The Ethiopian Cities Association (ECA) in cooperation with the Association of Netherlands Municipalities ) and with the financial support of the European Union, conducted a half-day discussion with advisory committees of the program, consisted of World Bank, Cities Alliance, UN Habitat, Oxfam in Ethiopia, Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI) and VNG International, about the activities carried out in the form of projects for the past two years.

At the opening of the discussion, the Director General of the ECA Ato Andualem Tenaw said that since the establishment of ECA, it has been in danger of survival due to various reasons however thanks to this project, the survival of the institution is not an issue at this time. He also stated that this project was started to build the capacity of member city mayors and city administration bodies in the form of experience exchange workshop, panel discussion and the like.

Ms. Bo Altena, Program Coordinator of the African project of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG International), said that the implementation of the ULGE project has not only removed the basic problem of ECA and brought about many changes, but also allowed it to be recognized and seen by others. In particular, she emphasized that the services provided by ECA in the field of urban development are very new ideas, and it has become a platform for knowledge transfer, advocacy and lobby for the member cities.

In this half-day discussion, the stakeholders of ECA, comprised from various institutions, who are the advisory committee of the ULGE program were participated, and the activities carried out by the project in the last two years and the best practices in public finance management that were part of this project which is carried out in the cities of Yirgalem and Bulbula cities were discussed. Activities to be carried out through the project in the next two years were also discussed.

ECA advisory Committee is aimed at to provide strategic support to ECA for the successful completion, ownership and sustainability of ULGE project in Ethiopia and ULGE (United Local Government Association in Ethiopia) is a joint effort by VNG International and ECA, and is financed by the Delegation of the European Union to Ethiopia in Addis Ababa.