Municipalities in Palestine are facing various challenges to secure sufficient public services to meet the needs and demands of their inhabitants. The lack of capacities on the local level in addition to other aspects such as ineffective revenue generation and the effects of the Israeli occupation have contributed to negative impacts on planning and provision of services.
One of the key players in local governance in Palestine, as well as in every other country is the City Managers. They sit at the top of the executive team in municipalities, and they are responsible for implementing plans, policies and decisions made by City Councils. In addition, the City Managers are the linkage between the Staff and Municipal Councils.
Therefore, the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA), as the sole representative of LGUs in Palestine, aims to establish the Palestinian City Managers Network (PCMN), as a unit within the Association, to form an Executive Body to carry out the decisions made by APLA, and to ensure that the policies adopted by the Association will be adopted and implemented in all Municipalities. The PCMN as part of APLA will be responsible for this process. Also, the establishment of this Network aims to strengthen development and reform processes in planning, financial aspects and accountability of LGUs in Palestine, The PCMN will form a parallel mechanism to facilitate exchange, networking and mutual learning for local development in Palestine. And enable partner municipalities to build capacity by discussing topics of relevant and mutual interest and facilitate learning from each other by exchanging good practices. This Network will eventually form the base for qualified candidates from Palestine to join the International City/County Management Association “ICMA”.
The purpose of the Action Plan is to provide a road map to build a City Managers Network in Palestine; it sets out the strategies and actions/tactics that the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities “APLA” should adopt to build the Palestinian City Managers Network (PCMN), to build the core Palestinian team to join the International City/County Management Association “ICMA”.
This plan covers the opportunities; objectives, conditions, expected results, challenges, indicators to measure APLAs’ capacity to build the city managers network. It also provides the strategies, tactics, and execution plan.
This plan should be kept under review to ensure it remains relevant and appropriate at all times. It is intended to be a guide to those involved in building the Palestinian City Managers Network, and should develop and change over time according to external challenges and changes in the political and environmental situation in Palestine.
