UN-HABITAT has re-engaged with local authorities in Puntland and Somaliland through the training of local councillors, local leaders, and key department staff members in the key competences and skills required from those serving the general public as leaders. These training activities are part of the larger five-year governance capacity-building component of the Joint Programme on Local Governance and Decentralized Service Delivery. It started in November 2009 and all ten target towns of the first phase of activities will benefit from these two training modules by the end of 2010, including the yet-to-be-elected new district councils in Puntland.
During the course of these training and capacity-building activities, UN-HABITAT and the government partners are committed to developing suitable models to support the respective Ministries of Interior to gradually take over the role of coordinator and contractor of training providers. Further training needs must be assessed, a pool of trained trainers in various governance topics must be established and maintained, and records must be kept of the training needs and status of local authorities. This will significantly enhance the sustainability of the results achieved through the current training delivery and, importantly, will increase the ownership of governance capacity building by the central government. In Somaliland, the Somaliland Municipal Association is envisaged to play a future role in assessing the capacity-building needs of local authorities for the central authorities, and also promoting these needs. |
