Local and regional authorities make their voices heard at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Local and regional authorities make their voices heard at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The representative organizations of local and regional authorities, including UCLG Africa, have launched a Call to Action at the 29th Conference of the Parties on Climate that took place from November 11 to 22, 2024 in Baku, at the invitation of the United Nations and the Government of Azerbaijan.

This Call to Action stresses the need to recognize that those responsible for managing cities and territories are on the front line when disasters linked to the impact of climate change occur, and must be able to access the means and resources of the Loss and Damage Fund set up to prepare for and act effectively in the event of such disasters.

This Call to Action also insists that this Fund, initially endowed with around 800 million dollars, be rapidly replenished so that its resources enable it to respond to the upsurge in the occurrence of exceptional climatic events in all regions of the world, and more particularly in Africa, the region of the world that has contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions to which experts attribute the cause of current climate disruption; but which is paying the heaviest price in terms of the impacts of climate change on their cities and territories.

The delegations of mayors and local authorities from Africa present in Baku welcomed the role played by UCLG Africa in making the voice, concerns and proposals of local Africa heard at this major global meeting on climate issues.

On the sidelines of their participation in COP29, the delegations of African mayors and local authorities met to decide how to deal with the publication in the media of malicious information aimed at tarnishing the image of UCLG Africa, its Secretary General and its entire leadership. The African mayors and local authorities present in Baku acknowledged that UCLG Africa is indeed experiencing financial difficulties, some of which are due to the fact that members do not pay their dues regularly. But these situations are not exceptional, and must be tackled with mobilization and reaction if they are not to continue.

The publication, at regular intervals, of articles tending to cast aspersions on UCLG Africa, the continental umbrella organization of Africa’s local authorities, shows that we are in the presence of an orchestrated smear campaign, at the very moment when UCLG Africa’s audience is increasingly recognized in Africa and around the world.

Why this campaign now? Who has an interest in UCLG Africa being seen in a bad light by its partners, or having difficulties with Morocco?

The mayors, local councillors and leaders of subnational and local governments from Africa present at COP29 hope that everything possible will be done, including with the assistance of the Moroccan authorities, to put an end to this campaign to denigrate their continental umbrella organization as quickly as possible.

No African local authority and no African state has any interest in UCLG Africa being dragged through the mud. Together, for over fifteen years, the members of the African local government community, supported by the Kingdom of Morocco, have built a fine organization that has contributed to the unification of the African and global municipal movement.

UCLG Africa raises high the banner of Africa’s territories by organizing the Africities Summits, a world-renowned platform for dialogue on local governance; by contributing to the continent’s integration through the promotion and development of decentralized cooperation between the continent’s local authorities; by carrying out much-appreciated capacity-building activities for elected representatives and executives of African local and regional governments; by constantly advocating access for African cities and territories to investment and capital market resources; by becoming an implementing agency for climate finance institutions; etc.

In Africa, we know that it’s not at harvest time that we destroy our farms.