THE HARARE COMMUNIQUÉ ON KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

Knowledge Management (KM) Workshop for National Local Government Associations in Africa

We, the delegates to the Knowledge Management Workshop for national Local Government Associations in Africa, organized by the Municipal Development Partnership for Eastern and Southern Africa (MDP-ESA) in partnership with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) through the African Local Governance Programme (ALGP),

Comprising representatives drawn from the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA), the Association of Local Authorities of Tanzania (ALAT), Association des Municipalites du Mali (AMM), the Association of National Municipalities in Mozambique (ANAMM), the Association of Local Authorities in Namibia (ALAN), the Namibian Association of Local Authority Officers (NALAO), the Local Government Association of Zambia (LGAZ), the Association of Local Government Authorities of Kenya (ALGAK), the Uganda Local Governments Association (ULGA), the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe (UCAZ), the Zimbabwe Local Government Association (ZILGA), the Partenariat pour le Developpement Municipal (PDM), the Municipal development Partnership for Eastern and Southern Africa (MDP-ESA) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities(FCM);

Held from the 19^th – 20^th March 2007, at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Harare, Zimbabwe:

Acknowledging the financial support provided by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for the ALGP, under which the work on Knowledge Management (KM) has been implemented;

Appreciating the work done under the ALGP on Knowledge Management, led by FCM, MDP-ESA and PDM and with the participation of all the ALGP partners; which began with the decision during a Program Committee meeting held in Tshwane, South Africa to focus on knowledge management within the ALGP as a contribution to the global and continental conferences including World Urban Forum, the XVI international Conference on HIV and AIDS in Toronto, the Africities Summit in Nairobi, Kenya; the establishment of a knowledge management units at MDPESA, the implementation of an interregional workshop on KM in Bamako, Mali in September 2005; the subsequent production of the KM Guide for Local Government Associations in 2006; and the implementation of the KM Workshop in Harare in March 2007 to consolidate and validate the KM Guide:

During this KM Guide Validation Workshop, we developed an operational definition of KM; crafted a KM strategy framework for National Local Government Associations which has four elements namely: a) Conceptualization and Contextualization of KM, b) KM Audit including stakeholder analysis, c) KM Action Plan/ Solution Matrix, and d) KM Strategy Risk Analysis; as well we outlined the principal objectives for developing a KM Strategy; and we developed a template for KM Action Plan or a Solution Matrix;

At the end of our discussions, we became aware of the importance that the UCLGA and its sub-regional structures is placing on KM, the preparedness of regional technical organizations PDM and MDPESA to support the enhancement of capacity for knowledge management in local government related institutions; the importance of knowledge management for the local government associations and noted the absence of formal training opportunities on the subject;

At the end of the workshop, we arrived at the conclusion that we,

1. adopt the KM Guide for National Local Government Associations with the amendments and inputs made by the workshop
    

2. prepare regional proposals through which we mobilize resources for the institutional capacity building of national local government associations in KM;
    

3. Institutionalize KM in our Association’s Management for efficient effective service delivery.
    

4. Promote KM among National Local Government Associations and local authorities in Africa through established channels.

We now commit ourselves to;
 

1. Establish a functional KM Network and to promote partnerships amongst Local Government associations and other stakeholders.
    

2. To hold regular review workshops in support of KM at National, Regional and Continental levels.
    

3. To inculcate the KM culture in all our members and clientele.

In order for the above to be achieved we call upon UCLGA, FCM, MDP-ESA and PDM together with other key stakeholders to provide resources to enable Knowledge management to be actualised.

 Made on this 20^th Day of March 2007, Harare, ZIMBABWE