Project to improve the institutional capacities of local authorities in Brazil and Mozambique as actors of decentralised cooperation guarulhos porto alegre Canoas maringá dondo VITÓRIA belo horizonte lichinga maputo inhambane XAI XAI nampula manhiça MATOLA United Cities and Local Governments and our members are committed to decentralised coo- peration, and have a long history of supporting solidarity and learning among local and regio- nal governments around the world. Members of UCLG are present in all world regions, organi- sed into seven Regional Sections, one Metropo- litan Section and one Forum of Regions. With over 170 associations of local governments as our members, UCLG represents more than 240,000 cities, towns, and local and regional governments. Through the City Future project initiated in 2007 with the support of the Mi- nistry of Norway and Cities Alliance, UCLG re- newed opportunities to develop a South-South and triangular peer-to-peer exchange that has become stronger throughout the years. This project has had a particular impact on coope- ration between Brazilian and Mozambican cities. UCLG, the National Association of Local Authori- ties of Mozambique (ANAMM) and the National Front of Mayors of Brazil (FNP) have developed various initiatives through political coordina- tion between municipalities, and by identifying the significant needs of the cooperation. Project coordination agreements were signed within the aforementioned organisations and logistical sup- port and a technical interface between the cities were provided by our project partner Architects without Borders – Catalonia (ASF-Cat) and our academic partner UNESCO Chair’s Intermediary Cities Network (CIMES) at the University of Llei- da. The project was financed by the European Union, the Norwegian Government, Cities Alliance and the City of Barcelona. INDEX pAGE 4 Preface pAGE 6 01 Introduction pAGE 8 02 Project background and overall concept • Roles and interests of each partner in the process • City-to-city cooperation methodology pAGE 14 03 Context • The countries’ political, institutional and legal contexts • Land and urban management analysis • Urban policies in intermediary Mozambican cities: HDI analysis at the local scale pAGE 28 04 Thematic focus of the project • Project tools pAGE 36 05 Assessment of project results and prospects • Partners’ evaluation of the programme • Partnership processes and results pAGE 54 06 Conclusions and impact • Partners expanding partnerships • Conclusions evaluating the instruments applied • Analysis and evaluation of the project by third parties pAGE 62 07 Future prospects pAGE 65 Postface pAGE 66 08 Acknowledgements and collaborators pAGE 70 09 References PREFACE The role that cities play in countries with emer- enable them to work as actors in international ging markets must not be underestimated. In collaboration. Advances in the management of struggling against issues of poverty and driving local development in terms of effective gover- for sustainable urbanisation, Brazilian and Mo- nance, sustainability and participation to ex- zambican cities have made a significant commit- tend citizens’ right to the city in these countries ment to facing global challenges, often emplo- also fall within the scope of this cooperation. ying successful initiatives. We joined UCLG because we share the conviction We, as the mayors of these cities, bear in hand that local governments are the main actors for global responsibilities and challenges, and we sustainable development, and we need to ensu- must administer and facilitate urban develo- re that the capacities of our cities and commu- pment in an accelerated and decisive manner. nities are developed to face new challenges. We However, we must also prioritise our adminis- are further convinced that the experiences and trative duty to respond to the needs of the po- know-how accumulated through peer-to-peer pulation, which, in accordance with democratic exchanges not only benefit our cities and asso- processes, entrust those they elect to improve ciations directly, but can actually provide useful the economy and use of space in their cities. inputs to our global positions and trigger chan- ges in global policies. To optimise the learning process, local, political and technical leaders must implement solutions based on experiences that have overcome signi- ficant obstacles, and which contribute towards the creation of a better world. Our associations and networks should therefore not only promote a city’s democracy and rights as theoretical con- cepts, but also through the exchanges of prac- Mauricio Lacerda tical initiatives that may be applied on a daily President of the FNP and basis. Mayor of Belo Horizonte The Brazil–Mozambique Decentralised Inter- national Cooperation is a project conceived to Tagir Carimo promote the consolidation of Local Authorities, President of ANAMM and to improve their institutional capacities, and to Mayor of the city of Pemba The promotion of local democracy and solidarity • Establishment of participatory mechanisms is at the heart of UCLG’s activity and is among the to define priorities, and the creation of a ne- founding principles of the century-old movement twork for learning in partnership. that gave origin to the World Organisation. South-South and triangular cooperation is very The activities promoted by UCLG and our mem- enriching, and we have learnt a great deal by bers respond to demonstrated experiences on enabling members from such different contexts how strengthening local government in any to cooperate. As we face the adoption of the New country strengthens the entire nation, as well as Development Agenda, the hands-on experience the global community, by ensuring more effecti- of our membership will be instrumental to achieve ve and democratic public policies. the ambitious goals the international community has set. Municipal international cooperation and decen- tralised cooperation, partnerships, twinning, Building on the positive experiences accumulated international local government diplomacy, sis- by our members and partners in this domain, UCLG ter city links, and mutual assistance through will continue to offer a safe port where new ideas capacity-building programmes and peer-to-peer and methodologies can be tested, and where spe- learning are the cornerstones of a peaceful and cific thematic learning circles and communities of sustainably-developed world. practice are developed, addressing the concrete urgencies and interests of our members. Among the many positive outcomes achieved in this regard, the following results of the activi- We hope this publication can serve as inspira- ties developed within the framework of this pro- tion for the possibilities that open up when soli- gramme are worth highlighting: darity among peers, political will and expertise are combined. •Increased dialogue among different spheres and actors of governments such as mayors, counci- We thank all partners and members for their im- llors and parliament members around enhanced mense commitment to local democracy by suppor- democratisation and inclusive governance; ting this project. • Improved skills of managers and city administra- tion in the use of urban management tools (Parti- cipatory Budgeting; Inclusive Cadastres: land, so- Josep Roig cial and tax management; and Urban Planning); Secretary General of UCLG 01 INTRODUCTION It is important to recogniSe cities as actors of development at national and international level, through South-South and triangular cooperation In a scenario marked by a reconfiguring of international relations, Brazil focu- sed on forming coalitions, searching for new markets and strengthening its political and economic relations with the development and consolidation of new strategic partnerships. Also with cooperation in mind, Brazil turned its sights to forming a comprehen- sive agenda of technical, scientific and technological cooperation with 37 African countries. On the global level, President Lula’s government prioritised multilateralism, the development of a more assertive trade policy and a diverse range of South-South partnerships with large semi-periphery countries (South Africa, China and India). According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Applied Economic Re- search (IPEA), from 2005 to 2009 the Brazilian government invested R$3.2 billion (0.02% of the country’s GDP) in international cooperation projects for the development of humanitarian, scientific-technological, economic, educational and technical aid. Introduction - 7 In the case of Mozambique, on a local level, cities and towns saw the crea- tion of Executive Councils in a context marked by a lack of human, financial and material resources and an un- precedented countryside-city exodus sparked by the war, which pressured and moulded the urban fabric across all of Mozambique’s urban centres and human settlements. All of these factors combined to create cities with large the project’s aim was to improve the populations and great economic, social and planning shortfalls. management of local development in terms of In terms of cooperative arrangements effective governance, sustainability and developed between Brazil and Afri- participation to extend the population’s right can countries, a standout example is Brazil’s role in the Community of to the city Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), characterised by the strengthening of the organisation’s institutional structu- Architects without Borders – Catalo- lopment in terms of effective