Designed to strengthen the capacity of local governments to provide resilient basic services and build climate-adapted infrastructure, the UN Capital Development Fund’s Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) supports the Government of Mozambique by listening to the voices and needs of communities, in nine of 11 provinces in the country, with tangible results.

In Inhambane Province, LoCAL directly benefits more than 200,000 people, or 15% of the population living in the province, and has already delivered 41 resilient infrastructures since 2018. These include health clinics, maternity wards, schools, water supply and desalination systems, as well as support for resilient livelihoods, in 10 of the provinces' 14 districts and one municipality. All due to the support of the governments of Belgium and Sweden.

In recent years, the province has already experienced two droughts and three cyclones. With the worsening of climate change, the incidence of extreme weather events are likely to continue to increase, as Mozambique is the third most vulnerable country to disaster risks in Africa , according to the UN's Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. In a special interview, Daniel Chapo, the Governor of Inhambane Province since 2016, tells us why LoCAL “is the best programme in the Province.”

Helvisney Cardoso: In your own words, what is the LoCAL Facility in Inhambane Province?

Daniel Chapo: The LoCAL Facility in Inhambane is one of the best local governance programmes we have, because it is a programme that allows for participatory governance, in which local communities, through consultative councils, can actively define their priorities themselves. Thus, the government is able to provide resilient infrastructure and services defined by the community itself in a short period of time.

"The LoCAL Facility in Inhambane is one of the best local governance programmes we have, because it is a programme that allows for participatory governance..."

Daniel Chapo, Governor of Inhambane Province

It is important to hear from the community itself, because when things come from the top down we end up imposing priorities that do not reflect those of the local communities. We can decide, for example, that the community needs a school, whereas for the community their priority is water. We can say that the priority is a health centre, but the community says it is a school, because they want their children to study.
Therefore, it is vital that the community itself defines its priorities. Therefore, what we are saying is that participatory governance is very important and that the LoCAL programme is the best programme we have, as it bases its priorities through those of the local communities.

Members of the Consultative Council of the Jangamo District, Inhambane Province, pose proudly in front of the recently inaugurated water supply system, one of the priority interventions selected by the council in a participatory manner between the community and local authorities within the scope of LoCAL with support from UNCDF. Photo UNCDF

Helvisney Cardoso: How does the LoCAL Facility train and empower local governments in the Province of Inhambane to carry out their activities?

Daniel Chapo: The LoCAL programme empowers local governments through local consultative councils and also trains public servants to perform their duties satisfactorily and deliver resilient basic services and climate-adapted infrastructure to communities.

Consultative councils are local bodies made up of community leaders, neighbourhood secretaries, religious leaders, teachers, nurses, farmers, young and old men and women, representing all social strata.

After the priorities are defined, the consultative council channels their priorities to the district governments, which, in turn, initiate the planning, budgeting, procurement, monitoring and evaluation processes so that the community's decisions are implemented.

In order for this to happen, the LoCAL programme created a local management manual to provide guidelines on all the legal regulations that local governments must follow to implement local governance processes.

Producing the manual was one of the best things we did, as it is enabling local governments on a daily basis to improve their planning, budgeting, and monitoring and evaluation processes. This has only been made possible because the LoCAL programme has provided us with the knowledge that local governments can actually carry out their activities properly.

I can also say that there was a certain prejudice that governments were not capable of implementing projects at the local level. The LoCAL programme changes that. It is important to say that the LoCAL programme, through training, proves that local governments are capable of implementing projects with quality and accountability in a decentralised manner.

Panoramic view of the new climate resilient classrooms at Mubique Primary School in Panda district, Inhambane Province, built through LoCAL, and the old classrooms made from aluminium sheets. In Panda, the average annual temperature is 25 degrees Celsius, reaching 40 degrees during the summer. Photo: UNCDF/Domingos Souza

Helvisney Cardoso: Have you had the opportunity to visit some of the infrastructure built by the Government through the LoCAL Mechanism?

Daniel Chapo: Not only did I visit them, I laid the first stones, monitored the works during construction and inaugurated many of them, from water supply systems, health centres, maternity wards, schools and several other projects.

The LoCAL programme is not one of those projects that is limited to training, seminars and workshops. With the LoCAL programme, we are achieving tangible results in the Province of Inhambane.

Thanks to LoCAL, Inhambane is one of the provinces that has achieved good results in terms of water supply and also in terms of health. For example, LoCAL supported the construction of the Cupo Health Center, which was inaugurated by Her Excellency the First Lady, Isaura Nyussi, in Funhaluro district, assisting a population that was isolated in terms of having medicines and medical assistance. From today onwards, they no longer need to walk 92km to be assisted, they have the Health Centre, which not only assists the population of the Cupo community, but also for Gaza Province, due to its location.

As a decentralised government, we are extremely satisfied and can assert that the benefits of the LoCAL programme projects are visible. The communities are also satisfied, because the advantage of these projects is that they are not only planned by communities, but also implemented by communities, and that the communities take ownership of them.

They take ownership because they were the ones who planned it, they were the ones who decided and when they receive the infrastructure, they are the ones who proudly take care of it together with the local governments. And this is important when it comes to public management.

Maria Pedro, 32 years old, one of more than 3,000 people benefitting from the new Health Centre in Cupo, Funhalouro District, Inhambane Province. Photo: UNCDF/Milton Zango

Helvisney Cardoso: How does Your Excellency feel about being part of this entire process from planning to the delivery of resilient infrastructures, as well as strengthening the decentralisation process?

Daniel Chapo: I feel proud and honoured to participate in an extremely important project for the development of the Province of Inhambane and, above all, because LoCAL works with local communities and for local communities.
Note that, at the moment, we are facing problems related to climate change, which is a global problem. Water becomes scarcer every day in the Province. We have had continuous problems with water, but with the support of the LoCAL programme we are resolving this aspect.

The other aspect is that the Province of Inhambane is a province that cyclically suffers from floods and cyclones that end up destroying social infrastructures such as schools, health centres and so on. We feel that through the LoCAL programme, we have rebuilt these infrastructures in a good resilient way. Without UNCDF's support, we would be losing the fight against climate change.

UNCDF is not only a critical partner in climate action but has also been essential throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. When we were first hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, we appealed to all our partners to give us specific support to help us fight the pandemic.

Through the LoCAL programme, UNCDF responded promptly to our call and supported us in a such a significant way – with the support of the Government of Sweden, which mobilised funds for us quickly and efficiently. We lost many friends, co-workers and family members to COVID-19, but thanks to LoCAL we were able to defy this disease and survive.

New meteorological station opened in 2023 in the district of Jangamo, Province of Inhambane, through the LoCAL Facility. Photo: UNCDF/Souza Domingos

Helvisney Cardoso: How does Your Excellency see the LoCAL programme in the future of the Province of Inhambane?

Daniel Chapo: Currently, LoCAL is in 10 of our 14 districts and in one municipality. I would greatly appreciate, and I have confidence that the LoCAL programme will expand to all districts and in all five of our municipalities. The LoCAL programme adapts to our reality and priorities, not the other way around. That's why LoCAL is so important to us.

I have to thank all the cooperation partners, the governments of Belgium and Sweden, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Land and Environment as well as UNCDF for working with all levels of government in the province to transform it into a resilient province.

My desire is for LoCAL to expand, because LoCAL is development.

Find out more about LoCAL here

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