Commonwealth Local Government Forum

Southern Africa \ Cities and urbanisation

In 2014, 54% of the global population was living in urban areas and this is predicted to rise to 66% by 2050. The characteristics of cities differ greatly across countries and regions of the Commonwealth and some issues facing large and megacities will differ from those faced by secondary cities and towns and across the Commonwealth, the degree of urbanisation varies significantly. Whilst 38.1% of the population of the Commonwealth lived in urban settlements in 2014, Commonwealth Europe is 82% urban and Commonwealth South-East Asia 78% with Commonwealth Africa 41%, Commonwealth South Asia 33% and the Commonwealth Pacific Islands 18% urban. Achievement of SDG 11 will require cities to actively address the key dimensions of sustainable development – the economy, the society and the environment and to be inclusive, and proactive to ensure safety of all citizens. Subthemes includes urbanisation and migration, urban planning, informal settlements, formal and informal urban economy, disaster risk reduction and emergency planning, safety and security in cities, and smart cities and ICT.

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Featured

Institutional Collective Action During COVID-19: Lessons in Local Economic Development

At this point, little is known about local government responses to the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. This crisis is happening on Main Streets around the nation. This article examines how some local governments are taking collective action in partnership with other governments as well as with organizations at the local and regional levels. What is unique is that collective action is rare as it relates to traditional economic development practices, yet it is occurring and leading to offerings of multi-institutional grants and low-interest loans. However, some newer supply- and demand-side actions are the result of a lack of resources and need for expediency. Practitioners can learn about the collaborative economic development actions that governments are taking and how these partnerships can stabilize their local economies.

Author: Darrin H. E. Wilson Brad A. M. Johnson Eric Stokan Michael Overton Publisher: Wiley Online Library Publication year: 2020


New urban governance: A review of current themes and future priorities

This review article explores some of the key concepts, trends, and approaches in contemporary urban governance research. Based on a horizon scan of recent literature and a survey of local government officials, it provides a big picture on the topic and identifies areas for future research. Bridging the gap between the scholarly research focus and the perceptions and requirements of city administrators represents a major challenge for the field. Furthermore, because global and comparative research on urban governance is confronted with an absence of systematically collected, comparable data, the article argues that future efforts will require experimenting with methodologies that can generate new empirical insights.

Author: Nuno F. da Cruz, Philipp Rode & Michael McQuarrie Publisher: Journal of Urban Affairs Publication year: 2018


Corruption in Zimbabwean Urban Local Authorities: A Case of Gweru City Council

The research aims to analyze the causes of corruption, anti corruption measures that have been put in place, the challenges that have been faced in the implementation of these strategies and what can be done to improve them. Public sector officials have been seen engaging in corrupt activities and meeting their private gain at the expense of service delivery. Corruption is caused by a variety of factors, if they are not addressed corruption will not be successfully arrested and society will continue to suffer. Forms of corruption which include bribery, nepotism, gross mismanagement of council funds and misuse of council assets, selling of council assets at low rates and the bribing of council workers, have impacted negatively on service delivery. The research was conducted at Gweru City Council and questionnaires and interviews were used to elicit data from the informants. The anti corruption measures revealed include internal and external auditing, punishing of offenders, whistle blowing, use of the code of ethics among other strategies. However, these strategies have not been fully implemented to make them totally effective. The recommendations are that codes of conduct and strong independent oversight bodies should be put in place, improvement of remuneration, internal and external auditing will help curb corrupt practices, penalties should be stiffer but not discriminatory and whistleblowers should report cases of corruption without fear, the media should investigate, report and expose corruption without undermining the credibility of anti corruption efforts. Civil society organizations should be allowed to access and question council information and decisions.

Author: Angeline Sithole Publisher: Asian Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities Publication year: 2013


Local governance and ICTs in Africa

This volume presents important original research on ICT and local goverance in Africa that must not be ignored by public policymakers – at municipal, regional, national and continental levels – in the respective countries in Africa. It is strongly recommended that this work be used and debated.

Author: Timothy Mwololo Waema and Edith Ofwona Adera Publisher: International Development Research Centre Publication year: 2011


The Commonwealth Local Government Forum: An Overview

The Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) was established in 1994, coinciding with rapid moves towards decentralisation at that time, especially in Commonwealth Africa. It uniquely brings together national associations of local government and individual councils, ministries responsible for local government, and training and research institutes with an interest in local government, on a common platform. This reflects an understanding that local government needs effective central government and vice versa if decentralisation is to be truly successful, and that research, training and practice need to be brought together in a constructive and creative way. CLGF’s developmental work can be divided into three main categories: Promotion and advocacy of local democracy and good governance, Exchange of experience and Capacity building.This article provides a brief overview of the activities and projects which CLGF has underway in respect of these objectives. It will be complemented by more detailed papers on specific programmes and projects in this and future issues of the Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance.

Author: Lucy Slack Publisher: Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance Publication year: 2008


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