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Ethiopian Visitors and UMC Hosts in Vyara |
Three Indian cities shared best practices in solid waste collection and disposal, financial management, and other municipal services with officials from Ethiopia during a study tour hosted by the Urban Management Centre (UMC), ICMA’s representative in South Asia.
The study tour was carried out as part of the ICMA CityLinks program in the Ethiopian cities of Gambella (Gambella region) and Jijiga (Somali region). The CityLinks program is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The Indian cities of Navsari, Surat, and Vyara (all in Gujarat state) showcased their programs during the five-day visit.
The Ethiopian delegation consisted of ten mayors, city managers, and department heads with an interest in learning about the governance framework in India and the implementation of public-private partnerships in local service delivery.
UMC director Manvita Baradi and deputy director Meghna Malhotra accompanied and oriented the group at the start of the visit. Two UMC staff members, Arvind Singh, program manager, and Nidhi Shah, project associate, accompanied the team throughout the study tour.
In Navsari, city officials and staff described best practices in forging public-private participation in development of gardens, roads and traffic circles, footpaths, recreation facilities, and other projects. They also gave a presentation on financial management, budgeting, and accounting reforms and explained the solid waste management “trail”—from door-to door collection to transportation and disposal.
Principles from the presentations were illustrated by visits to local sites that showcased rainwater collection, beautification and slum rehabilitation, water filtration, energy generation by conversion of gas from vegetable waste, and other programs.
ICMA’s relationship with Navsari began with an exchange arranged through the International Management Exchange Program between ICMA and the City Managers’ Association, Gujarat, an ICMA international affiliate. In that exchange, ICMA member Ron Bergman partnered with the Navsari city engineer.
The Surat portion of the tour included visits to the city’s solid waste management site, an indoor stadium, a citizen service center, and an anti-poverty program. City officials made presentations on solid waste management and on property tax improvements that increased local revenues. Surat is recognized as a high-performing city in India.
Officials in Vyara discussed the city’s solid waste management practices and the development of social infrastructure through such initiatives as a senior citizens’ club. They also addressed efficient coordination between the elected and executive portions of the city government and between the local government and the public.
In the course of the tour, the delegates visited sites of cultural and historical interest and had an opportunity to observe transparent, democratic government in action at a city council meeting in Navsari. The tour concluded with the preparation of an action plan for implementation in Ethiopian cities.
According to Okok Ojulu Okok, CityLinks project coordinator for the Gambella Region,“The level of high commitment, honesty, and integrity, and the hard working attitudes shown by the municipal authorities in the cities visited are the outcomes of choice grounded in qualities like 'Give to the world the best you have. And the best will come back to you.’”
Reflecting on the study tour, Baradi said, “Seeing is believing . . . and such city practitioner exchanges are very important for shared learning about issues and solutions in urban management.” In a followup evaluation survey, participants gave the event an average rating of 3.7 on a 4-point scale.
UMC, based in Ahmedabad, India, works in collaboration with ICMA to implement programs that help professionalize urban management in India. Facilitating a network of more than 1,800 cities, UMC works extensively in the areas of financial management, sustainable planning solutions, service delivery and environmental management, association development, documentation and transfer of innovations, establishment of city-to-city partnerships, capacity building, and performance measurement.
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