5 JUNE -- Committee II continued its work yesterday, taking statements from representatives of local authorities. The representatives made brief statements and the audience was invited to discuss those statements, make remarks and ask questions.
Jaime Ravinet, Mayor of Santiago de Chile and President of the International Union of Local Authorities, was the first to take the floor. He said that the problems of cities could not be settled by national governments alone but had to be settled jointly, in a partnership involving local authorities, national governments and regional and international organizations, private business etc. Mayor Ravinet expressed the wish to see this partnership made permanent and formal.
Daby Diagne, Mayor of Louga, Senegal, and Vice President of the United Towns Organisation pointed out that there was hardly any national government which did not seek the support of its people through the mobilization of grassroots organizations. The rapid degradation of the quality of life had upset national balances, creating revolt and disorder. He said it was no longer tenable to accept the creation of cities by default, and instead all concerned must be engaged in the proper planning and governance of cities.
Mr. Diagne said that while there was still need for strong central government, this could only have meaning in a partnership with strong local authorities, as the very character of central government did not enable it to deal effectively with local problems . The principle of proximity must be observed, but at the same time local authorities must represent all groups in their competence and must not become instruments for the creation of new inequalities.
Ms. Hortense Aka-Anghui, Mayor of Port-Bouet, Abidjan, Côte d`Ivoire and African Vice President of the World Association of Major Metropolises, called on governments to carry out decentralization in order to create balance and allow local energies to concentrate on respective tasks. Decentralization was a major force in making local people find space for self-expression.
Mayor Aka-Anghui called for cooperation between different local authorities, adding that even where there was competition this should in no way hamper cooperation. Local authorities must be able to exchange information and experiences, as well as expertise in such areas as administration, and technical and financial matters. Rather than limiting cooperation to the north-south effort, there must be more south-south cooperation.
Mr. Yukio Aochima, Governor of Metropolitan Tokyo and President of the Summit Conference of the World's Cities, shared his experience as a relatively newly-elected governor of metropolitan Tokyo. He pointed out that in a few years from now more than half of the world would live in urban areas, and this meant that local authorities would be faced with an enormous task. The way we govern our cities and towns would, in effect, determine the future of mankind.
Mayor Aochima called for the efficient and effective management of the cities of the world. He called on central governments to have more faith in the ability of local authorities to run their affairs. He pointed out that although some progress had been made in Japan in this area, the Japanese central authorities were still reluctant to devolve more power to local authorities, forcing the latter to consult with the centre on several matters unnecessarily. The local authorities controlled only 30 per cent of their finances and this had given rise to what is called "30 per cent autonomy".
Mayor Aochima said there could be no substitute for decentralization. It was the only way to ensure that problems affecting local people were discussed and solved through self-reliance. Even when mistakes were made there was no regret, as today's failure could be the stepping-stone to tomorrow's success. Besides, local participation enhanced transparency and fairness of processes.
Max Ng'wande, President of the Local Government Association of Zambia, Vice-President of the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA), Africa Section, recognized the need to organise a post-Istanbul roundtable meeting of the coordinating body of the G4+, constituted by the just ended World Assembly of Cities and Local Authorities, major specialized agencies of the United Nations and international financing agencies "to work out broad guidelines and procedures of cooperation focussing, inter alia, on ...integration of cooperative efforts to encompass municipal international cooperation, United Nations specialized agencies and international financing agencies: funding of cooperative efforts; coordinating procedures to avoid friction and duplication of efforts; capacity building and utilization at the local level as a firm basis for sustainability; and the establishment of a database for the cooperative activities and players involved therein".
Dr. Sharada Kolli, Mayor of Guntur, India, talked of the growing complexity of the Asia and Pacific region with the unfolding market liberalization, globalization and the resulting interdependency, which require the empowerment of local authorities through modernization and the effective utilization of emerging technologies.
Dr. Kolli recognized the need to move from conventional planning, development and management systems which are "top-down, centralized, protective and opaque" and adapt to systems "which emphasize decentralization, accountability, transparency, partnership and networking".
Dr. Kolli called for the strengthening of training for both staff and elected officials to enable them to keep pace with rapidly changing technology, so as to build capacities.
Mayor Gary MacCaleb of Abilene, Texas, commended those responsible for convening the HABITAT II conference, which he saw as an "appropriate response" to accelerated urbanization. He pointed out that another area humanity needed to worry about was technology which, like urbanization was expanding faster man could cope with.
Mayor MacCaleb said that technology could be intimidating because it was new but he was in favour of "breaking through the barriers of technological complexity to find the simple and valuable ways technology can serve our citizens."
Bernard Stasi, Mayor of Epernay, France, strongly supported the principle of decentralization, saying that decentralization was an instrument of democratization.He gave the example of his country where, before a law on decentralization was passed in 1982 ,local authorities were severely hampered in their functions because of the tutelage of central authorities.
Mayor Stasi went on to say that even in young democracies, placing power in the hands of local authorities, which are the base, was a guarantee for the continuation of democracy even in the event of a political tempest shaking the summit .
Other contributions were made by delegates from Azerbaijan, Malta, Cyprus, Mexico, Spain and Brazil.