At the heart of the global-city region (GCR) model lies knowledge sharing and co-operation, according to Qedani Mahlangu, the local government MEC.

She was speaking at the opening of a one-day conference aimed at working towards the establishment of a GCR in Gauteng, held on Friday, 20 April. Participants shared experiences and exchanged ideas on intergovernmental co-operation in global city-regions.

The Gauteng GCR Perspective, which entails a new way of thinking about development in the province, was launched last year. Under the plan, the joint objective of the three spheres of government is to build Gauteng as an integrated and globally competitive city-region.

Mahlangu said all municipal areas in Gauteng were embracing the concept. "Gauteng as a region is doing better than other regions. What we are doing in the province means we have a better chance [of succeeding with a GCR project], with good research and creativity being key aspects."

Mbanga Sithole, the chief executive officer of the SA Cities Network, confirmed that Gauteng had the potential to become a successful GCR because of the specific composition of the province and of South Africa. "South Africa has huge public sector investment and strong political leadership."

As far as local governments were concerned, he felt these had "strong constitutionally recognised powers and fulfil a distinct contributory role in intergovernance".

Sharing and co-operation

The project relied on co-ordination and integration, and closer co-operation between the three spheres of government, Mahlangu reiterated. In this the province was supported by the Constitution, which embraced the concept of "co-operative governance and good intergovernmental relations".

"It is key for Gauteng to remain abreast of global developments," Mahlangu said. Research and innovation were crucial elements of intergovernmental relations and knowledge economies. Citing the Blue Umbrella Project, an information and communication technology (ICT) project run under the Gauteng Development Strategy, Mahlangu said the project focused on intergovernmental co-operation and knowledge sharing to reduce ICT costs across the region.

Turning Gauteng into a GCR was first mooted by the provincial government about two years ago. Sithole said many people had asked why it was necessary to create a city region, adding that a Gauteng GCR would work towards "improving intergovernmental relations and co-operation and provincial growth, with all sectors geared towards a common goal".

Gauteng was faced with a number of pressing challenges, some of which extended beyond the province's boundaries, Sithole confirmed. The four broad issues were in-migration, land use and development for industry and residents, and a transport system for people and goods. In the final analysis a GCR model "must ensure financial and institutional sustainability; it must improve the lives of all inhabitants".

Growing role of local governments The conference looked at a number of international global city region models and the role of public shared services in successful city regions.

Professor Nico Steytler from the University of the Western Cape's Community Law Centre opened discussions with an introduction to the global dialogue on federalism. Steytler is actively involved in a global research project that looks at the role of local government based on a model of federalism.

"We are examining the increasingly important role of local government in multi-level governance."

In all 12 countries – Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Spain, Nigeria, Australia, India and South Africa – were contributing to the research, and cities in all of these countries were grappling with the same issues, namely "socio-economic development and underdevelopment", Steytler said.

It had become clear that each city was completely different in its approach to globalisation and development challenges, asserted Professor Raoul Blindenbacher, speaking on behalf of the Forum of Federations.

"There is no single right or wrong approach; there is nothing like a good governance model," he said. Rather, the forum focused on sharing learning experiences and getting inspiration from each other on how best to approach challenges unique to each city.

Representatives from Chicago (USA), Toronto (Canada), Lagos (Nigeria), Madrid (Spain), Mexico City (Mexico), Delhi (India), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Sydney (Australia), Vienna (Austria) and Switzerland spoke about their specific city challenges. The panel discussions were divided into two global groups - the experiences of cities of developed nations and those of developing nations.

Various international metropolitan city representatives said that no single metropolitan area had a successful GCR model in place, and most large cities struggled with the complexities of globalisation and the constantly changing scope of challenges inherent in most growing cities.

Developed nations Speakers from Chicago, Toronto and Sydney represented developed nations. Sydney and Toronto are looking into extending the scope of services and influence beyond their greater metropolitan areas.

Toronto was working towards a "Greater Golden Horseshoe City Region which will incorporate the areas around Lake Ontario, establishing green belt areas, developing growth nodes and addressing congestion through compact smart growth models", said Bob Young, a professor of political science at the University of Western Ontario, where he holds the research chair on multilevel governance.

A similar approach was in the developmental stage in Sydney, added Graham Sansom, an associate professor and the director of the UTS Centre for Local Government. Referring to the larger Sydney Metropolitan Region, he said "the latest thinking is to look beyond green areas surrounding Sydney to areas as far as Newcastle in the north as well as further south, integrating these into the metropolitan area as well".

Developing nations

City governments that lacked clear strategies and authority formed the core of problems experienced in most of the developing cities. These two factors exacerbated already prevalent issues such as poverty, congestion, ageing infrastructures and general non-development commonly experienced in Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Delhi and Lagos, representatives from these developing nations told the conference.

Speaking on Rio de Janeiro, Sol Garson, a consultant on public sector finance and budgeting in that city, said it was characterised by a system of non-governance, both in Rio and other municipal regions. According to her most citizens also "lacked a metropolitan conscience".

However, there was strong support for the urbanisation of Rio's slums, a project that had many similarities to the service backlog project for informal settlements initiated by the City of Johannesburg.

Some 20 percent of Rio's population lived in slums; in Johannesburg one in five residents lived in informal settlements without any basic services. Garson said the project cost $600-million and entailed transforming slums into neighbourhoods by providing proper housing and social services such as day-care. However, she confirmed that the city "discussed the project with the slum population first".

Professor KC Sivaramakrishnan, the retired secretary of India's ministry of urban development and local governments, said cities in his country had a single person focus. "India's greatest challenge is to manage its diversity." He cautioned local governments to be careful of the common aim to keep increasing city boundaries, an aspect of city development which he felt was not possible.

Habu Galadima, a representative from Nigeria, shared problems faced by his country, including traffic congestion, saying that it took motorists about 45 minutes to drive two kilometres. "The heavy traffic results in the uncontrollable movement of people into the city."

As it was a conference where experiences and ideas were to be shared, Galadima gave sound advice to the Gauteng GCR project, pointing out that the public should be encouraged to participate in its creation, leaders should formulate a strategy for big projects and the GCR should work to improve the quality of life of its residents.

Local governments

Most of the cities – both developed and developing – showed striking similarities in the fragmented local government models still in place, making co-operation and knowledge sharing a conundrum of split loyalties and general distrust.

Mahlangu felt it was necessary for Gauteng to develop an appropriate city region model because in most instances it set the benchmark for other provinces. "The project's success will affect the rest of South Africa generally."

The conference was hosted by the University of the Western Cape's Community Law Centre, the University of Johannesburg, the University of the Witwatersrand and the Forum of Federations, in close collaboration with the Gauteng provincial government.