Good Governance: Local Governance and Community Development in Africa

1
Good Governance Local Governance and Community
Development in Africa

• Presentation at the Development and Human Rights
  Conference, University of Pretoria.

By Abdul Ghaffar Adam, Managing Consultant,
Divinechain Consult. Ghana
2
Presentation Outline

• Introduction.
• Definition of Key Terms.
• Application of Good Governance Tenet in Local
  Governance and Community Development.
• Way Forward and Conclusion.

3
Introduction

• Decentralization reforms and the development of
  democratic local governance has become a
  household concept for the past two decades in
  Africa.
• This is because decentralization and local
  governance are increasingly recognized as basic
  components of democratic governance, since they
  provide an enabling environment in which decision
  making and service delivery can be brought closer
  to the people, especially to the poor.
• Local governments tend to act more in line with
  local preferences and conditions, and their
  response to local needs is more expeditious.

4
Introduction

• Decentralization thus provides opportunities to
  marginalized sectors of the community, like women
  in some countries, minorities etc., to
  participate at the local level, enabling a more
  sensitive approach to policy formulation and
  implementation.
• Decentralization and democratic local governance
  create more open, responsive and effective local
  government, enhancing representation in community
  level decision-making.

5
Definition of Terms

• Decentralization
• Decentralization refers to the process of moving
  towards decentralized governancein which
  economic, political and administrative power,
  authority and resources are transferred from the
  centre to lower levels of governance (UNDP, 2003)
• Local Governance
• Local governance is the process of governing
  democratically at the local level, viewed broadly
  to include not only the machinery of government,
  but also the community at-large and its
  interaction with local authorities (USAID, 2000).

6
Definition of Terms
Local Governance

• According to the UNDP, Local Governance is
  characterized by three critical dimensions
• Performance of the local authorities (in terms of
  fiscal effort and discipline as well as
  allocation and operational efficiency) in
  managing public resources and discharging their
  responsibility for the delivery of economic and
  social services protection of the environment
  and management of natural resources and
  promotion of economic development.
• Participation of organized and individual
  citizens in local public sector decision-making,
  through mechanisms that supplement and enhance,
  rather than replace or contradict, the
  functioning of the institutions of democratic
  representation.
• Partnership, between local authorities, civil
  society organizations and private sector units
  for the provision and production of local
  collective goods and services.

7
Definition of Terms

• Community Development
• It is a process whereby community members come
  together to take collective action and generate
  solutions to common problems.
• Community development requires and helps to build
  community capacity to address issues and to take
  advantage of opportunities, to find common ground
  and to balance competing interests.
• The primary outcome of community development is
  improved quality of life.

8
Definition of Terms

• Good Governance
• Governance has to do with the manner in which
  responsibility is discharged. Such a
  responsibility may be acquired through election
  appointment or delegation in the public domain or
  in the area of commerce.
• Therefore, good governance is taken here to mean
  a condition whereby such responsibility is
  discharged in an effective, transparent, and
  accountable manner.
• The tenets of good governance are that it is
  participatory, consensus oriented, accountable,
  transparent, responsive, effective and efficient,
  equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of
  law.

9
Application of Good Governance Tenets in Local
Governance and Community Devt.

• Participation
• Participation is a key cornerstone of good local
  governance.
• Participation is a process whereby policy-
  making, prioritizing issues, accessibility to
  public goods and services and also allocating
  resources is influenced by key stakeholders.
• All men and women, inclusive of the physically
  challenged, should have a voice in decision-
  making, either directly or through legitimate
  intermediate institutions that represent their
  interests.
• Local Governance can be enhanced through the
  participation of organized and individual
  citizens in local public sector decision-making,
  through mechanisms that supplement and enhance,
  rather than replace or contradict, the
  functioning of the institutions of democratic
  representation.

10
Application of Good Governance Tenets in Local
Governance and Community Devt.

• Transparency
• Transparency means that decisions taken and their
  enforcement are done in a manner that follows
  rules and regulations.
• It also means that information is freely
  available and directly accessible to those who
  will be affected by such decisions and their
  enforcement.
• Transparency in local governance can be enhanced
  by ensuring citizens access to public interest
  information, and (2) participation of citizens in
  the decision making and implementation process .
• Transparency in the process of decision-making,
  decision implementation and management of public
  funds will foster local governance and community
  development.

11
Application of Good Governance Tenets in Local
Governance and Community Devt.

• Note
• The level of trust in local government is a key
  factor that determines the extent and quality of
  citizenry participation and engagement.
• Loss of trust can lead to disengagement of
  citizens and discourage participation of local
  communities as well as the private sector in
  functions such as public services delivery, or
  even in local democratic processes such as
  municipal elections.

12
Application of Good Governance Tenets in Local
Governance and Community Devt.

• Accountability
• Accountability is the degree to which local
  governments have to explain or justify what they
  have done or failed to do to its stakeholders .
• Not only governmental institutions but also the
  private sector and civil society organizations
  must be accountable to the public and to their
  institutional stakeholders.
• Who is accountable to whom varies depending on
  whether decisions or actions taken are internal
  or external to an organization or institution. In
  general an organization or an institution is
  accountable to those who will be affected by its
  decisions or actions.

13
Application of Good Governance Tenets in Local
Governance and Community Devt.

• Accountability
• The World Bank has identified three main types of
  accountability.
• Political accountability, which expresses itself
  in periodic elections.
• Administrative accountability, which is
  represented through the horizontal and vertical
  mechanisms within and between agencies
• Social accountability, which includes mechanisms
  that hold agencies accountable to their citizens.

14
Application of Good Governance Tenets in Local
Governance and Community Devt.

• Consensus Building
• At the local level, the context for decision
  making, governance and leadership is very
  challenging and constantly changing. There are
  several actors/groups at the community level
  who pressure local government officials to
  address problems such as housing, public safety,
  transportation, recreation, social services,
  economic development among others, as such the
  need to build consensus for effective decision
  making and implementation.
• Good local governance requires mediation of the
  different interests in society to reach a broad
  consensus on what is in the best interest of the
  whole community and how this can be achieved.
• Consensus building at the local level ensures
  that better decisions are taken and implemented
  quickly. Consensus building also help bridge
  community differences and manage diversity.

15
Application of Good Governance Tenets in Local
Governance and Community Devt.

• Rule of law
• Good governance requires fair legal frameworks
  that are enforced impartially. It also requires
  full protection of human rights, particularly
  those of minorities. Impartial enforcement of
  laws requires an independent judiciary and an
  impartial and incorruptible police force.

16
Application of Good Governance Tenets in Local
Governance and Community Devt.

• Equity and Inclusiveness
• A societys well being depends on ensuring that
  all its members feel that they have a stake in it
  and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of
  society. This requires all groups, but
  particularly the most vulnerable, have
  opportunities to improve or maintain their well
  being.
• Equity in access to decision-making processes and
  the basic necessities of life should be ensured
  by local government.
• Equity in local governance can be achieved
  through
• Ensuring that women and men have equal access to
  decision-making processes, resources and basic
  services
• Establishing quotas for women representatives in
  local authorities and encourage their promotion
  to higher management positions within
  municipalities
• Creating fair and predictable regulatory
  frameworks

17
Application of Good Governance Tenets in Local
Governance and Community Devt.

• Effectiveness and Efficiency
• Good governance means that processes and
  institutions produce results that meet the needs
  of society while making the best use of resources
  at their disposal. The concept of efficiency in
  the context of good governance also covers the
  sustainable use of natural resources and the
  protection of the environment.
• To achieve effectiveness and efficiency, local
  governments should be cost-effective in their
  management of revenue sources and expenditures,
  the administration and delivery of services based
  on comparative advantage, of government, the
  private sector and communities.

18
Application of Good Governance Tenets in Local
Governance and Community Devt.

• Responsiveness
• Good governance requires that institutions and
  processes try to serve all stakeholders within a
  reasonable timeframe.
• Local governance should improve the
  responsiveness of its policies and initiatives to
  the priorities and needs of citizens. They should
  be empowered with sufficient resources and
  autonomy to meet their responsibilities.

19
Conclusion

• Africa wishes to realize the goal of good
  governance, in all its elements, not because we
  seek to improve our relations with the rest of
  the world as a first objective, critically
  important as this is, but to end political and
  economic mismanagement on our continent, and the
  consequential violent conflicts, instability,
  denial of democracy and human rights, deepening
  poverty and global marginalization. Thabo Mbeki