Title: STUDY TOUR FRANCE
1STUDY TOUR FRANCE
2INDEX
- TEAM
- DOS AND DONTS
- FRENCH GOVERNMENT SYTEM
- WHAT DID WE DO.
- REPORT AT THE END
- PLACES ATTENDED
- COLLAGE OF SOME PICTURES
3DOS AND DONTS
- Always be on time.
- Be sure of the outcome of the tour
- Ask as much questions as possible.
- Make sure you understand the issues
- Enjoy the tour
- See this as a opportunity for marketing
- Dont carry al your money with you.
- Be aware of pick pocketing
- Dont buy one day rail tickets
4FRENCH GOVERNMENT SYSTEM
5DAY 1
- There seems to be limited public participation
when compared to South Africa. South Africa is
much more involved and thorough in this regard.
One benefit in the French Government is that they
hold local referendums on important issues. - Special mention was made of qualification
requirements, career development, training and
capacity building for local government officials.
It was also mentioned that cities compete to
attract the best local government officials. - French government have negotiations between
different levels of government to render services
for infrastructure. Contractual agreements
between different government spheres. This may be
similar to service delivery agreements in South
Africa. Integration of medium term planning
strategy (3 to 5 years).
6DAY 2
- VISIT - Sewerage Plant of Colombes managed by
SIAAP - Seint - Normandie Water Agency
- VISIT - ISTED
7Visit to Sewerage Plant of Colombes managed by
SIAAPSeint - Normandie Water Agency
- Serve Population 1 Million
- Cost 450 million
- operates at 20 million per annum
- operating costs ( 0.22 per cubic meter)
- disposes of 240 000 cubic meter per day
- fully controls the quality of water outflows as
well as of fume and odour emissions - An interdepartmental syndicate owns and runs the
plant.
8- When the Municipalities did the planning for the
plant, cost was not an issue but the expected
lifespan of more than 100 years was taken in
consideration. The drive was to comply with EU
standards for environmental standards and
sustainability. This practice highlights that
when it comes to the planning of infrastructure
of this magnitude, planners should look at the
objective/outcome and not primarily at the cost. - The Plant was created mainly for water quality
and tap water is said to be of a better quality
than bottled water. - From discussions with representatives of the
water Agency, it was mentioned that the plant
will never be replicated in France again as a
result of the cost being too high. - The roll that the agency plays is unique and is
mainly focused on financial and technical
support. - The principle applied is that water related
infrastructure should be financed by water
revenue, which indicates that the service is
ringfenced.
9- The plant meets the highest environmental
standards and is designed to cope with large
excesses of rainwater run off.
10- The Agency is one of six catchment authorities or
river basin agencies covering metropolitan
France, but represents over a quarter of France
in terms of population (18 million),
municipalities (8 700 municipalities) and
departments (25).
11ISTED
- ISTED is a specialized data and research centre
on roads, transport and urban development in
developing countries. - Legally a non-profit organisation with 60
members, 25 staff and a budget of 4,5 million,
it is funded by public institutions, including
the French Government, the EU and the World Bank.
12World Congress of the United Cities and Local
Government (UCLG)Palais des Congres
13First Plenary Session Human Rights in Our Cities
- to tackle the key issues of poverty, hunger, and
the lack of access to basic services in education
and health by the year 2015 - that local government is the sphere of government
closest to he needs of the population as more
than 50 of the world population live in cities - Cities are burdened with a further evil war and
terrorism. What is the impact? And how should the
plan to overcome these challenges?
14Local Action for Environment
- The world is becoming more and more urbanized,
resulting in more pressure for the rendering of
services on sanitation, water and electricity. - The handling of solid waste is directly linked to
the quality of living standards (higher quality
creates more solid waste) and the cost of
managing waste can be recovered through selling
of recycled goods. - Lessons from Rio de Janeiro how to curb erosion
and mud slides through reforesting processes
create jobs and enhance dignity of communities. - The preservation of the environment should start
with programmes at school level. - Natural resources can be preserved by saving on
the consumption of water and electricity.
15Day Five - DEXIA Credit Local
- formed in 1996 by the merging of two communal
banks, viz. Credit Local de France, a bank formed
in 1987 and Credit Communal de Belgique - financing of local authorities and other local
sector bodies via direct loans signed commitments
or purchases of securities issued by the customer
- Project financing is mainly provided for,
public transport, the environment and energy 15
16- The need to encourage competition within local
government lending market. - Propose securitisation and debt restructuring
even credit enhancement to support the SA
municipal debt market as feasible financial
instruments. - Dexia indicated their willingness to arrange a
workshop with their structured finance people to
promote these concepts in SA through INCA
17South African Embassy
- welcomed by Deputy Ambassador Enrico Kemp and his
staff responsible for international bilateral and
multilateral relations - Embassy personnel indicated that they would
welcome future study tour delegates
18Day Six - Reunion Island
- only French department and European region in the
southern hemisphere - population of 760 000 (1 million in 2025)
Reunions predominant feature is its ethnic
diversity. - population is very young 56 under the age of 30
years and population growth is expected to
stabilize by the year 201
19- high unemployment rate which currently stands at
approximately 30 - elect five representatives who sit in the French
Parliament and three Senators who sit in the
Higher Chamber - Prefect (French government highest ranking civil
servant at provincial level) - Regional Council and 24 municipal councils.
20- The French first set foot on the island in 1649
- Until 1946 there was a mix of being a classic
French colony and a department, with a brief
English rule between 1804 to 1811 - From 1946 Reunion became a fully-fledged overseas
French department just like any mainland
department
21- State functions such as Public law and order,
Defence, Employment, Environment, Transport,
Airport, Hospitals, Elections, Implementation of
policies and monitoring compliance thereof,
Housing, Cultural and Sport. - Management of European structural funds earmarked
for addressing backlogs an amount of 3 billion
in capital funds over the next 6 years - Proactive monitoring of budgets and ensuring
legal compliance by municipalities
22- Each level decides on its own budget. 50 of GDP
is transferred from the government to local
government. 70 of income streams are from state
grants, local taxes and the balance from loans. - A balanced budget approach is followed both in
terms of operational expenditure and investment
(capital expenditure). - The planning period is normally five years or
more. - Elected officials are responsible for making
decisions on which projects or works are included
in the budget and medium-term plan. In certain
cases consultations with the public and relevant
stakeholders will take place but it is not a
legal requirement. - Any operating surpluses go into investments
(funding of additional capital expenditure). - Approximately 25 of the operating budget is
allocated to debt servicing cost. - Property taxes are collected by state and then
re-allocated to local authorities.
23- non payment level for municipal services is
estimated at approximately 5. - principle that everyone should pay for services
consumed - social assistance program assists residents to
pay for services - on a salary of 1 000 per month an employee will
contribute 100 and employers 800 to the social
security fund, which covers medical aid, family
allowances, unemployment benefits and
occupational injuries
24- The minimum wage is 1 000 per month and the
general social security fund pays 500 per month
to people who have not worked before in the form
of a social grant. - two-envelope tender process followed, viz. the
first envelope consists of technical competence,
tax paying institutions and financial guarantees
(first decision) and the second covers the
pricing proposal of the tenderer.
25- Local taxes include land tax, residence tax,
agricultural tax and a professional tax for
companies - Income tax (one third of working people pay
income and the maximum tax rate is 48), company
tax, oil tax, VAT. Two thirds of the state
income is funded by VAT, and one percent of the
VAT collected is transferred to fund EU
programmes. Taxes are regulated by law and local
authorities cannot create new taxes
26SIDR Social Housing Projects
- SIDR is a social housing entity founded in 1949
as a public/private company - shareholders include AFD (54), Regional
Council/Department (43) and Private Shareholders
(3) - SIDR has built 29 000 flats in collective and
individual housing - SIDR construct on average 400 flats and houses
for rent, 100 houses for sale in social housing
and 50 flats in non-social housing
27- The rehabilitation of social housing units began
in 1985. - The investment for 2004 amounts to 15 million
and the average cost per unit is 36 000. SIDR
aims to rehabilitate 5 400 flats by 2009. - Approximately 10 of population live in slumps
(informal settlements) with one third dependent
on social security benefits. The average
household benefit is 762 per month (500 for
social benefit and 262 for family and housing
allowances). - Rehabilitation cost is financed by state
subsidies (22), SIDR funds (60) and bank loans
(18). - Tenants pay on average 230 per month for a 60m2
size flat and rentals increase on average by 10
after rehabilitation. Only 1.5 of people
default on housing rental payments. - They use electrification as a control measure to
register occupants - Shortage of land is becoming a problem with
regard with their objective for housing - To build 10 000 houses/flat will take 20 years
28Meeting with the Regional Council
- budget allocations for the 2004 financial year
amounting to 508 million - funded mainly by direct and indirect taxes (46),
grants from central government and the European
Union (38) and loans (13). - the Regional Council is to focus more on the
development of long-term policy - plays an important role in terms of
decentralization
29- investment programme is informed by the projected
population growth of approximately 33 over the
next 20 years - giving priority to employment, developing
solidarity, investing in the people of Reunion,
widen the horizons of Reunion and the promotion
of sustainable development.
30Dèpartment Water Catchment Project
- Visit to bulk water facility used to provide
water primarily for irrigation and industrial
purposes - technology used to channel water through a tunnel
system from the east of Reunion (which is water
rich region due to the high rainfall which
averages 5m pa to the west of the island which
averages 1m rainfall per annum
31- in 1983 30kms of tunnel was built consisting of 8
tunnels to transport 50 000m3 water together with
reservoirs and pump stations as part of phase 1
servicing 7150 ha of land - Total cost of phase 1 526m euros
- was financed through European Union, government
subsidies and grants and the Department
32St Pierre Municipality/DDE/CIVIS
- Economies of scale can be achieved through the
amalgamation of smaller Boroughs into larger
administration units. - construction cost of water treatment is much
higher than in South Africa - price of water includes all the cost of treatment
and all other operating cost of the scheme is
subsidised at 80 - The water treatment plant is maintained by the
utility company - utility company bill the consumer and is
responsible for the collection of debt
33- There are currently remote areas which are not
connected to the system due to the costs
associated with the service - apply technical solutions in the pre-treatment of
waste, to remove grease and sand in order to
extend the capacity and lifespan of the plant - Control over the project is achieved through
regular reporting from the utility to the
Municipality - purified water is channelled into the see once it
has been purified
34Management of Solid Waste
- Solid waste is collected from five (5) areas on
the Island, covering 50 500 square meters and
servicing 145 000 inhabitants - The Island has progressed far in the recycling
processes and recycling of plastic, glass and
paper are separated and compacted for
re-processing - Waste is exported to various countries and it
includes South Africa, where Glass and paper are
exported to Consul Glass and Sappi Paper
respectively
35 Le Port Municipality Reunion
- multi media center were the delegation was
introduced to the different aspects that the
Municipality is followed to educate and inform as
well as to entertain the local community. - The center consists off a computer room which
give full access to the internet - section for children where stories are read once
a week on Wednesdays - has a full musical area were users can take CDs
home for listening