Urban Governance and Decentralisation Programme (UGDP)

GENERAL INFORMATION AND MAIN OBJECTIVE

Commissioned by German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Co-financed by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Implementing GIZorganisations CES Consulting Engineers GOPA Consultants KfW Development Bank

Partner organisations Ethiopian Ministry of Urban Development and Construction (MUDC) Ethiopian Civil Service University Ethiopian Cities Association Eight regional states and eight partner cities Current phase 06/2012 - 12/2014

Budget EUR 19 million • BMZ: EUR 13 million • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: EUR 6 million

Objective Towns and cities deliver efficient and effective services through self-governed funding and an improved public infrastructure. They involve the population in decision-making processes, give rural regions incentives for development and improve the enabling environment for economic growth and job creation.

Implemented by:

CHALLENGE

High population pressure, inadequate infrastructure, rising unemployment and poverty: Ethiopia’s cities are growing fast. Thus, the young municipal authorities are facing more challenges. They lack the qualified staff, revenues, practical experience as well as institutionalised planning and administrative procedures to provide demand-driven basic services to the growing population.At the same time, Ethiopia is undergoing a process of extensive administrative decentralisation. As a result more and more responsibility is delegated to towns and cities.The urbanization process in Ethiopia is, however, a recent development and there is still the opportunity to prepare municipal authorities for the challenges arising from this. This will enable the cities to reduce poverty and to enhance economic development.

OUR APPROACH

• Supporting municipal authorities in financial management and in the planning and management of the public infrastructure.

• Financing and building infrastructure such as roads, markets and sewage systems as well as Ethiopia’s first landfill sites and sewage treatment plants.

• Tackling urban poverty by introducing labour-intensive infrastructure construction methods, e.g. cobbled streets. Thus, jobs are created in the cities.

• Strengthening civil society by means of effective civic participation in urban decision-making processes.

• Training local businesses to carry out infrastructure and service projects.

• Advising ministries, the Ethiopian Civil Service University and the Ethiopian Cities Association on - developing and standardising basic

administrative and planning procedures and - mainstreaming these in administrative

processes in more than 180 reform cities across the country.

PROGRAMME IMPACTS

• Improved service delivery: More than 30 infrastructure projects have been implemented since 2004 in the context of previous programmes. The citizens’ level of satisfaction with municipal services in UGDP partner cities has increased by 20% since 2007.

• Enhanced local self-administration: Since the start of the programme, twenty-six partner cities have increased their revenues by more than 20%.

• Contribution to Good Governance: Civil society is actively involved in decision-making processes; public tender processes are more transparent and competitive. City councils are increasingly representing civil society interests.

• Reduced urban poverty: The labour-intensive construction and management of infrastructure has created numerous long-term and more than 100,000 temporary jobs.

Imprint

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH KfW

German Development Cooperation OfficeP.O. Box 12631, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaT +251 11 5180 200F +251 11 5540 764E giz-aethiopien@giz.deI www.giz.de/ethiopia

Photos: GIZ archives, Toni Kaatz-Dubberke, Michael Tsegaye © GIZ Updated: February 2013