EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A central recommendation of GOLD III is that national governments and international institutions should prioritize the financing of basic services, especially in low and lowermiddle income countries where the gaps between required investment and current resources are widest. The long-term horizons of infrastructure investments require concessional loans of a nature that can only be provided with the direct financial involvement of national governments and multilateral organizations. Another significant proposal of GOLD III is that international organizations facilitate local government’s direct access to global financing mechanisms. The report also draws attention to the fact that the effective management of basic services requires closer cooperation between local authorities and other levels of government; improved vertical and horizontal coordination between local, regional, national, and international institutions is necessary. Effective multi-level governance requires institutional and legal frameworks that clearly define the roles and responsibilities of all levels of government, guided by the principle of subsidiarity. GOLD III recognizes the ways in which various stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society organizations, act in partnership with local governments to provide basic services. The report acknowledges the diversity of opinions about Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), and explores the conditions necessary for their success. Above all, it emphasizes the need for local governments to be empowered with decision-making, management and oversight capacities so that they can collaborate effectively and hold their external partners to account. Finally, as Mayor of Istanbul, one of the oldest metropolises in the world, I wholeheartedly support GOLD III’s call for a more holistic vision of urban development. Basic service infrastructure should accompany and guide the spatial planning of cities and regions, and urban planning must engage all stakeholders, including those living in informal settlements, to monitor and improve access. I call on international institutions, national governments, and civil society organizations to take on board the messages of GOLD III and to engage in dialogue with local governments on the best ways to respond to the immense challenges we face in guaranteeing universal access to quality basic services over the coming decades. Together we can build “the future we want”: an environmentally sustainable future in which human dignity, economic development and social justice are enjoyed by all.
Dr. Kadir Topbas Mayor of Istanbul President of UCLG ‘