September 2, 2002
By Thomas Thale and Tendai O Dhliwayo
THE best-run cities in the world are those that are underpinned by the principle of good governance, involve their citizenry in decision making processes and have legal competency to raise their own funds.
This was the dominant message at the "Strengthening Local Government" session of the World Summit on Sustainable Development currently in progress.
The cities of Helsinki in Finland, Bonn in Germany and Nunoa in Chile were held up as models of sustainable cities.
Voted the cleanest city in Europe, Helsinki has used its power to collect taxes for the benefit of its residents. Delegates noted that the power of local government in Finland is safeguarded by the constitution. Helsinki embarked on projects to improve air quality. For instance, the city invested in a well functioning public transport system. Seventy percent of residents choose buses over cars as their preferred mode of transport - and municipal buses have a low level of gas emission.
Similarly, in Germany, cities have independent financial resources and do not depend on handouts from the national government. The increase in local government responsibilities has been accompanied by a growing share in public tax income, delegates agreed.
Most delegates were heartened that more than 6 000 municipalities across the world had developed local action plans, outlining the path of community action with clear goals and targets.
To provide essential services like health, public transport, waste management and sometimes even schooling, local authorities must be sufficiently empowered and resourced, the delegates agreed. "The resources allocated to us are often disproportionate to the responsibilities we are expected to undertake," complained Pedro Sabat, the mayor of Nunoa in Chile.
Delegates agreed that the increase in resource allocation must go along with systems to provide checks and balances in the handling of public finances. "Local government must cultivate close relations with local people and promote good governance based on transparency, accountability and participation," Sabat said.
Sabat called for a paradigm shift towards balancing the imperatives of development with those of the environment. "We need a high level of public participation and civic education."
Local government was cited as the sphere of government best placed to deliver social services because it "can offer immediate response to people and can implement strategies quickly and efficiently, as it does not go through complicated procedures."
Responding to the clamour for local government to be given more power and resources,
Sydney Mufamadi, the minister of provincial and local government in South Africa agreed that measures should be put in place to ensure a more equitable distribution of resources. He explained that in South Africa, although the power to collect taxes resides with national government, the funds so collected are distributed equitably to all three tiers of government.
According to Mufamadi, the South African government has embarked on a three-phased project to increase the capacity of local authorities.
The first phase ran from 2000 to 2002 and entailed the establishment and stabilisation of municipalities along newly demarcated boundaries. Councillors and municipal officials were to undergo training to increase their capacity in this phase.
The second phase runs from July 2002 to 2005 and entails the consolidation of progress made in the first phase.
The final phase, to run from 2005 until 2010, is the sustainability phase, designed to ensure that local government works harmoniously with other spheres of government.
"These stages are not hermetically sealed but inter-penetrate one another. We will continuously assess the impact we make as we proceed."
Mufamadi endorsed the dominant sentiment that local government, because of its close proximity to communities, is more "responsive and expressive of the will of the people."
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