Africa Regional Decentralization and Local Governance Workshop

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) builds the productive capacity and self-reliance of poor communities by increasing their access to essential local infrastructure and services. The UNCDF Africa Regional Decentralization and Local Governance Workshop was held in Cape Town, South Africa on March 26-30, 2001. The objectives of the conference were to promote dialogue on decentralization and local government reform and to share experiences from other countries amongst African practitioners and researchers on the implementation of decentralization policies. The Capstone team conducted background research on the major workshop themes: Sectoral/Fiscal Decentralization, Decentralized Environmental/Natural Resource Management, Local Political and Institutional Structures, and Local Economic Development. The Capstone team provided the drafts of the terms of reference for different working groups to be held at the workshop. It also contributed to the design of the program agenda. Two members of the team attended the workshop and assisted with a number of the sessions. After the conclusion of the workshop, the team reviewed its outputs for inclusion in a synthesis paper.