|
Home |
Site Map |
FAQs |
Contact Us |
|
|
|
 |
|
| ..Home < News Items < @Cities Alliance e-Newsletter - June 2004 |
June, 2004 |
|
|
|
In This Issue >> Main News | News from the Partners | Upcoming Events | Cities Alliance Grant Approvals Update |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Mayors of São Paulo, Paris and Tshwane Elected first Presidents at UCLG Founding Congress
Representing over half the world's population, the cities and association members of United Cities and Local Governments represent over 120 countries across all the world regions. Over 100 cities are direct members of the UCLG, as well as 100 national associations, which represent all the cities and local governments in a single country. The headquarters of the organization are in Barcelona, Spain. The Congress, with its theme, "Cities, local governments; the future for development," was by all accounts a highly successful event, attended by almost 3000 mayors and local representatives from around the world. The Congress ended with the adoption of the official Founding Congress Declaration, setting out key issues and action points for the new global organisation. Identifying three priority action areas for action - Sustainable Development in a Globalising World; Decentralisation and Local Democracy; Cooperation and Diplomacy - the declaration outlined UCLG's renewed commitment to work with development partners and to organize local action to implement the Millennium Development Goals, including improving the living conditions of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020, in keeping with the Cities Without Slums MDG Target 11. The Cities Alliance hosted a workshop during the Congress on City Development Strategies, organized jointly with the UCLG. The workshop was designed to show how City Development Strategies (CDS) are helping cities both in planning for their future growth and in strengthening their decision-making processes to balance economic, social and environmental progress. Over the last five years, the Cities Alliance has supported CDS in more than 100 cities and in 25 countries in all regions. CDS case studies were presented at the workshop by four leading city managers who have successfully used CDS as a tool for urban poverty reduction in their respective cities, namely:
One striking feature of the presentations was the sense of ownership of their CDS process by the city managers, and their passion in promoting its efficacy as a tool for urban poverty reduction. Workshop participants responded to the presentations with keen interest, asking series of questions on methodologies, outcomes and challenges faced in guiding a successful CDS process. The World Bank Director of Transport and Urban Development, Maryvonne Plessis-Fraissard, facilitated the session, while Thierry Paulais, Director of Urban Development at the French Development Agency (AFD), was Respondent at the session. He reinforced the AFD view of the "CDS as a powerful tool for city planning and management." The creation of the UCLG will have a significant impact on the Cities Alliance, since the founding organisations of the UCLG were also founding members of Cities Alliance. The Presidents of World Federation of United Cities (Federation Mondiale des Cites Unies), International Union of Local Authorities, Metropolis and World Association of Cities and Local Authorities Coordination (WACLAC) all participated in the inaugural meeting of the Cities Alliance held in Berlin in December 1999, and the political heads of UCLG will now represent cities on the Cities Alliance Consultative Group. Many of the mayors who spoke at the Congress stressed how "the epicenter of poverty has shifted to cities," and the need to respond to this challenge with a stronger voice for local authorities. This challenge reinforces the importance of the UCLG-Cities Alliance partnership in attaining the Alliance's goal of improving the quality and impact of urban development cooperation and urban lending to help realise the rich promise of what well-managed cities can achieve. For more information on United Cities and Local Governments, please click here: http://www.cities-localgovernments.org/uclg/ Government of Vietnam Urban Upgrading Initiative Attracts Major World Bank Funding
The national upgrading initiative is itself instructive of how the necessary political will and commitment can nurture successful, sustainable urban upgrading programmes. The Vietnamese national upgrading programme was developed to address key policy changes that would be required to deal with an increasing rate of urbanisation, which is projected to change the face of the country over the next two decades - the urban population is expected to increased by 15 million by 2020. The Cities Alliance, at the request of the Government of Vietnam funded the development of a policy framework for the National Urban Upgrading Programme. The study leading up to this draft policy framework was undertaken between November 2001 to June 2002, and included a detailed analysis of the conditions of the poor living in cities in Vietnam, facilitating a more holistic comprehension of the problems to help guide key decisions on how to meet the needs of the urban poor in Vietnam. The study drew on past and current urban upgrading experience from countries as diverse as Indonesia, Pakistan, Ghana and Swaziland and involved various stakeholders in the design of the Vietnamese urban upgrading programme in considering what kinds of urban upgrading programmes are appropriate for Vietnam's cities and towns Community Upgrading Plans, developed in consultation with the poor in each of the four cities of the project areas contributed significantly to convincing central and local governments of the value of in-situ upgrading. Community members, who actively contributed to the project design, also agreed to contribute to capital costs, pay for household connections, and take responsibility for the operation and management of infrastructure and services in the Community Upgrading Plans. The Government of Vietnam is providing the credit funds mostly as grants to the four cities, and in order to expedite implementation, has decentralised project implementation to the local authorities and agencies, which are more familiar with the specific problems of the residents and the cities themselves. For more information on the Vietnam Urban Upgrading Project click here: www.worldbank.org/vn SACN State of the Cities Report takes a 'Hard Look' at South African cities
At the official launch ceremony for the Report in Buffalo City, Andrew Boraine, Chairperson of the SACN and Chief Executive of Cape Town Partnership said this collation firstly enables analyses of "how these trends are likely to evolve over time and what challenges and opportunities will arise;" secondly, it "assesses how city stakeholders are responding to these winds of change and acknowledges the important efforts that city leaders and decision makers are already making; and it thirdly, "speculates on how various trends may unfold, and what the likely medium to longer term outcome of these may be." The nine cities in the SACN account for 37% of the population of the country, and constitute a large proportion of the national economy." If we manage these nine cities properly, the national economy, effectively, will be looked after," said Boraine. Amongst the Report's conclusions are: the fact that Apartheid not only left its mark on the size and shape of urban populations by distorting where people lived, but also 'misshaped' the character of urban dwellers, warping attitudes to urban living by forcing millions of people into life strategies based on dual households and temporary migration form rural to urban areas and back again. There are encouraging signs of economic growth but disturbing increases in vulnerability for many. For example, while unemployment rates in the nine cities are 3.31 percent lower than the country's average, some cities reflect unemployment rates much higher than in most rural areas. This suggests, says the Report, that some city dwellers would be better off seeking employment in the rural areas. Despite significant advances in political inclusiveness and governance, there remains a huge gap that must be filled if the cities are to realise their promise of creating wealth. To address the problems of exclusion, poverty and sustainability, cities must embark on "bold proactive interventions," in which each stakeholder is prepared "to think outside the box of their traditional powers and functions, and work collectively to accomplish agreed city strategies." This includes developing and implementing poverty reduction strategies, developing social safety nets and helping the poor through vulnerable periods. Metropolitan governments should also seek to act as "city strategy leaders," able to form broad partnerships of stakeholders from the public and private sectors. The Report argues for an urban bias in the South African mindset, as being critical to the future of the country. Despite occupying less than 2 percent of the land area, the cities provide much of the resources, to support a better life for all citizens. It also warns that urban poverty is growing fast. So, to deal with vulnerability and to grow the wealth that can address the problem, the report, at least implicitly, makes a plea for devoting national resources to support urban economies. The Report had immediate impact in the Press, and in the Government of South Africa, generating diverse opinions and calls to action on the state of the cities. Writing in Business Day newspaper for example, Professor Alan Mabin of Wits University, a member of the African Network of Urban Management concludes, "the increasing concentration of wealth and poverty in our cities which the report depicts poses major challenges for SA." The Report has also galvanised government ministers to comment: the Minister for Housing, Lindiwe Sisulu recently quoted directly from the Report to stress renewed government' intention "to move towards a shack-free society. The difference now is that we are not dealing with intent, we will now be operational. There will be visible results within the timeframes we set ourselves." Cities Alliance funded the preparation and production of the Report, under "South African Cities Support and Learning Network (SACN)," as gratefully acknowledged in its Report. For more information on the SACN, click on the following link: http://www.sacities.net/ Brazil Formalises Membership of the Cities Alliance
Brazil is represented on the CG by its Ministry of Cities and by CAIXA Econômica Federal, which is providing financial support for Brazil's membership. At its October 2003 meetings in Sao Paolo, the CG had lowered the minimum annual contribution required for membership by developing country governments, from US$250,000 per year to US$50,000 (or the equivalent in local currency). Signing on behalf of the government of Brazil were the representatives of CAIXA Econômica Federal - Dr. Jorge Mattoso, President; Mr. Aser Cortines, Vice President; and Ms. Rosane Maia, International Affairs Adviser. Maryvonne Plessis-Fraissard, World Bank Director of Transport and Urban Development, signed on behalf of the World Bank, which administers the Cities Alliance Multi-Donor Trust Fund. For more on Brazil's Ministry of Cities, and on CAIXA Econômica Federal, click on: http://www.cidades.gov.br/; http://www.caixa.gov.br
GTZ's new Annual Report reinforces the soundness of the organization as a service provider in international cooperation for sustainable development The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) (German Technical Cooperation) was able once again last year to demonstrate the soundness of its positioning as a service provider in international cooperation for sustainable development. With its development concepts, the organisation is well-equipped to face future challenges. This was the conclusion of GTZ's managing directors as they presented the organisation's Annual Report 2003 titled - Good Governance - State and Society Shaping Development - at a press conference in Berlin on 25 May 2004. The Report notes that the organisation's increased performance and competitiveness are due to changes introduced in recent years: consistent decentralisation that has led to a compact and flexible field structure and 67 offices in partner countries; the introduction of the internationally recognised the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) system; improvements in knowledge management; and even more stringent attention to impacts in project and programme work. Major advances were also achieved in the area of staff restructuring: during the past year, negotiations were concluded for a fundamental and forward-looking reform of the collective agreement system, which the GTZ Supervisory Board approved in January 2004. The reform will mean standardised staffing arrangements in Germany and abroad, greater flexibility in the assignment of staff members, and salaries that are more strongly linked to performance and market conditions. In 2003, GTZ was active in 131 partner countries. Together, 1,430 staff members worked with 7,081 national personnel on 2,726 projects. Employees at GTZ Head Office in Eschborn near Frankfurt am Main numbered 1,042. Turnover increased marginally to EUR 885 million: a 1 percent increase over the previous year. The business sector GTZ International Services ("GTZ IS", formerly "reimbursable technical cooperation" or "technical cooperation for international clients") increased its turnover by 3.4 percent from the previous year to around EUR 123 million. GTZ is an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. It provides viable, forward-looking solutions for political, economic, ecological and social development in a globalised world. GTZ promotes complex reforms and change processes, often under difficult conditions. Its corporate objective is to improve people's living conditions on a sustainable basis. GTZ's main client is the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). For more information on the GTZ, click on this link: http://www.gtz.de/english/ PAB members get first hand experience of Thailand's housing upgrading programme
Somsook Boonyabancha, the Board's Chair and Director of the Community Organizations Development Institute (CODI), the public organisation under Thailand's Ministry of Social Development and Human Security which is deeply involved in the implementation of this national programme, had proposed holding the meeting in Bangkok so that the Board's international members might exchange experiences with some of the local communities and authorities involved. The Government of Thailand has undertaken to provide and facilitate housing delivery for one million households in five years, through two distinct programmes. Firstly, through the Baan Ua Arthorn (We Care) programme, the National Housing Authority will act as developer of subsidised houses and flats for those able to afford the monthly payment; and, secondly, the Baan Mankong (Secure Housing) programme will, through CODI, channel infrastructure subsidies and soft housing loans directly to poor communities for a variety of upgrading activities. The strategy underlying the unconventional and innovative Baan Mankong programme is having communities, and community networks, be the key actors in forging solutions to the housing problems in Thai cities. The programme enables poor communities to study the physical problems in their settlements, develop their own plans for resolving those problems and then implement those plans themselves, collectively, using infrastructure subsidies and low-income housing loans which they manage themselves. Struck by the power of community participation under the programme, PAB members found the visit rewarding and stimulating, and have pledged to continue these substantive exchanges in the future. For
more information on CODI, see http://www.codi.or.th/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=63&op=file&SubMenu=. UN-HABITAT urges greater economic role for African cities Alioune Badiane, Director of the Regional Office of the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) for Africa and Arab countries, has urged African countries to restructure their urban centres and improve their economic activities. "African countries collect more than half of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the cities. We must consolidate the economic position of cities, and by improving housing, infrastructure, sanitation, water supply and security, we can turn cities into agents of sustainable development," Badiane said at a workshop for the validation of the national plan of action for housing in Senegal. The call to greater economic action comes on the heels of the first meeting of the New Partnership for Africa (NEPAD) Cities Forum, held in Lagos in this May, which urged some 300 African city managers to promote sustainable economic growth and regional integration. The Sustainable NEPAD Cities Programme is a joint initiative of UN-HABITAT and the NEPAD Secretariat that seeks to engender in Africa a system whereby cities showcase the core values of the NEPAD initiative by being functional, economically efficient, equitable, environmentally sound, safe and secure. Cities currently pioneering the initiative are: Bamako (Mali), Douala (Cameroon), Durban (South Africa), Lagos (Nigeria), Lusaka (Zambia), Nairobi (Kenya) and Rabat (Morocco). Over 190 million city dwellers in Africa are living in irregular and unhealthy districts, deprived of pipe-borne water, power, and sanitation facilities. Badiane noted, "It's true that urbanisation can cause problems, but it can also be one of the solutions for the socio-economic development of African countries." Lamenting the current situation in several African countries, where "the city is viewed as a place of refuge for the poor and the shantytown phenomenon becomes more marked,' he called for a series of measures to reverse this situation. In the 1960s, UN-HABITAT's policy in Africa consisted in promoting housing by emphasising local construction materials, until it became evident, between 1976 and 1996, that such an approach did not tally with the continent's needs: "This policy did not resolve the huge problems of urbanisation confronting Africa. We failed to properly handle the management of our cities, which led to the creation of overpopulated cities with little facilities." He suggested better organisation of land sales, the development of urban land registries and the establishment of financing mechanisms likely to enable the underprivileged sections of the population to attain housing: "African countries must develop financing mechanisms such as housing banks in a bid to enable everybody to have access to housing. We must avoid creating cities for rich people, where the poor would be excluded."
IADF Conference on "Financing Municipalities and Sub National Governments," Washington DC, USA, September 30 to October 1, 2004. The International Association of Development Funds (IADF) will - in collaboration with USAID, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank - host a two-day Conference on "Financing Municipalities and Sub National Governments" in Washington DC from September 30 to 0ctober 1, 2004. The Conference will provide a unique opportunity for managers and staff of institutions that lend to local governments, investors, mayors, treasurers of local governments, public and private sector financial institutions to meet and discuss ways to improve the financing of capital improvement in emerging market cities and towns. Speakers will include prominent figures from the multilateral financing institutions, USAID, regional municipal fund managers from around the world, credit rating agencies, investment bankers, US bond banks, SRFs, and local government financing agencies from Canada and Europe. It will feature focused dialogues on new-pooled financing approaches being developed in Asia and Latin America, as well as regional meetings between members of the Latin American and Asian institutions which specialise in local government finance. The Cities Alliance is helping to organize a session at the Conference on "Local Government Constraints, Policies and Actions," slated for Friday October 1, 2004. The session, to be moderated by Dr. Rajivan Krishnaswamy, the Alliance's Senior Urban Finance Advisor, who is theformer CEO of the Tamil Nadu Urban Development Fund, and will feature several mayors and civic leaders who have guided their cities' efforts to access debt for infrastructure development. Interactions with panelists and participants will assess these experiences and lessons learned.
Cities Alliance Public Policy Forum in eThekwini (Durban), November 1 to 3, 2004 The 2004 Cities Alliance Public Policy Forum, to be hosted by eThekwini from November 1 to 3 will focus on the theme, "Making City Development Strategies Come Alive in South Africa." The Public Policy Forum (PPF), a pre-cursor to the Cities Alliance's annual two day meeting of the Consultative Group, provides a platform for the range of actors who support city development to share lessons learned from experience as well as policy options and standards of practice in areas related to the Alliance's goal of improving the living conditions of the urban poor. The Forum will aim at unpacking issues arising out of, and linked to the implementation of City Development Strategies, particularly as experienced by the nine member cities of the South African Cities Network (SACN). The lessons and challenges emerging out of the recently published "State of the Cities" Report will also form key focus for the deliberations, as will the consideration of issues arising from the provision of shelter, the promotion of economic development and financing of city strategies. Through this process, the Forum aims to address the opportunities and the challenges in implementing city development strategies. Details on the PPF Agenda will be posted on the 'Events' page of the Cities Alliance website (www.citiesalliance.org) as they become available.
Government of Vietnam's International Conference on City Development Strategies in Hanoi, November 24 to 26, 2004 Given its keen interest in supporting the contribution of cities to social and economic development, the Government of Vietnam will host an international conference on city development strategies (CDS), in Hanoi from 24 to 26 November 2004. The Conference will bring together mayors from around the world with their development agency partners to learn from the experience and impacts of CDS. Over the last five years the Cities Alliance has supported over 100 cities in carrying out CDS, where Alliance members have supported mayors and civic leaders to develop long term visions for their city, and implementation and financing plans to realise their priorities. The two earlier CDS conferences - held in Tokyo (1999) and in Fukuoka (2000) - focused on the CDS process and implementation. The Hanoi Conference however, will focus on CDS impacts on investments, policy reforms, and improving prospects for the city and its region for economic growth and poverty reduction. The Conference will review different approaches to CDS taken by cities around the world, examine strengths and weaknesses to highlight lessons learned, and also focus on sustainable municipal finance strategies as an outcome of CDS. Local government associations will also share how they have taken up the challenge of institutionalising CDS in their countries and regions. Participating bilateral and multilateral development agencies will consider how they can more effectively use CDS to scale-up solutions promoted by local authorities and the urban poor themselves, and as a framework to improve the coherence of external support to these local efforts. Expected Conference outcomes include: Policy Recommendations for implementing CDS, which can benefit cities and their development and financing partners; and, CDS Action Plan, including actions and commitments by local authorities and their associations, and Cities Alliance members to strengthen networks of CDS cities. Details on the Hanoi CDS Conference will be posted on the 'Events' page of the Cities Alliance website (www.citiesalliance.org) and on the designated website of the Government of Vietnam as they become available.
World Habitat Day, Monday, 4 October 2004 Every year, since 1985, when it was designated by the United Nations General Assembly, World Habitat Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in October, as a day for the world to reflect on the state of human settlements and the basic right to adequate shelter, and to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat. The theme of this year's World Habitat Day will be "Cities - engines of rural development." It underlines the importance of mutually beneficial linkages that are essential for the development of both cities and rural areas. In this reciprocal relationship, urban markets provide a powerful incentive for increased rural production and income, while expanding rural markets create increased demand for production of goods manufactured in urban areas. In the long run, cities drive secondary and tertiary investment of capital derived from primary production in rural areas. This year, the global ceremonies will be coordinated from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, a city which reflects the phenomenal rate and social-economic significance of the urbanization in the developing world. For Nairobi, and for cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, the locus today of the fastest urban growth in the world, this year's theme highlights the importance of treating urban and rural issues holistically to maximise the positive impacts of rural-to-urban migration. It also draws on lessons learnt and best practices from the highly industrialised cities of Europe and North America where 80 percent of the total population now live in urban areas. >> Cities Alliance Grant Approvals Update Since January 2004, the Cities Alliance has approved seven activities in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Middle East and North Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa
Asia
Middle East and North Africa
Guidelines for proposals and eligibility
requirements for funding support are available from the
Working
with Cities Alliance Guide, accessible from the Cities Alliance website. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
© 2004 The Cities Alliance |
