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Speech at the Commonwealth Local Government Conference

Date: 4 Mar 2003
Speaker: Secretary-General Don McKinnon
Location: Tshwane, South Africa

Mr President, Councillor Len Duvall, Ministers, Carl Wright, colleagues and friends,

It is good to be here in South Africa this morning, it is an honour to have been invited to deliver this keynote address and it is a great pleasure to be once again with so many good friends.

You will see from your Programme that I have given the theme of "The Commonwealth: partnerships for development".

Nothing could be more appropriate, for the Commonwealth itself is a partnership, a partnership - if I may amend the title somewhat - for democracy and development. Indeed, all the best aspects of the modern world are characterised by the making of intelligent partnerships.

Ever since I became Commonwealth Secretary-General I have tried to ensure that the Commonwealth Secretariat and the whole Commonwealth family embraces and implements the idea of partnership.

I want to thank the Commonwealth Local Government Forum for having done just that. The partnership approach runs through everything CLGF does and is at the core of what it is.

May I also take this opportunity to thank South Africa and acknowledge the contribution it has made to our Commonwealth partnership, specifically its contribution to the work of the CLGF and to building up the idea of local democracy within our association.

President Mbeki's presence here today testifies to South Africa's commitment to that objective. I was especially struck by his remark at the recent ANC conference that "local government is the front desk in our system of governance".

But the one that strikes me most forcefully is the formal recognition that South Africa has given to local democracy in its Constitution.

South Africa is not unique in this. I know that Ghana, India and several other countries have done the same. It is an innovation which I would commend to other Commonwealth countries.

Mr Chairman, I want to begin my address by telling you about the priorities the Commonwealth as a whole has set for itself.

When Heads of Government met last March in Coolum, Australia, the media's attention was almost entirely devoted to our discussions about Zimbabwe.

I do not blame the media for that: those discussions and the decisions that were taken mattered. But they should not obscure the significance of a number of other decisions which were taken in Coolum.

Just now I described the Commonwealth as a partnership for democracy and development. Let me begin with development.

At their Coolum summit, Heads of Government of course reaffirmed their commitment to sustainable development.

That is needed now more than ever. Many of you will know that I have been championing what I call 'a spirit of generous globalisation'. Global inequalities are increasing:

- the gap between the richest 20 per cent and the poorest 20 per cent of the world's population has doubled over the past 40 years;

- in Commonwealth countries alone some 660 million people live below the poverty line of US $1 per day;

- and 1.2 billion people have no chance of seeing, let alone drinking, a clean glass of water.

That is why Commonwealth Heads of Government said at Coolum that "the benefits of globalisation must be shared more widely" and urged that the process must be channelled for the elimination of poverty and human deprivation.

The developed world must demonstrate a spirit of generosity to ensure that the benefits of globalisation are shared more equitably.

We need an international economic system that is just as well as productive and profitable. With that end in view Heads of Government also decided to establish a high-level expert group to report to the next CHOGM on the links between democracy and good governance on the one hand and poverty, under-development and conflict on the other.

Heads of Government of course also reaffirmed their commitment to the fundamental political values of the Commonwealth as set out in the Harare Commonwealth Declaration and reinforced in the Millbrook Action Programme.

And they added to the Commonwealth's means of upholding its fundamental political values by deciding to broaden the remit of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), the group of eight Foreign Ministers which is charged with protecting those values between Heads of Government Meetings.

Previously, CMAG could only take strong action in the event of an unconstitutional overthrow of an elected government. From Coolum on, effective action can be taken against member countries which are in serious or persistent violation of the Harare Commonwealth Principles even when there has not been such an unconstitutional overthrow.

Heads of Government also adopted the recommendation of the High-Level Review Group chaired by President Mbeki, that the good offices role of the Commonwealth Secretary-General should be strengthened, so that in future we can do more peace building, conflict prevention and post-conflict capacity building work.

They adopted a Plan of Action against Terrorism which focuses on ways of helping member countries, particularly smaller states, to fulfil their international obligations in this respect.

They welcomed the new Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which highlights the links between sustainable development, democracy, good governance and human rights and has the potential to help the African continent realise its true economic potential.

They again emphasised their support for small states, and in that context threw their weight behind efforts to strengthen small states' representation at the World Trade Organisation and in the dialogue with the OECD on its Harmful Tax Initiative.

In an important indication of the overall direction that the Commonwealth needs to take in the years to come, Heads signalled the need for greater synergy between the governmental body and the 70 or so organisations that make up the non-governmental Commonwealth.

Finally, Heads used CHOGM to launch the pan-Commonwealth 'Youth for the Future' initiative, whose purpose is to promote technology and skills transfer and to foster youth enterprise.

Mr Chairman, these decisions may not have produced banner headlines but they were significant.

They also provide some insights into the sort of Commonwealth Heads of Government hope for in the next 50 years.

It will be a Commonwealth which, as the Coolum Declaration states, will be united in its commitment to:

• democracy, the rule of law, good governance, freedom of expression and the protection of human rights;

• respect for diversity and human dignity;

• the elimination of poverty and the promotion of people-centred and sustainable development; and

• support for international peace and security.

Those encapsulate the key priorities for the Commonwealth now and for the next fifty years.

Coolum also underscored once again the importance of local government. The meeting:

- noted the importance of the role of local government in member countries;

- welcomed the report of the first Commonwealth Local Government Conference, held in London in September 2000;

- noted the co-operation between the Commonwealth Local Government Forum and the Commonwealth Secretariat in promoting democratic values and good governance;

- welcomed the support provided by the UK and Australia to the CLGF Good Practice scheme and called for other members to contribute;

- noted the value of the Regional Information Centre for Southern Africa, and hoped that the CLGF would be provided with the resources to establish similar centres in the Pacific and other regions.

Since Coolum the Commonwealth Secretariat and CLGF have worked together to observe elections and to provide technical experts to strengthen local democracy in several member countries. I hope we will work together even more closely to promote democracy in the years to come.

There has also been wider co-operation, for instance on the environment and on urban settlements. CLGF also recently made a valuable submission to the Commonwealth Expert Group on Democracy and Development, which will make recommendations to the 2003 CHOGM.

You may be aware that CLGF's submission highlighted the role of local government in promoting pro-poor development strategies, including those that were agreed at the WSSD in Johannesburg.

And the collaboration has not just been between the CLGF and the Commonwealth Secretariat: I am delighted to see that the Commonwealth Business Council and the Commonwealth Foundation are both involved in this conference and I note the various ways in which both bodies are working together with CLGF.

Now everyone in the Commonwealth family is gearing up to the 2003 Heads of Government Meeting which is to take place in Abuja, Nigeria, in December.

I am sure CLGF will once again draw attention to the important role of local democracy as it has done in the past.

The Commonwealth does need to remind itself as often and as strongly as it can of the key importance of local democracy.

And here, Mr Chairman, I have two points to make to this meeting. They may be obvious but, I believe, they are important nonetheless.

First, I say local democracy because what you are involved in is much more than "local government" or "local administration".

All countries have local government or local administration, even those which are not democratic at all.

But local government and local administration is not always democratic - and it should be. The obvious but crucial point is that local government and local administration must be both local and truly democratic.

The second point I want to stress is this. There will always be a degree of tension between the different spheres of government: that is natural.
This should always be creative tension. Sometimes, it is not.

Sometimes there is a very marked imbalance, often because all the revenue-raising powers and all the serious powers are concentrated in central government.

I do not want to enter into the debate about 'fiscal decentralisation'. Let me simply say that in the interests of both democracy and efficiency there has to be a balance in the relationship between national, regional and local democracy.

A balance that people understand; a balance that is acceptable and workable; a balance that is respected by all.

Local government should not simply be the local deliverers of policies and services which are shaped, delivered and wholly funded at national level.

Having said that, local democracy - like every other kind of democracy - must deliver. That is what your conference is about this year: how should local democracy deliver services to the people?

For my part:

- partnership is the key theme;
- there has to be a pro-poor bias; and
- good practice guidelines are essential.

But that is not all. Local democracy must ensure that delivery is done in such a way that it empowers people - not least women.

Local democracy must also ensure that delivery reflects the priorities of the community and that it reduces poverty and promotes economic development.

But there is a more basic responsibility even than those I have just set out.

Local democracy must set realistic but high standards - and local democracy must ensure that they are met.

Increasingly, local democracy will not be the entity which actually delivers the services. But it must always be the guarantor of the quality of those services.

Mr Chairman, I look forward to the outcomes - and in particular to the recommendations - of this conference.

It is good to have this opportunity to underline yet again both the high regard in which the Commonwealth Local Government Forum is held and the value of the work undertaken by you, the Commonwealth's local democrats.

But now I must end. It was Seneca, that well known philosopher, who predicted that he was going to die in the "wilderness of inattention" because nobody would listen to him for as much as two minutes. Thank you for listening to me for much more than that.

Thank you once again for inviting me to address you this morning and allowing me to be once more, as I said at the beginning, "amongst such good friends".

I hope you have a successful conference.

Download the speech: Speech at the Commonwealth Local Government Conference

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