Cities Alliance Annual Report 2018

BOX 4:
The Uganda
Urban Expo
puts secondary
cities on the
agenda
“Cities Alliance does not only talk the talk,
but also walks the walk.”
-Majid Batambuze, the Mayor of Jinja
In September 2018, urban
stakeholders gathered in Jinja for the
first-ever Uganda Urban Expo. On the
agenda: How to enhance the role of
secondary cities to promote economic
development. The entire Expo was
locally driven and organised, and
it attracted a great deal of interest
from local authorities, the national
government, civil society, academia
and the private sector.
The Uganda Urban Expo was
organised by the Ministry of Lands,
Housing and Urban Development,
Jinja Municipal Council in collaboration
with the Urban Authorities Association
(UAAU), Chamber of Commerce
and Industry and the Private Sector
Foundation Uganda.
Representatives of some 30 Ugandan
municipalities and delegates from over
ten countries came together to discuss
a broad range of issues relating to the
investment readiness of secondary
cities, from integrated urban planning
to migration and refugees, publicprivate
cooperation, repositioning
secondary cities for job creation, green
economy, use of big data and access
to capital markets.
It was a significant success, and
participants resolved to hold the Expo
each year in a different secondary city
– ensuring that secondary cities will
remain high on the agenda in Uganda.
The conference also adopted the Jinja
Declaration on Secondary Cities.
Activities centred around the
theme of “Becoming investment
ready: Unveiling the business and
investment potential of secondary
cities.” Participants attended learning
workshops, browsed an exhibition of
urban solutions and products, and
went on field visits to see local projects
and sites aligned with the expo’s
theme.
They also had had a chance to
network, explore new partnerships, and
make their voices heard. With nationallevel
ministers in attendance, mayors
took advantage of the opportunity
to advocate for more investment
and interventions in secondary cities.
Companies with innovative solutions
to urban challenges were able to show
their products and engage with urban
managers, potentially leading to new
relationships.
The learning sessions provided
practical guidance to cities on how
to become investment ready, how
to promote equitable economic
growth, and how to unlock the
various potentials for investment and
business promotion. The conversation
throughout focused on an essential
aspect: How to pay for municipal
development.
Cities Alliance supported the Uganda
Urban Expo through its JWP on
Equitable Economic Growth in Cities.
The Secretariat hosted two sessions,
one on SDGs and the New Urban
Agenda as enablers of business and
investment in secondary cities, and a
second with UNCDF on reaching out
to capital and debt markets.
For Cities Alliance, the Expo was
another step towards working in the
field of finance and investments. It
was also an extension of our longterm
partnership with Uganda to
strengthen the urban agenda in the
country, through our Transforming
the Settlements of the Urban Poor
in Uganda Country Programme, the
Future Cities Africa project, and the
Equitable Economic Growth Campaign
Cities initiative.
Cities Alliance was a strategic partner
and sponsor in the Expo, along with
UNCDF, Pulse Lab Kampala, BIDCO
Africa, UNDP, UNHCR, UN-Habitat, the
UN Economic Commission for Africa,
and the International Organization for
Migration.
The organisers recognised the
value of this partnership and Cities
Alliance’s support for the Expo since
its inception. Majid Batambuze, the
Mayor of Jinja, noted that “Cities
Alliance does not only talk the talk,
but also walks the walk.”
38 Cities Alliance