Project description

Title: Strengthening municipal structures – Maghreb
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia
Overall term: 2008 to 2014

Context

Approximately 60 % of the people living in the Maghreb countries of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia reside in urban areas. With annual growth rates of roughly three per cent and more, these towns and cities will see their populations double in about 30 years. Poverty, housing shortages and environmental risks are particularly prevalent in large towns and cities. At the same time, these urban areas also offer potential for climate protection and sustainability which not only play a crucial role at local level, but also have national and international significance. However, towns and cities also serve as catalysts for economic, social and cultural development. Citizens and industry require competent and service-oriented administrations. International development cooperation promotes the strengthening of municipal authorities.

Consequently, it is in the interests of governments to involve municipal authorities in national and regional development dialogues as active creative powers. The governments of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia are well aware of the fact that municipal development is equally important for national development and for forging closer ties with the EU. Municipal authorities in the Maghreb can display greater creativity with respect to local development if they learn from one another, given the similar challenges and context they face.

Objective

Through a regional network, municipal authorities, associations and civil society organisations in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia are engaged in a considered dialogue on key aspects of sustainable urban development. They have at their disposal citizen-oriented methods of shaping urban development and can employ good municipal governance practices.

Approach

A structured regional forum for sharing experiences has not yet been developed for municipal authorities in the region despite the similar development trends and challenges that they face. Opportunities for designing better local development processes are squandered as a result.

The programme to strengthen municipal structures in the Maghreb thus promotes links between towns and cities in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Through the sharing of experience and knowledge across borders, the municipal authorities learn from one another and actively shape national and regional development dialogues. This helps to raise the effectiveness of innovative solutions and best practices and also promotes the competence and performance of urban management structures.

Interested stakeholders, towns and cities, local government associations and non-governmental organisations in these three countries are invited to participate in the learning dialogue, to contribute their experiences and to benefit from knowledge transfer. This exchange is organised on a multi-country basis or in individual countries, where possible, in the form of thematic forums, workshops and study tours. The knowledge thus generated is edited and published on the programme's website.

Ten selected towns and cities, which form the core of the network, receive targeted technical and procedural advice, as well as financial contributions for especially innovative urban development projects. The project also supports their efforts to procure third-party funds. It fosters project partnerships between towns and cities in the Maghreb and European municipal authorities, especially in Germany. Access to German municipal expertise is especially important for Maghreb towns and cities given their longstanding tradition of municipal self-governance. For instance, the project organised a study tour to Germany in June 2010 covering core aspects of municipal self-governance and urban development that are relevant to these countries in their current municipal context. The participants were decision-makers and multipliers for national municipal policy (reform). They are expected to return to their countries with examples and ideas to stimulate discussion on municipal policy development processes.

Further information

• Local website for the project:
  Coopération des Villes et des Municipalités – CoMun
  http://www.co-mun.net