80943 CITIES ALLIANCE CITIES ALLIANCE IN ACTION IN ACTION Johannesburg-Lilongwe Partnership Leads to a Robust City Development Strategy Malawi remains one of the least urbanised African countries, but its cities—especially the capital, Project: Preparatory Grant for Development of Lilongwe CDS and City Future Joint Work Lilongwe—are growing very fast. Unfortunately, as in Programme with UCLG most developing countries, the provision of quality housing and services has not kept pace, and this rapid Partners: Lilongwe City Assembly, City of urbanisation has become synonymous with poverty and Johannesburg, United Cities and Local slum growth. In 2007 the Lilongwe City Assembly Governments (UCLG), Malawi Local Government Association (MALGA) decided to develop a city development strategy (CDS) to guide its future development. But it had no experience Duration: 2008 - 2012 with the strategic urban planning process and was confronted with political leadership, management, Financing: USD 72,000 resource, and corruption issues. With support from Key Results: both global and national associations (United Cities and • Built local capacity to develop city strategy Local Governments and the Malawi Local Government and implement a reform agenda Association), Lilongwe therefore turned to the more • Strengthened a regional relationship experienced city of Johannesburg for guidance. • Led to millions of dollars’ worth of external funding to implement the strategy A Structured but Flexible Process • Integrated slum upgrading and urban planning First, a Cities Alliance grant paid for a consultant to • Integrated MDG targets into urban plans assess the governing institution, development partner projects, and other data needed to understand the areas of concern: Governance, shelter and land; context and set the direction of the CDS. This also led to infrastructure and environment; community the development of numerous partnerships. development; and economic development. It included a five-year implementation plan with proposed iconic The assessment revealed a critical need to fix financial projects, and monitoring and evaluation guidelines. systems, fill vacant management positions, and upgrade Incorporation of MDG targets ensured a pro-poor equipment before moving on to the next phase. An orientation. administrative reform strategy was therefore developed and implemented, which led to the appointment of a Many organisations were consulted during the first two CEO and Head of Planning and also addressed key phases to ensure adequate input. The third phase, now equipment and resource issues. underway, is focused on laying the groundwork for the implementation of the CDS. It includes, for example: This marked the end of Johannesburg’s mentorship role. Establishing a CDS unit in the office of the chief The CDS itself was developed by the Lilongwe City executive; finalising a business plan and departmental Assembly without any external financial support and scorecards; and developing iconic projects. It is being launched in 2010. This led to full ownership of the driven and carried out solely by Lilongwe officials, with strategy and the robust development of institutional funding from the Cities Alliance. knowledge. The CDS was organised around five key www.citiesalliance.org The Many Benefits of Mentorship which has led to Mzuzu’s first visioning process and Johannesburg’s mentorship, although it required plenty strategic planning framework. of time and resources, was critical; a guide pack would Lessons Learned not have offered the same benefits. The mentorship ensured that the programme had the right tools, Mentorships such as this are best provided by peer cities involved critical stakeholders, remained on target, and that have typically shared similar challenges and used the best possible information. environments. Because the relationship was managed informally, the process was flexible and could more The Johannesburg team offered targeted support and easily respond to changing capacity levels within the guidance to the Lilongwe City Council. The mentors assembly and accommodate new requirements such as were involved as little or as much as was needed, and the stabilization strategy. The informality also allowed they led by example, carrying out many activities first the relationship between the two cities to develop and then explaining how to use their outputs. organically and laid a solid foundation for a more formal relationship to develop. This approach substantially improved the council’s capacity to formulate and adopt strategies in economic It was important that the mentorship request originated management, shelter, land, and infrastructure. The in Lilongwe and was clearly articulated. Mentoring will council also computerised much of its accounting and only yield meaningful long-term results if is billing system, leading to more transparency, accompanied by structured and extensive capacity accountability, and efficiency, as well as higher revenues. building that improves the city’s systems and develops This enabled the council to raise staff salaries, based on the administration’s strategic and management skills. the new performance management system. One Regular face-to-face contact is essential to maintain significant service delivery improvement has been the momentum. It is best if the mentor team possesses a absence of cholera cases in the past fiscal year. wide range of high-level skills and experience, in order to provide value during different stages of the process. These improvements have enabled the council to quickly leverage additional investments to implement This partnership also challenged the widely held belief some elements of the CDS. These funds are being used that strategic planning and related technical outputs can to: Create nearly 2,000 residential and commercial plots only be produced with substantial donor funding and for the poor; improve water and sanitation in the extensive reliance on consultants. settlements; strengthen the Community Savings and Loans Association; and improve dilapidated roads and install street lighting. Thanks to such achievements, the mentorship programme was one of five cities awarded the 2012 International Guangzhou Award for Urban Innovation (co-hosted by UCLG, Metropolis, and the Guangzhou Municipal Government). The mentorship also strengthened the relationship between the two countries. The benefits were far- reaching: Representatives from Malawi’s other major cities—Blantyre, Zomba, and Mzuzu—participated in all of the CDS workshops in order to learn how to replicate One new development project has created better housing for public servants. the CDS process themselves. UCLG then facilitated a mentorship between Mzuzu and Durban/Ethekwini, www.citiesalliance.org