TBD |
| 3 | Chegutu (Zimbabwe) | TBD |
| 4 | Blantyre (Malawi) | TBD |
| 5 | Pigg’s Peak (Eswatini) | TBD |
| 6 | TBD (Mozambique) | TBD |
| 7 | TBD (South Africa) | TBD |
| 8 | TBD (Botswana) | TBD |
| 9 | TBD (Namibia) | TBD |
The 3 candidates of Southern Africa Region for the YELO Board
| Office holder | Substitute | |
| 1 | Chipata City (Zambia) | TBD |
| 2 | Chegutu (Zimbabwe) | TBD |
| 3 | Blantyre (Malawi) | TBD |
| Regional Vice-President of YELO | |
| 1 | Chipata City (Zambia) |
Press contact:
Gaëlle Yomi: Tel: +212 6 10 56 71 45
e-mail: gyomi@uclga.org