Date: September, 2013 KiLGA Newsletter Vol.3 Issue: 3 The Local Government Association ARIAL Good Practice Sharing Seminar Government Association of Local Authority Association Gambia at the Africities sum- of Vanuatu (LAAV) 2) Mar- mit “Local Association asso- shall Islands Mayors Asso- ciations are often forgotten in ciation (MIMA) 3) Cook development programmes Islands Local Government whilst the associations need Association and the 4) Kiri- programmes such as the bati Local Government ARIAL Programme to be Association (KiLGA). The really strengthened” The training was facilitated by a final ARIAL seminar has group of Local Govern- once again brought together ment experts from VNG Participants gather for a group photo at Auckland’s Ellerslie Hotel LGA‘s in the Pacific region to International, Local Gov- facilitate exchanges among ernment of New Zealand Pacific Local Government ation of Dutch Municipali- peers who normally would (LGNZ), Hunter Group of officials and representa- ties (VNG International). not easily meet. Councils of New South tives gathered at Novotel The aim of the seminar Since 2010, ARIAL has been Wales and FSPI. Ellerslie, Auckland, at the was to 1) share good prac- working towards strengthen- The two days seminar pro- final regional seminar on tices on the participatory ing emerging Local Govern- vided an excellent oppor- ―Sharing Good Practices‖ role of LGAs in political ment Association (LGAs) at tunity for Pacific Island which was organized by dialogues with national in- the national, regional and Local Governments to dis- the Foundation of the Peo- stitutions and development intercontinental level with its ples of the South Pacific partners, 2) share good objective of promoting the cuss lessons learnt International (FSPI) on be- practices of newly started, political recognition and en- amongst themselves and half of its consortium part- emerging local government gagement of local govern- most importantly how they ners, ARIAL from 2nd – 3rd associations and 3) to stim- ment as important players could support each other of July,2013. The seminar ulate exchange of ideas and partners of develop- was officially opened by and knowledge between after December 2013, ment. when the ARIAL project Anne Lies, a representative LGAs. There were 4 Local Govern- life finally comes to the of the International Cooper- In her speech she reiterat- ment Association present at ation Agency of the Associ- ed the words of the Local the seminar. They are 1) end.

The KiLGA holds its second Executive Board meeting for 2013 Inside this issue:-

KiLGA held its second Exec- Councils are compiled was elected by the Bien-  KiLGA establishes a network utive Board meeting on and ordered in bulk by nial Conference of with KIT, Pg. 2; Wednesday, 21 August, the association and then Mayors in Kiribati in 2012 2013 at the BTC Conference distributed to Councils at and oversees the Execu-  ARIAL Programme Extended, place in Betio. reasonable prices, 3) Fi- tive and staff of the KiL- Pg. 3; The Board was currently nancial and Management GA Office, housed in the chaired by Mayor Ruoikabuti reports, and others. BTC Office complex in  Launching of the Pacific Local Tioon, Mayor for TUC and The main theme of the Betio. Government Association Net- consisted of Mayor Ataraoti current meeting is It meets three times a work, Pg. 4; Bwebwenibure,and Mayor ―Building the Capacity of year, with the last one Kauongo Moote. Some of Councils‘ Staff‖ and for held in May, 2013. This  Financial Sustainability Study the main items for discus- this, the Board met and meeting is jointly spon- sion during the meeting are discussed training oppor- sored by the ARIAL of KiLGA by ARIAL, Pg 4; 1) consideration of Local tunities for staff of Coun- Programme and KiLGA.  Six Council Staffs certified Economic Development pro- cils with the Director of The ARIAL Programme posals that will be funded by PSO Human Resources is a EU- funded project trainers on Climate Change, the CLGF; 2) the establish- Division, the Principal of set up to assist Local Pg. 5; ment of a business venture KIT, the Director of Local Government Associa- known as ―Bulk Purchase Government and others. tions in the ACP coun-  Strategic Planning workshop, Scheme‖ where needs for KiLGA‘s Executive Board trie s . Pg. 6 1

KiLGA establishes a network with KIT

KiLGA and the Kiribati interests in having their staff Institute of Technology have undertake training courses to agreed to pursue a partnership improve their effectiveness. over the development of train- At the end of the ing courses for Councils staff. meeting, it was agreed that This was the main item KiLGA would seek funding of discussion of the meeting , for training for the Council held at the Institute‘s campus in staff and work together with Betio, on the 22nd August, KIT and other stakeholders, 2013, between the Principal especially MISA to develop and his staff and the KiL- the curriculum and details of GA‘s delegation, led by Mayor training courses for Councils, Ruoikabuti Tiion (TUC). Up to bo th s hor t– a nd lo ng- Members of the Executive Board posing with the Prin- 1993, KIT and MISA used to termed. It was also agreed ciple of KIT and some of his staff. (L-R) Mayor Ata- raoti Bwebwenibure, Mayor Kauongo Moote, Rokoba- run formal training courses for that an MOU be developed in ti Tearo (Principal KIT), Australian Advisor, Tiema Councils staff. Currently many the near future to guide Toka and Mayor Ruoikabuti Tioon. Councils have expressed their their cooperative work. KiLGA’s Executive Board’s meeting KUC Profile Launched with PSO In August 2013 - the The profile aims to pro- official launching of vide general assistance the Urban in relation to infor- Council (KUC) Profile mation, contact and took place on Kiritimati awareness on the Island. The CLGF News- Council, which is one letter reported that the of the three urban launch was the second councils in Kiribati. objective of the Kiritimati This is the second in a mission among other series of Council Profiles tasks that was success- produced by the Kiribati fully completed during Local Government Asso- the trip to Kiritimati Is- ciation. The first was the land. TUC Profile published in The delegations consist- 2012 for Teinainano Ur- ed of an international ban Council and the third PSO staff with members of the KiLGA Executives team of local government which has also been The members of KiLGA‘s Deputy Chairperson of professionals and spe- funded by CLGF Pacific Executive Board had a meet- KiLGA and Mayor for cialists comprising of rep- will be that for the Betio ing with the Director of Hu- TUC, requested to have resentatives from CLGF Town Council (BTC). man Resources Develop- Council‘s staff included in Pacific, the Hunter Group Funding is being sorted ment (Training) of the Public the revised Section K, of Councils in NSW, Aus- by the Association Service Office, Mr. Moannata since they are as much Ientaake, in Bairiki on 22 Au- civil servants as the gov- tralia and the Ministry of (KiLGA) for the produc- gust, 2013.The Director ernment staff. It was re- Internal and Social Af- tion of the remaining made a presentation on Sec- ported that there were fairs, . island council profiles tion K of the National Condi- several training pro- The KUC Local Govern- as they have ex- tions of Services that deal grammes for Council staff ment Profile was pro- pressed their interest with training, which is cur- as contained in MISA‘s duced by the Kiribati Lo- in having their Profile rently under review. The sec- Training Plan for the peri- cal Government Associa- produced as part of tion currently deals with train- od 2013-2015, but the tion in a field work carried the Strategic Planning ing for government and meeting agreed that the out in late January, 2013. process undertaken SOE‘s staff but not the Coun- plan should be reviewed Funding was provided by for their councils. cils‘. The KiLGA‘s delegation, to include more Council the CLGF Pacific, based led by Mayor Ruoikabuti, staff training. in Suva Fiji. 2

Approval of Extension of the ARIAL Programme to end of 2013 on recommendation by KiLGA’ Chairman The ARIAL Pro- extend the ARIAL pro- gramme‘s support for gramme was first sug- LGAs in the Pacific gested by KiLGA‘s has been extended Chairman, Mayor Ro- for another five mano Reo during a months to December, meeting between VNG 2013. This will result staff and KiLGA. VNG in the payment of is the Association of KiLGA staff and pro- Municipalities in the vision of Technical Netherlands responsi- Assistants to assist ble for implementing (Photo) - The Vice President, Hon. Teima Onorio, posing with delegates to KiLGA‘s operations the ARIAL Pro- the CLGF Forum in Kampala, Uganda that took place in May, 2013. During for the extended pe- gra mme. the forum, the members re-elected the Vice President to the CLGF Board for another term for the Pacific Asia region. (Photo courtesy of CLGF) riod. The proposal to

Pacific Island Local Government Associations can now have access to the Africa Caribbean Pacific Local Government Platform

In early July 2013 at the gional Local Government ARIAL Good Practice Association in the Pacific Seminar held in Auck- at the time; with the new- land, local government ly established Pacific Is- associations in the Pacific lands Local Government namely the Local Authori- Association Network, with ty Association of Vanuatu membership from Cook (LAAV), Cook Islands Lo- Islands, Marshall Islands, cal Government Associa- Vanuatu and Kiribati, the tion, Marshal Island Pacific is now more visi- Mayors Associations ble on the Platform. (MIMA) and the Kiribati The resourceful platform Local Government As- The general mission of pate effectively in ACP will enable each Pacific sociation (KiLGA) repre- the ACP LG Platform is – EU cooperation – Local Government Asso- sented by the Chairper- to promote and defend through: 1) Information ciations get electronic son and Secretariat the interest of ACP LG and networking ser- communication, assis- staffs met with the Co- in the ACP – EU fora vices to promote tance in registering in ordinator of the ACP through: 1) Represen- knowledge and under- PADOR, clarifying ToR, Local Government Plat- tation in ACP – EU key standing of the Coto- partner hunting, proposal form Coordinator, Lala meetings and interven- nou Agreement and evaluations, assistance Elisa Rafamatanantsoa tions so that LG voice other relevant EU pro- to attend meetings in who delivered a presen- can be heard 2) Advo- grammes, as well as Brussels, open days and tation on the EU funded cacy papers to influ- evidence-based learn- any other assistance the organization and her ence policy direction in ing in order to facilitate respective associations roles. the favour of Local exchange of experi- may need. The platform was estab- Governments 3) Con- ence among ACP LG The Kiribati Local Gov- tacts and strategic alli- on lesson learnt with lished as an umbrella ernment Association ances with various in- Local government par- organization which was (KiLGA) has taken ad- founded from the 1999 stitutions for mutual ticipation 2) Helpdesk vantage of the platform seminar in Brussels that interests allowing net- services to ACP LG was organized by the working and joint lob- facilitating their partici- by sending all its quarter- European Commission bying for ACP – LG pation in the ACP – EU ly newsletters from 2011 and the ACP Secretari- interest. cooperation process. till date to increase her at. It existed 8 years The platform also pro- In the platform, the Pa- visibility in the Asia Pacif- vide services to ACP cific was represented before the ARIAL pro- ic region. gramme was conceived. Local Government, by Papua New Guinea helping them partici- since there was no Re-

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The Pacific Local Government Association Network (PiLGAN) launched

The Pacific Islands Local Gov- the Regional network are the ernment Association Network local government associations was officially launched by the from the 4 Pacific Islands, Cook Chairperson of the CLGF Islands Local Government As- Board and President of the sociation, MIMA (Marshall Is- Local Government of New lands Mayors Association), Zealand (LGNZ), Mayor Law- LAAV (Local Authority Associa- rence Yale. Among invited tion of Vanuatu), and KiLGA guest was Rev. Uesifili Unasi (Kiribati Local Government As- who is the current Chair of the sociation). Auckland Councils Pacific The Pacific Islands Local Gov- People‘s Advisory Panel, Mr. ernment Network is thus estab- Sua William, MP for Magere lished to support continuation of In July 2013 – during the ARIAL final seminar on and the Deputy Secretary of the work of Local Governments Sharing Good Practices held in Auckland – a gen- CLGF, Lucy Slack. There were in the Pacific as effective agents eral meeting of Pacific delegates formally estab- also representatives from the for development and to promote lished the Pacific Islands Local Government Asso- LGNZ (Local Government of Local Economic Development of ciation Network (PiLGAN), a representative struc- New Zealand) from Wellington, the region with CLGF providing ture whose main purpose is to provide National the Hunter Group of Councils Secretariat duties. Local Government Associations with a forum from Newcastle in Australia, where members can come together to support FSPI and VNG International Mayor James Matayoshi from each other through exchange of experiences and officials. the Marshall Island Mayors As- ideas and at the same time provide a stronger Those who were present dur- sociation is the current Chair of voice for local government in the Pacific. ing the formal establishment of PiLGAN. KiLGA explores membership opportunities with ARIAL sends an expert to con- UCLG One of KiLGA‘s objectives organizations recognized by duct a Financial Sustainability when it was established in the United Nations with its 2012 is to improve and sup- headquarters based in Barce- study on KiLGA port Councils performance lona, Spain. On 2 – 4 Sep- through developing their ca- The UCLG ASPAC is the key tember 2013, pacity and support members knowledge management hub a visit was to be able to deliver services. on local government issues in made to KiL- At the ARIAL final seminar the region and is the united GA by an held in Auckland in early July voice and advocate of demo- expert on 2013, KiLGA had identified cratic local self-government Local govern- just a right opportunity to help which promotes cooperation ment finance, achieve this objective in a between governments and Mr Alfonso presentation delivered by Ms. within the wider international Garcia. The Desra Hilda Defriana, the communities in the Asia Pacif- assessment Manager Capacity Develop- ic region. was commis- ment and Training, UCLG UCLGF ASPAC carries out a sioned by ASPAC. range of broad activities VNG – International on behalf of the EU-funded ARIAL pro- The United Cities and Local (among which are Capacity Governments Asia Pacific gramme. The main objective of the visit was to find ways to make Development, Information and KiLGA sustainable after the ARIAL program finally comes to the (UCLG ASPAC) is one of the Communication, Advocacy, end in December 2013. Below are some of the activities per- eight Regional Sections of formed: 1.Consultative process with KiLGA 2.Field work with Sec- the United Cities and Local Organizational Development retariat staffs assisting in developing a Financial Sustainability Government (UCLG), a and External Funded Projects) Strategy 2. Analysis of key documents of KiLGA 3. Providing worldwide association of local to serve its members particu- home-based coaching and mentoring of the local counterparts government organizations larly local government associ- identified by KiLGA 4. Meetings with KiLGA members namely the that dates back to 1913 and ation in the Asia Pacific re- Betio Town Council and Teinainano Urban Council . the only local government s gion.

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Six Council Staff Certified Trainers on Climate Change

The Training of Train- ponent, ‗Community climate change and 2. Identifying and ers workshop held on Engagement‘ is to de- variability in the Pacific disseminating Tarawa from 26—30 velop and strengthen region. By doing so the ‗Best Practic- August, 2013 provided Pacific ACP countries project‘s main objec- es‘ in commu- an excellent opportunity to adapt to the impacts tive are as follows: nity adaptation for capacity building of of climate change by 1. Developing resil- projects representatives from developing and imple- ient local com- 3. Establishing the local communities menting sustainable munities, with Locally Man- and council staffs. The strategies for commu- enhanced skills aged Climate training was funded by nity adaptation to cli- to implement Change Adap- the European Union mate change, based and sustain tation Global Climate Change on improved under- evolving adap- (LMCCA) Net- Alliance Project (EU standing of impacts of tation strate- work GCCA) and implement- gies ed by PACE-SD, Uni- versity of the South Pa- cific. EU GCCA is a 4 year project which has 3 major components, covering 15 countries in the ACP PICs of Mela- nesia: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solo- mon Islands, Microne- sia: Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Kiri- bati, Palau, Polynesia: Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Niue and East Timor. The overall objective of From L-R Pelenise Alofa (ICC Kiribati), TUC, Beiauea ICW ETC, Tuivaka Uatire Island the project in its com- Council, Betero, Island Council, Ariraoi Baibuke (BTC), Rimon ( Island Council, Dr. Ueantabo (Director USP)

Several sites were visited to show evidence of how Climate Change have had direct impacts on several aspect of our envi- ronment and surroundings and on our food chain and sources such as Fisheries, Livestock, Biodiversity, and agriculture. Training activities included man- grove replanting, aqua fisheries studies and practical studies on traditional farming using organic and local materials in collabora- tion with the Live and Learn pro- ject funded by the Australian Aid. A long week training ended with certificate presentation at Biketawa, a famous tourist spot on North Tarawa.

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Te KiLGA Newsletter bon ana bebwa ni ka- Tera te KiLGA? ongora Aia Rabwata Kauntira ae e kaotina- koaki ni katoa tenua te namwakaina. Te KiLGA bon Aia Rabwata Kauntira are e kaainaki  E boretiaki n Aobitin te KiLGA/ KOES irouia Kauntira ni kabane i aon Kiribati are e ka-  E mwanenaki karaoana iroun KiLGA ao te teaki ibukin karikirakean aia konabwai ao kaub- ARIAL Programme, are e kamwakuraki i wai Kauntira ibukin karaoan raoi tabeia ibukin aia Kiribati iroun te VNG International, Aia botaomaota. Rabwata Kauntira i Aoran (Netherlands).  Ibukin titiraki ao reitaki ma KiLGA n te Aono ni Meang atureti ae inano: Aono n Nuka Makin, , , Abaiang, , , Kiribati Local Government Association Eutan Tarawa, , Aono ni Maiaki Betio Town Council, , ao Kiriti- , Ta- , , P.O. Box 477 mati Urban Council. biteuea Meang, Betio, Tarawa Maiaki, , Tamana, Arorae, BTC, Phone: (686) 50531; Tarawa Urban ao . Teeraina Fax: (686) 25250 ao . E-mail: [email protected]

WISE SAYINGS FROM KIRIBATI EAT SOME, SAVE SOME (Meaning—Be food secured, avoid wasting resources and be resilient)

Locally Managed Climate Change Network established (From Pg.5) The Locally Tarawa and the outer Managed Climate islands through the Is- Change Network was land Councils. Commit- established on the final tee members were se- day of the training of lected, together, they are trainers before certifi- responsible for initiating cates were presented to Climate change mitiga- participants. It‘s estab- tion and adaptation initia- lishment will be support- tives. Current members ed by the PACE project. of the network are very The network is the plat- excited about the newly form for trainers to share established network es- ideas and initiatives that pecially now that Local Committee members gather for a group photo. The newly established LMCCA network will focus on community Governments are well consists of the Chairperson, Deputy Chair, First & Second Secretary, Liaison Officer and the Communication Officer engagement on South represented by Betio Town Council. PiLGAN’s workshop on Strategic Planning & Local Economic Development

CLGF will be hosting a support local government in tions 2) Create a platform enabling environment required Strategic Planning and Lo- the Pacific. The main purpose for dialogue between CLGF with clear national frameworks, cal Economic Development of the workshop is to discuss Pacific members, especially policies and regulations for an workshop in Nadi from 14 – the role of Local Government Local Government Associa- effective LED. 18 October. The workshop Associations. The Workshop tions on best strategies to 4) Establish a Community of is part of CLGF strategy to objectives will be to: promote local economic de- Practice network and partner- engage more with members 1) Develop LED Strategies velopment in the Pacific. ships in the spirit of cooperation of PiLGAN to work out how for the established Local Gov- 3) Provide a common un- across regions by sharing expe- we can assist each other to ernment Associa- derstanding about the type of riences and lessons learned.

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