14 May 2008
Maputo — The World Organisation of Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) has insisted that the African Development Bank (ADB) should change its current philosophy of granting funding through the governments of member countries, and instead start financing municipalities directly.
The idea was presented at debates on financing and urban development on Tuesday, by Maputo mayor Eneas Comiche, who is also UCLG deputy chairperson. The debates were among the preparatory events held prior to the ADB's annual meeting on Wednesday and Thursday
Comiche admitted that such a new financing philosophy would not be easy to implement and it would take some time before it could come into effect. He said the UCLG was thus willing to cooperate with the ADB to design a strategy for urban development.
Comiche argued that the issue should be taken seriously, because organized municipalities, which have a capacity to reimburse the resources put at their disposal by credit institutions, should be able to negotiate directly with regional bodies to work out projects, so that they may receive directly the resources they need for their operations.
"This is a process that will take time, but I think people have already begun to understand that this is the way forward, if we are to reduce urban poverty", he said.
Municipalities across the world, particularly in Africa, need additional resources for their infrastructures, given the ominous and continual growth of urban populations.
"The urban population has been growing in an exponential manner", said Comiche. In Africa about 40 per cent of the population are already living in urban areas, and by the next 30 years, more than 50 per cent will be living in cities.
"This implies additional support to finance infrastructures, not only to improve the living conditions of the citizens, but also to attract foreign investments, because only then will there be more jobs, which will help reduce poverty in the urban areas", said Comiche.
He added that another strategy to ensure financing for urban development is the resort to partnerships with the private sector. This was a point of view shared by the majority of participants at the meeting.
The question of local finance was discussed at a meeting held in Maputo on Monday and Tuesday by the UCLG Finance Commission. This meeting agreed to submit to the ADB a proposal for the creation of a joint task force to design a strategy for the financing of urban development.
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