Municipal finance in focus at Commonwealth workshop

The Commonwealth Secretariat is organising a workshop aimed at strengthening the capabilities of senior officials involved with finance and municipal budgeting.

Funded by the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation, more than 30 participants are scheduled to attend this pan-Commonwealth programme. It will be delivered at the School of Public Policy of the University of Birmingham, UK, from 27 November to 1 December 2006. Participants are expected to graduate from the programme with a clearer idea of what needs improvement in their home governments.

"A critical determinant of the effective performance of sub-national and local governments is finance -- their ability to mobilise financial resources and to use them effectively and efficiently," said Richard Gold, Interim Director of the Secretariat's Governance and Institutional Development Division (GIDD), which is managing the event.

"Hence, there is an increased responsibility on Commonwealth sub-national and local governments for the delivery of public services and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals."

Head of GIDD's Special Programme Section, John Wilkins, added that the programme will assist member governments in better incorporating local governments -- that are closer to ordinary citizens -- into the governance process. "Financing of municipal infrastructure and service delivery is critical to quality of life issues. Citizens expect their local governments to give voice to their concerns on the national stage too," he said.

"The workshop will examine current best practices in developed and developing countries," GIDD Programme Adviser Munawwar Alam said.

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