::News::

Invitation to Sida'a 2009 International Training Programmes

SIDA extends an invitaion to all Local Authorities to nominate candidates to the following traing programmes:

Participants should hold an academic degree and have at least five years of professional working experience. Further details of the programme can be found in the attached brochure.Since SIDA is interested in encouraging women to participate in these programmes ,the nomination of female candidates is particularly welcome.

The closing datefor all applications is the 13th of March 2009

Participants should posses at least five years work experience.

Since SIDA is interested in encouraging women to participate in these programmes,the nomination of female candidates is particularly welcome. Please note that your institution will be expected to cover local transportation costs as well as personla expenses. Other costs will be funded by SIDA.

The closing date for applications is the 15th of March 2009

Participants should posses at least 3 years of work experience and a good knowledge of and insight into the urban transport situation in their home country and they should be approximately between the ages of 30-45.

The nomination of female candidates is particularly welcome

Please note that your institution will be expected to cover international travelling costs to and from Sweden as well as personal expenses. Other costs will be financed by SIDA.

The closing date for applications is the 1st of April 2009

The participant should have a minimum of three years working experience in either LGBT or Human Rights field and the ,participant should hold an academic degree in one of the following fields,social sciences, law, public health or related fields of study.

The nomination of female candidates is particularly welcome.

Please not that your institution will be expected to cover costs to and from nearest international airport as well as personal expenses. SIDA will cover all other costs.

The closing date for applications is the 17th of April 2009

NANGOF Calendar

Film screening and Panel Discussion of the documentary ON LAND MATTERS:
Namibia's Land Reform Politics or Economics

The Wild Cinema Film Festival Trust in cooperation with One Africa
Television and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung cordially invites you to the
Film screening and Panel Discussion of the above-mentioned documentary by
Thorsten Schütte:


Venue: Goethe Centre, Fidel Castro
Street in Windhoek
Date: Saturday 18th April 2009.
Time: 10h00 - 13h00
Programme:
Film screening will run from: 10h30 - 11h30

Panel Discussion will start: 11h30 - 13h00



PANELISTS:

Thorsten Schütte : Director Land Matters

Lidwina Shapwa : Permanent Secretary Ministry of Lands and Resettlement

Ryno van der Merwe : Namibia Agricultural Union

Pintile Davids : Namibia Nature Farmers Union/ Rural Institute for Social
Empowerment

Erika von Wietersheim : Author of This Land is my Land

Moderator: Willem Odendaal : Legal Assistance Centre

Nowhere is the process of social and economic development in Africa more
under public scrutiny than when it comes to the question of land. The film
Land explores and documents attempts by Namibian farmers and authorities to
find equitable solutions for everyone. Namibia's Land Reform , Politics or
Economics, will bring together representatives from all spheres of life in
Namibia to exchange opinions and first hand experiences. The debate will be
televised together with the film Land Matters on One Africa Television with
a SMS voting portal for Namibia's public in general. The public is invited
to SMS their opinions on the question whether Namibia's land reform is an
effective economical process to the benefit of Namibia's society and
agriculture.

Please don't forget to RSVP before 15th April 09 to the following contacts.

Rachel Shiweda, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Tel: 061-237 438, Cell: 081 23 87 284
Fax: 061-237 441
Email: <mailto:fes@fesnam.org.na> fes@fesnam.org.na
Website: http:// <http://www.fesnam.org.na> www.fesnam.org

Refreshments will be served! Free Entrance!

Wild Cinema Windhoek International Film Festival 2009 ? Invitation

The Goethe-Centre/NaDS and the American Cultural Centre, in cooperation with
the Wild Cinema invites you to the opening ceremony of the 2009 Wild Cinema
Windhoek International Film Festival : Documentary Film Workshop.

DATE: Monday, 20 April 2009

TIME: 10h00 - 13h00

WHO: Filmmakers, Donors, Stakeholders, Film & Media Students and
Documentary Film Enthusiasts

VENUE: The Goethe-Centre, Fidel Castro Street 1- 5, Windhoek

The topic of this year's workshop is: Empowering marginalized communities
through documentary film?and will run from 20 - 23 April 2009. As part of
the opening ceremony, two highly acclaimed documentaries, ?Milking the
Rhino? (David Simpson, USA 2008, 87min) and By The People For The People
(Dudley Viall, Namibia 2009, 26 min), will be screened.

Entrance is free. Snacks will be served and cash bar is available.

For festival information and a detailed screening programme visit http://
<http://www.wildcinema.org/program.html> www.wildcinema.org/program.html

MISA NAMIBIA COCKTAIL EVENING - 17TH APRIL 2009

MISA Namibia invites all journalists, media students and MISA NAMIBIA
members to the Media Cocktail Evening, which will take place on Friday, 17
APRIL 2009, FRANCO NAMIBIA CULTURAL CENTRE (FNCC) (18:30) for 19:00.

The discussion topic will be "THE ROLE OF MEDIA", and the event will be
presented by the MISA Namibia National Governing Council, who will do short
presentations, and then open the floor up for questions and answers.

The initiative will create a platform where media practitioners and experts
can come together to share information on topical issues of the day. So,
please come and share with us at the Franco Namibia Cultural Centre (FNCC)
THE PRESENTERS FOR THIS OCCASION WILL BE:

Sandra Williams
Chairperson of MISA Namibia

Gladwin Groenewaldt
MISA Namibia Board Member

Florence Haifene
MISA Namibia Board Member

Jatha Kazondu
MISA Namibia Board Member

For further information please send an e-mail to info@misanamibia.org or
confirm you attendance by e-mailing your name, organisation and contact
details.

Refreshments will be served!

News and Information on Eco awards Namibia

We would like to share some information with you on the eco-awards Namibia
programme. We have established an Alliance of the following nine
organisations in the public, private and NGO sectors, under a Deed of Trust,
to promote sustainable and eco-friendly tourism:

* Directorate of Environmental Affairs (DEA),
* Directorate of Tourism (DoT),
* Namibia Tourism Board (NTB),
* Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations (FENATA),
* Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN),
* Tour & Safari Association of Namibia (TASA),
* Namibia Institute of Architects (NIA),
* Namibia Community-based Tourism Association (NACOBTA) and
* Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF).

The Alliance was established in July 2006.

What is eco awards Namibia?

It is an Alliance to promote, support and facilitate the development of
environmentally friendly and sustainable tourism in Namibia, specifically
through the eco awards Namibia programme, making Namibia a destination of
choice for environmentally conscious tourists and working to set
international standards of environmental excellence in the tourism industry.

What are the main objectives of eco awards Namibia?

* to promote the concepts and practices of eco-friendliness and
sustainability within the tourism sector,
* to create economic and social incentives for sustainable tourism,
* to identify and share best practices in eco-friendly and
sustainable tourism through the industry,
* to demonstrate that eco-friendly approaches to sustainable
development create financial benefits for participating establishments,
* to help establish the highest standards of professionalism
regarding eco-friendly and sustainable tourism,
* to recognize and acknowledge tourism enterprises that have achieved
high standards in eco-friendly and sustainable tourism,
* to help promote Namibia as a world-class destination for
eco-friendly tourists,
* to serve as a national professional body of expertise for
eco-friendly and sustainable tourism and, where relevant and appropriate, to
advocate on behalf of this subject.

What are the main functions of eco awards Namibia?

The general powers and functions of the Alliance, as set out in its
Constitution, are:

* to promote the eco awards Namibia programme locally, nationally and
internationally by advocacy, information dissemination, promotion and other
appropriate mechanisms;
* to establish criteria for eco-grading tourism operations and to
revise such criteria from time to time as may be appropriate;
* to grade tourism operations, on request, and to make the grades
public knowledge;
* to review best practices in sustainable tourism, and to disseminate
such information;
* to market the eco-awards Namibia programme and its participants who
have been successfully graded;.
* to suggest policy guidelines for eco-friendly and sustainable
tourism in Namibia;
* to undertake or commission monitoring, research or another forms of
information collection and analysis on the subject of sustainable tourism,
to help inform and improve the work of the Alliance.

Why is eco awards Namibia so relevant at this time?

An economic analysis of land uses in 2005 showed that all forms of farming,
both commercial and subsistence, contributed about N$1.89 billion to our
national economy. In the same year, the tourism sector contributed N$2.7
billion. This sector is now second to mining in economic importance. The
tourism satellite accounts state that the sector, directly and indirectly,
supports some 72,000 jobs and that the sector is expected to grow at about
7% over the next ten years. In fact, it has been growing somewhat faster
than this, at closer to 10%. By 2016 the travel and tourism economy is
expected to contribute about 23% of Namibia?s GDP.

Eco awards Namibia is here to help the tourism sector achieve sound levels
of professionalism in the area of environmentally friendly and sustainable
tourism. For more information on eco awards Namibia please go to the website
at www.ecoawards-namibia.org <http://www.ecoawards-namibia.org/> .

Opportunities

European Commission calls for proposals

The European Commission Headquarters in Brussels have issued two new
world-wide calls for proposals: "Towards demand-driven Technical and
Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems" (Ref. Europe
Aid/127877/C/ACT/Multi)
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.we
lcome
<https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.w
elcome&nbPubliList=15&orderby=upd&orderbyad=Desc&searchtype=RS&aofr=127877>
&nbPubliList=15&orderby=upd&orderbyad=Desc&searchtype=RS&aofr=127877
Deadline for submission: 10 June 2009

"Improving Labour market information systems" (Ref. Europe
Aid/127877/C/ACT/Multi)
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.we
lcome
<https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.w
elcome&nbPubliList=15&orderby=upd&orderbyad=Desc&searchtype=RS&aofr=127876>
&nbPubliList=15&orderby=upd&orderbyad=Desc&searchtype=RS&aofr=127876
Deadline for submission: 4 June 2009
For all interested parties, please click on the links above; alternatively
you can cut and paste the links into your internet browser.

UN Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence Against WOMEN CALL
for Proposals

The UN Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women
has launched its annual Call for Proposals (2009). The focus of this year?s
Call is on closing the gap on the implementation of national and local laws,
policies and action plans that address violence against women and girls.

Civil society organizations, governments and UN Country Teams, in
partnership with governments and civil society, are invited to submit
applications of a maximum US$1 million for duration of up to three years.
The deadline for application is April 17, 2009.

The complete Call for Proposals detailing criteria, eligibility requirements
and complete guidelines on how to apply is available at:
www.unifem.org/gender_issues/violence_against_women/trust_fund_guidelines.ph
p or via the UNIFEM homepage.

FOR MORE INFORM CONTACT: UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women:
Adriana Quinones, UN Trust Fund Manager adriana.quinones@unifem.org and cc
tanya.ghani@unifem.org

MÉDICOS DEL MUNDO
Médicos del Mundo (MdM), meaning ?Doctors of the World?
is a Spanish Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)

VACANCY AT MÉDICOS DEL MUNDO

ADVOCACY OFFICER FOR THE PLWHA, GENDER AND ACCESS TO HEALTH COMPONENTS OF
THE MAIN MdM PROJECT IN THE ERONGO REGION

Under the supervision and guidance of the Country Coordinator &
Administrator, the chosen person will energetically, enthusiastically and
passionately guide MdM technical assistance and support to PLWHA, Gender
Equality and Access to Health for vulnerable populations.

Qualifications & Experience

* Namibian citizenship or permanent residency
* Minimum experience of 5+ years working on and managing advocacy
components related to HIV/AIDS/PLWHA/Gender/Access to health/treatment
literacy/etc.
* Relevant Diplomas/Certificates from recognized courses on HIV/AIDS,
Gender, Facilitation, Human Rights, Treatment Literacy, etc.
* Intimate knowledge of the health sector and social services in
Namibia
* Confident command and fluency of the English language, Afrikaans
and a minimum of one additional local Namibian language
* Extraordinary communication skills, media experience and ability to
work and negotiate with persons at various levels and backgrounds
* Intermediate computer literacy and a driver´s license
* Applications of persons living openly with HIV/AIDS and those with
Disabilities are particularly welcome

Key Responsibilities & Attributes

* Ensure the successful implementation of the PLWHA, Gender and Access
to Health objectives of the project
* Actively support and liaise with relevant stakeholders and MdM
partners
* Inform and empower the community members about their rights in access
to health; promote treatment literacy among PLWHA and other vulnerable
populations;
* Lobby at the district, regional and national levels, in accordance
with Medicos del Mundo?s policy and ethics;
* Support and promote Gender and equality throughout the Medicos del
Mundo?s program in Namibia.
* Strongly support and actively participate in trainings, workshops,
working groups and regular meetings at district, regional and national
levels
* Collaborate with the MdM team and counterparts in regard to community
awareness and IEC materials
* Be open to travel in rural areas
* Flexibility to assume additional and varied duties
* Provide accurate and timely monthly reports

Médicos del Mundo offers competitive salaries with benefits according to
qualifications and experience. Forward a comprehensive CV including covering
letter and references (DO NOT SEND copies of certified documents) to ?The
Project Coordinator? ONLY by the following means: E-mail:
<mailto:mdm@mweb.com.na> mdm@mweb.com.na; or hand delivered to: 10
Wasserfall St. Eckers Eck Bldg. Shop no. 11, Swakopmund. CVs will not be
returned. Closing date: 17 April 2009. Early recruitment will be considered
due to urgency. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Interviews
will be held in Swakopmund.

For more information contact:

Geraldine Gaillot-Novak ? Country Coordinator
Médicos del Mundo España ? Erongo Region, Namibia
TEL +264 64 40 10 28 | FAX +264 64 40 10 29
<mailto:mdm@mweb.com.na> mdm@mweb.com.na

NANGOF Trust News in BRIEF

Very Urgent Message to all colleagues and friends in the Civil Society
Sector

It is with great honour and excitement that the NANGOF Trust Secretariat
informs you that the NANGOF Trust Council will be meeting the HEAD of State,
His Execellency, President Hifikepunye Pohamba, on Wednesday, April 08, 2009
at 11h00 at the New State House.



This is part of his consultations with the leadership of the various
sectors. It is of critical importance that we are well prepared to brief him
on the contribution made by civil society on issues of national and local
interest, we also need to prioritise critical issues and identify areas in
which we wish to solicit his support.


The NANGOF Trust Council has schedule a preparatory meeting for Monday,
April 06, 2009 at 17h30. The Secretariat on behalf of the NANGOF Trust
Council thus invite for your valuable input and contributions towards the
agenda for the meeting with the Head of State. Your input and contributions
are critical to ensure a well structured and fruitful session with the Head
of State.

Please forward your contributions directly to the Executive Director via
email: ed@nangoftrust.org.na or fax it to (061) 253364 for attention the
Executive Director before or/on Monday, April 06, 2009 not later than 16h00.
All contributions will be discussed and considered during the preparatory
meeting for inclusion into the Agenda. Secretariat is looking forward to
receive your contributions.

NANGOF Trust Official Logo

In an effort to establish the NANGOF Trust as a new legal entity, and as
part of its branding process, the NANGOF Trust Secretariat has finally come
up with a logo for the organisation which has been approved by the Council
at a meeting held on the 26th of March 2009.

The logo of NANGOF Trust has the following combination of meanings:

* The logo colours capture the biophysical environment of Namibia, a
country endowed with wealth and diversity.

* The golden crescents: Represent the arid desert with its sand dunes.
The colour also embraces the combined mineral wealth of the country, with
gold symbolising nobility and ability to withstand negative processes like
corrosion, an expression of resistance to deterioration.

* The green captures the vegetation, as well as biological life that
adorn the nation. Namibia boasts of a diversity of flora and fauna.

* The blue marks the sea, which is a strategic resource for Namibia?s
development.

* The oval circle stands for completeness as well as unity in diversity.
The oval shape is also a sign for the globe, meaning that as development
partners in Namibia, we think globally and act locally.

In a nutshell, the logo reflects the quest for people-driven sustainable
development, which is the main driving force and momentum for NANGOF Trust
as the Umbrella body for Civil Society Organisations in Namibia.

NANGOF Trust Annual General Meeting

The NANGOF Trust is planning to have its first Annual General Meeting on
Friday the 29th of May 2009. All NANGOF Trust Members are kindly requested
to keep this day open. The AGM will, among other serve as the official
launch of the NANGOF Trust.
More information will be forwarded to all members in due course.

Important!!! NEW PERSONALISED e-mail addresses of the NANGOF trust
secretariat

To get efficient and effective service delivery from the NANGOF Trust
Secretariat, the following personalized email addresses have been created:

* For Gender, the Environment, and Rural & Urban Development Sectors,
please direct your emails to: mosesnm@nangoftrust.org.na.


* Human Rights & Democracy, Formal & non Formal Education, and
Training & Capacity Building Sector issues should be forwarded to
smayinoti@nangoftrust.org.na.
* In addition, enquiries and queries on the Labour Act and Volunteers
as well as the Civil Society Management Training & Assessment should be
directed to the same email address.

* Social and Economic Justice and Health Sector issues, as well as
e-mail news items and information regarding NANGOF Trust Membership benefits
should be dropped at peterbg@nangoftrust.org.na.


* ed@nangoftrust.org.na: use this e-mail address only for the
attention of the Executive Director and for information regarding the
management of the NANGOF Trust in general and the Secretariat in particular.


* For logistical assistance and support use this email:
pa@nangoftrust.org.na .


* All communications relating to the NANGOF Trust Administrations and
Finance should be addressed to admin@nangoftrust.org.na


* news@nangoftrust.org.na. Please use this e-mail address to send all
your e-news items and any related information.


* info@nangoftrust.org.na. Please use this e-mail address for all
other information and/or general request.

It is important to please send your e-mails to the correct e-mail address
for them to be responded to on time. Failure to do so may result in delays
which could have otherwise been avoided.

UCLGA and ICLEI Africa are also elected into an African stakeholder committee lead by African Development Bank to ensure that local governments across the continent are represented and invited to make inputs into this process. Municipalities are herewith encouraged nominate 1 Municipality amongst themselves to become one of the key local governments in Africa to lead on this front by signing the attached IWC upon its finalization in the coming few weeks. Nominations should be forwarded to the ALAN Office at Fax no: +26461 240929 or emailed to:jkauapirura@alan.org.na or mkambala@alan.org na. More info on this matter and other local government activities on the Continent can be obtained at: Website: www.uclgafrica.org

The Erasmus Mundus Program offers scholarships to non-European students and scholars to participate in the interdisciplinary Advanced Master's Course in International Co-operation and Urban Development. The English taught program is jointly offered by the Technische Universit� Darmstadt (Germany), the Universit�Tor Vergata in Rome, the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya in Barcelona and the Universit�Pierre Mend� France in Grenoble and leads to a double degree.

Applicants for student scholarships (value € 42.000,- over two years each) should have concluded previous studies of a minimum of 4 years with excellent results in a career related to urban development and have professional working experience of a minimum of one year. Scholars from outside Europe may apply for short term bursaries (€ 4000,- per month) to teach and conduct research at one of the above mentioned universities. In both cases the deadline for applications is January 15th, 2008 for the 2008-2010 cycle. Further information: www.mundus-urbano.eu.

To this effect and as per Cities Alliance Project Agreement, the Association has scheduled a Workshop for the Proposal development on December 5 & 6, 2007, to discuss and bring up to date the participating local authorities on the way forward. The Omaruru Council was nominated to host the said Workshop and Mr. Shingi Mushamba, the FCM Regional Coordinator (Africa) from Zimbabwe will be facilitating the Workshop.

The process of developing the NCDS is aimed at being all inclusive off relevant stakeholders who are envisaged to play a vital role in the development of these NCDS. Consequently, each Council is expected to nominate a delegation comprising of: Council staff (CEO and LED Manager - dealing directly with LED), an elected official (Mayor), one member from the Civil society and one member from the Private sector to participate in this workshop. Furthermore, among the participants would be the representatives of the institutions that were significant in the Proposal development together with ALAN such as Nalao, UTN, and the Ministry as our full CDS national team.

It is against this background that ALAN EXCO members are invited and expected to be part of this 2 days Workshop scheduled for 5 - 6 December 2007 in Omaruru. Kindly register availability at your earliest convenience as to allow for prompt facilitation of modalities pertaining to traveling arrangements and accommodations!

The traveling cost and PerDiems for delegates will be borne by the Workshop Organizers - ALAN as per the Cities Alliance Project Budget Line.

The Association received a communiqu�that the Directorate of Decentralization Coordination managed to secure limited funding for the Local Authorities (LAs) with the development of their Strategic Plans.

All LAs that require assistance are expected to forward their needs to the Decentralization Directorate through the Permanent Secretary of the MRLGH ASAP, since the window for this assistance would be as from November 2007 until February 2008 only and no late requests would be accommodated thereafter.

A copy of the Terms of Reference for the Strategic Planning can be downloaded here

The communique comes with reference to our previous correspondence dated March 08, 2007 in which the Association requested local authorities to submit strategic planning needs and priority areas for the Association to assist in lobbying for financial resources that will aim towards accomplishment of these needs.

In addition to this, the National Planning Commission held a stakeholders consultation workshop from 26 - 30 October 2007, during which it was noted that local authorities have been omitted in the National Development Plans drafting documents. For purposes of determining estimated costs for possible funding by the National Planning Commission, all local authorities are hereby requested to kindly, submit their capital projects and budgets estimates directly to ALAN. Local Authorities are urged to please make use of these opportunities offered as these will assist toward

The programme for the stakeholders consultation workshop can be downloaded [here.]

In a follow up to the work that Gender Links has done with ALAN, GL has invited a representative from ALAN to a Local Government Gender Action Plan TOT and materials development workshop from 5 - 9 November 2007.

This 5-day training of trainer workshop will bring together a cadre of facilitators from Ministries of gender, local government, local councils and associations from four countries (Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia and South Africa) where gender strategies or frameworks have been developed for mainstreaming gender in the work of local government

The trainers will develop locally adapted materials for assisting local councils in formulating gender action plans in 2009 in each country. The workshop includes a one-day planning session for the upcoming Sixteen Days Campaign as a way of starting flagship gender projects. The outputs of the workshop will be local tool kits for developing gender action plans in each country; plans for rolling out these action plans in 2008 as well as immediate plans for the Sixteen Days of Activism from 25 November to 10 December.

Proposed details of the trip are as follows:

On Monday the 8th October 2007, the delegation will briefly visit the ALAN office and then proceed to pay a courtesy call on the Mayor of Windhoek, followed by a meeting with the City of Windhoek, NALAO and relevant Municipal Councilors and Officials and Local Government representatives on the same day. They delegation is planning on returning to Nairobi, Kenya on the 9th October 2007.

The areas of interest about the study include the following:

1. Financial management
2. Central Fiscal transfers
3. Local Resources
4. Budget preparation and execution
5. Participatory budgeting
6. Oversight and monitoring of council budget by Central and Provincial Governments.

1. Election of mayors
2. Power, role and responsibilities of Executive mayors
3. Powers, roles and responsibilities of the Chief Executive Officers
4. Relationships between Chief Executive Officers and the executive mayor and the councilors
5. Qualifications of Mayors and councilors
6. Disqualification of Mayors and Councilors
7. Separation of power of Mayors and chef officers
8. Code of conduct of councilors
9. Conducting of council meetings
10. Remuneration of the Mayors and councilors

2nd UCLG World Congress

The 2nd UCLG World Congress will take place on 28-31 October in Jeju, Korea. Local and regional leaders from all over the world will be coming together in Jeju to set the international agenda of local governments.

We have a massive challenge ahead of us and it demands the pooled expertise, experience and enthusiasm of members of United Cities and Local Governments and its partners in Jeju to focus the international communities' attention on the exemplary performance and unquestionable potential of local governments in resolving problems affecting everyone.

The theme of the congress "Changing cities are driving our world" captures both the dynamism and the crucial role played by local authorities of all sizes. Our aim is to focus on some key aspects of global governance where we feel the involvement of local authorities is essential:

• Cities the future of humanity; addressing climate change
.
• City Diplomacy: Local Governments building peace
• 2015: a better world is possible. The Role of Local Government in Global Governance.

The official website of the 2nd UCLG World Congress allows you to proceed with online registration. Click on this link to register: www.uclg2007jeju.org. The deadline for early registration is 31 August 2007.

To benefit from discount flights to Jeju, please go to the Star Alliance website and quote the event code: 0Z020S7.

Contact the UCLG world Secretariat in Barcelona at info@cities-localgovernments.org for further information.

Preparatory Study: Participatory City Development Strategies (CDS) in Namibia: Cities Alliances Grant

ALAN was awarded the Grant to kick start the above mentioned Preparatory study and implement the selection criteria thereof. The overall objective of the proposal is the pending submission of a proposal for a Preparatory Grant to fund the initial design and selection of municipalities to participate in a larger project to elaborate CDS in partnership with the participating Local Authorities in Namibia.

1. To undertake a preparatory study that will evaluate and define the components and steps needed that will result in a Namibian Comprehensive Development Strategy (NCDS) for Local Economic Development (LED) for three Local Government Authorities
2. Development of a process for NCDS planning at the local government level that will be disseminated and replicated in Namibia.
3. The involvement of two national associations such as ALAN and NALAO will provide a vehicle for more widely sharing the experience of developing CDS with Local Government Associations thus enabling and empowering LAs to increase their knowledge on such issues as participatory planning, fiscal and financial budgeting, and local economic development
4. The development of a community involvement process with UTN and our LADCs will be beneficial and offer a replication opportunity for future CDS and other governance processes.

At the Coalface: Gender and Local Government [Summary]

With a growing number of Southern African countries from different political and electoral backgrounds showing that gender parity can be achieved in local government, there is no longer any excuse for any country in the region not to achieve this goal. However, if women are to make a difference in this sphere of decision-making - the ?coalface? of service delivery - far more needs to be done to strengthen local government and to integrate gender considerations into its work.

These are the key findings of a ground breaking new study on gender and local government in Southern Africa to be released on 22 March by Gender Links, a Southern African NGO that specialises in gender, governance and the media.

• Lesotho which, with 58 percent women, has the highest level of women in local government in the region, thanks to a legislated 30 percent quota in the country?s first elected local government in 2005.
• Namibia, which has had over 40 percent women in local government for several years, thanks to a PR system and legislated quota, as well as the ?zebra? system adopted by the ruling Swapo party of one woman, one man on its electoral lists.
• South Africa, where the ruling African National Congress (ANC) fielded a substantially higher proportion of women in both the ward and PR seats in the country?s mixed electoral system in the 2006 elections, boosting the proportion of women from 29 to 40 percent.
• Mauritius which, with 6.4 percent women in local government, represents the many countries in the region that have a constituency electoral system and also an extremely low level of women in all areas of decision-making.

Highlighting the range in women?s representation in local government from 1.2 percent in Angola to 58 percent in Lesotho, the study notes that where governments have been willing to take special measures to increase women?s representation this is more likely to be so at local than at national level. For example Lesotho introduced a quota for local but not national elections held in February 2007.

What is unfortunate, the study says, is that measures to increase women?s participation at local level appear to result from a calculation that local government is not as serious a sphere of politics than the national level, rather than because of a commitment to deepening democracy through decentralisation and the equal participation of women.

However, examples like Lesotho, South Africa and Namibia (representing the constituency, PR and mixed electoral systems) show that the SADC target of 50 percent women in decision-making can be achieved in pretty much any situation, provided that there is the necessary political will. Case studies such as the normality that has returned to the constituency in Lesotho in which a male candidate took up a high court challenge against the quota show that despite resistance to quotas, rapid change is possible and does not lead to the backlash that is often predicted.

In instances where governments have been reluctant to force the pace of change, women?s representation is lower at local than at national level because the forces of culture, tradition and religion tend to be more concentrated at this level than at national level. Through numerous personal accounts and case studies as well as quantitative data gathered through questionnaires, the study explores the many barriers to women?s effective participation at local level. These are reflected in the 41 council meetings observed, where researchers found that there was not a single instance in which women participated in meetings in proportion to their strengths in such meetings.

However, the observation of meetings showed that there is a greater participation of women when they comprise half or more of the participants; a strong argument for raising the target for women in decision-making from 30 to 50 percent. The findings also show that on average women participated more in meetings led by women, underscoring the importance of women occupying leadership positions such as mayors, chairpersons, deputy mayors and speakers.

While the study found that there are still men in local government who openly oppose gender equality (especially in countries that have a low level of women?s representation) it cites several examples of men who have become champions of women?s empowerment and gender equality as an important yardstick of change.

The study acknowledges that not all women are the same and that not all believe it is their duty to raise the concerns of other women. But the overwhelming majority of those interviewed spoke of the obligation they feel towards other women. In the 92 focus group meetings conducted with civil society, women and male constituents many spoke about how women councilors are more accessible, hard working and honest.

The study cites numerous examples of ways in which women are making a difference at a practical level in local government (which suffers from many structural weaknesses in all countries) by helping to cut through red tape and providing access to housing, electricity and basic needs. These practical interventions raise strategic questions: such as in Lesotho where councils are responsible for allocating land and women are beginning to ask about access to title for land.

But a key conclusion of the report is that unless gender is systematically mainstreamed into the work of local government, increased representation of women at local level may become a case of ?jobs for the girls? rather than gender equality for the region.

The study highlights the absence of such strategies at local level, with the result that efforts to ensure that women and men benefit equally are piecemeal and often driven by a few individuals rather than by institutions and systems. Drawing from the work of GL with the City of Johannesburg that has developed a Women Development Strategy including a plan for mainstreaming gender into Soccer 2010, the study recommends that all countries and councils in the region begin to look at how local government can become a motor for achieving gender equality where it matters most: on the ground.

Technical Study Trip for A.R.C. and A.L.A.N

The Association of Regional Councils in Namibia (ARC) has embarked on a comprehensive review of its constitution with a view to bring it in line with constitutions of similar organisations in the region and worldwide. To that end, the association held a two days workshop to review the current constitution and to define the way forward in the process of coming up with the new constitution.

Against this background the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development has deemed it relevant - through the Finnish Support to the Namibian Decentralisation Process - to organise a technical fieldtrip to Finland and Denmark to share experiences with the sister organisations and to get inspiration from the way the Finnish and sub-national government association is organised in terms of mandate, regulatory and functional framework, institutional set-up and practical operations including the financing of the operation of the association. Furthermore the mission will acquaint itself with the Finnish system of regional administration (laaninhallitus) and regional authorities formed by the local governments themselves (maakunta/maakuntien liitto).

The Ministry has found it equally important to invite representatives from the Association of Local Authorities in Namibia (ALAN) to share the same experiences and draw lessons that can be used for further work back in Namibia.

As the Finnish association caters for both local and regional authorities, it may also be of interest to the two Namibian associations to identify areas where they could benefit of enhanced cooperation and joint ventures in the development of their respective organisations.

Purpose and objectives of field trip

The purpose of the technical fieldtrip is to expose relevant staff from ARC and ALAN to the experiences and lessons learned with regard to the associations? mandate, roles, institutional and organisational set-up, regulatory framework, and functioning in relation to sub-national governments, as well as central government.

Hence, the objectives of the fieldtrip are to:

• Obtain understanding of and in-sight in the regulatory and functional framework for the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities
• Institutional and functional arrangement between central government and the association pertaining to, among others, annual fiscal negotiations (transfers from central government to sub-national governments, resource envelope national policies and priorities, and national standards)
• Relationship between the membership and the association pertinent to, among others, mandated functions, advocacy role vis-�vis central government, consultancy services to members and technical/legal assistance, and international consultancy services
• Membership and funding of the association
• Mediating role between individual members and central government
• Role in government reforms with particular emphasis on the current restructuring of the regional and local government system
• The associations role in promoting local democracy and good governance
• Establish a net-work for future consultations and sharing of experiences between host institutions and ARC and ALAN
• Acquaint the delegates with the system of regional administration in Finland (laaninhallitus)
• Acquaint the delegates with the work and role of regional authorities formed by the local authorities themselves (maakunta/maakuntien liitto)
• Acquaint the delegates on intergovernmental fiscal relations in Finland.

Expected outcome

A staff member from the Directorate of Decentralisation Coordination with the assistance of the CTA, FiSNDP will compile a detailed travel report draft presenting findings, analysis of lessons learned and recommendations for the way forward. This draft will be analyzed and finalized in a one day workshop with the field trip participants to a final draft that will be presented to the Boards of the respective associations. Also the management of the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development shall be briefed and a briefing meeting with the National Council will be seeked for.

It is expected that the learning experience will provide with inputs and ideas that can be used in the process of revising the ARC constitution and in the process of creating closer working relationship between ARC and ALAN.

The report will be made available with emphasis made to the lessons learned and recommendations for the way forward.