L.Victoria Rept - UN-Habitat

2.2.1 PREPARING FOR THE LAKE VICTORIA CDS2.2.1.1 Start-upa) Project Document: A project document was prepared by UN-HABITAT that indicated theproject purpose and objectives, activities, outcomes, targeted partners, and budget. Thisdocument was useful in informing the potential partners and the interested donors.b) Expression of Interest by city authorities: With knowledge of existence of the projectdocument, cities along Lake Victoria registered their interest to participate in the projectwith UN-HABITAT through formal communication.c) Municipal Check-listing: For the success of any participatory process, certain minimumpolitical and institutional conditions have to be in place. A Municipal Checklist was conductedin the Lake Victoria CDS in each city in order to examine these conditions and the existinglocal realities. The exercise provided the information necessary to better design the CDS tobe as specific as possible to the local context.Results of the Municipal checklist analysis broadly revealed the following:• Political will: There was evidence of political will in the cities, particularly in Musoma wherethe incumbent mayor has been instrumental in the whole project.• Ability to mobilize local and other resources: All three cities demonstrated their ability andeagerness to mobilize local resources in addition to providing free office space and stafftime to compliment the project. There was the presence of other existing and past initiativesin the cities from which there was potential to build-up on or partner with. There is currentlyan ongoing Cities Without Slums project in Kisumu and Kampala, and a proposed SaferCities project for Kampala all of which can provide synergy with the Lake Victoria CDS.• Presence of Stakeholder groups: All three cities have organized stakeholder groupings,particularly the non-governmental organizations and community based organizations thatwere a necessary condition for inclusion in the process. In Kampala, an NGO, Living Earth,was active in environmental and development issues while UMABU is an active NGO inMusoma. In Kisumu, the Western NGO network, an alliance of several NGOs, has a strongpresence.• Institutional conditions for operationalizing stakeholder involvement: Analysis and discussionrevealed that although broad-based participation in decision-making for municipaldevelopment was not routinely practiced, there had been attempts to involve other sectorsof society in municipal council activities.The result of the above analysis and discussions led to formal agreements between local partnersand external partners, in the form of Cooperation Agreements. The following is a listing ofsuch agreements under the regional CDS:• Cooperation Agreement between United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and Musoma Town Council• Cooperation Agreement between UN-HABITAT and Kampala City Council• Cooperation Agreement between UN-HABITAT and Kisumu Town (now City Council)• Cooperation Agreement between ITDG and UN-HABITAT14Cities Development Strategies for Improved Urban Environment and Poverty Reduction in the Lake Victoria Region