LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN TZ COMMENDED FOR ITS COMMITMENT IN ADOPTING THE UN FINANCE APPROACH

 locAL GOVERNMENT IN TANZANIA COMMENDED

BY PROSPER MAKENE,  the  guardian, tanzania.

18th June 2015

Denis Bandisa (L), director of services at the Prime Minister's Office-Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG).

 The UN in Tanzania has commended the government for its commitment in adopting the UNCDF local development finance approach in promoting commercially viable investments in local infrastructure projects that result in achieving significant transformative impacts to communities. 

Speaking at UNCDF Local Development Finance Workshop in Arusha on Monday, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Tanzania Alvaro Rodriguez said scaling up the UNCDF LFI approach in all local governments is the best way to create sustainability and replication of successful investments nationwide.

Alvaro also said that the LFI programme has existed in Tanzania for over three years and the impact on the lives of local communities of this very country cannot be underestimated.

He pointed out that the attitude of community ownership must be embodied to realise the full potential of the investments.

“UN Tanzania through UNCDF will continue to work with the government of Tanzania as we believe in poverty eradication through the transfer of investment capital to the local level to invest in local development,” he said.

The workshop is a continuation of the capacity development and knowledge sharing events conducted by UNCDF to support public and private developers of economic infrastructure needed to accelerate local development.

The workshop was dedicated to showcase local government sponsored projects from the Busia Municipal Council in Uganda who developed a cross border multipurpose lorry park, customs and trade facilities and Kibaha Town Council in Tanzania for their public service delivery infrastructure projects (modern market and bus terminal).

The UNCDF technical team trained participants on project development and financing phases with specific focus on risk mitigation strategies. 

Emphasising on the relevance of the workshop, Head of UNCDF in Tanzania and the Manager of the Global LFI programme,  Peter Malika said: “The workshop offered a unique opportunity for local governments and other participants to learn new and innovative ways for localities to access domestic capital markets for financing their local economic infrastructure projects needed to create opportunities for trade, entrepreneurship, empowerment, employment, improved people’s lives, revenue collection and service delivery .”

The two-day workshop was among many of the UNCDF initiatives in building capacities to the Local Governments so as to realise the sustainable impact to the communities, in which the UN Organisation and the government work together towards ending poverty.

Speaking at the opening, the Permanent Secretary of PMO-RALG, Jumanne Sagini praised the work of Local Finance Initiative (LFI) programme under the leadership of its Secretariat for their innovation in unlocking the flow of capital to invest in economic development projects sponsored by local government authorities. 

He further expressed government commitment to institutionalise and support the adoption of the UNCDF local development financing approach and risk reduction strategies by all local governments and inclusion of similar investments in their annual investment plans. 

UNCDF’s Local Finance Initiative (LFI) programme is currently being implemented in Tanzania and Uganda and will extend to Benin, Senegal and Bangladesh in 2015, he said.

LFI is providing skills and capacity development to local project developers to ensure that their approach to bankers and investors is timed correctly and productive. 

The programme is designed to promote sustainable, inclusive and equitable growth by developing local investment opportunities that can deliver transformative impact and support the projects to get financing through the private sector and preferably domestic capital markets.