Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance

Editorial

Graham Sansom — 2023-09-25

Fiscal decentralisation and public service delivery: evidence and lessons from sub-national governments in Kenya

Justa Mwangi — 2023-09-25

This paper provides empirical evidence on the effects of fiscal decentralisation on public service delivery in devolved systems of government in Kenya. A qualitative study interviewed 126 respondents and held two focus group discussions with key stakeholders from within two of Kenya’s 47 counties: Kiambu and Nairobi City. The paper focuses on key elements of fiscal decentralisation, namely: expenditure responsibilities, revenue autonomy and borrowing powers. Public service delivery was examined using affordability as a key measure of the quality of services. Results show that fiscal decentralisation did not necessarily lead to more affordable public services as there were significant contextual factors such as corruption, legal structures, cultural values, belief systems, pressure to conform and change agents that moderated this relationship. Corruption made public services less affordable in both counties, while Nairobi Metropolitan Services emerged as a change agent that improved the affordability of specific public services within Nairobi City county. The paper outlines a conceptual framework for further research into implementation of fiscal decentralisation in Kenya and elsewhere, especially in Africa, and calls for more qualitative studies, especially longitudinal studies, case studies and ethnographic approaches to enrich knowledge in this field.

Funding primary health care service delivery in the West Nile sub-region, Uganda

Stella B Kyohairwe — 2023-09-25

The provision of primary health care services is a global concern and quality health service delivery is based on a number of factors, including motivated health workers, good-quality infrastructure, consistent supply of medicines and technologies, adequate funding, sound health plans, and evidence-based policies. This study investigated the funding of primary health care service delivery in three local government districts in Uganda’s West Nile sub-region, and identified deficiencies in the allocation, disbursement and timeliness of health funding which have a negative impact on service delivery. Inadequate funding affects the quality of services, limits essential supplies and causes excessive reliance on private financing, which is not sustainable in poor rural economies. In view of these findings, the study recommended deliberate action by both central government and district councils to increase the percentage of funding allocated in their annual budgets to the health sector, in line with the 2001 Abuja Declaration. The government of Uganda should consider prioritising an increase in total national budget allocations to local governments; primary health care disbursements from central government should be paid on time directly to health facilities by use of the ‘straight-through processing system’ for all types of funding; the government should introduce, support and encourage additional community financing initiatives such as Community Health Insurance Schemes; and district and local community leaders should be sensitised on the benefits of this approach.

Decentralisation and political empowerment of citizens in Karamoja, Uganda

Jimmy Francis Obonyo — 2023-09-25

For centuries, centralisation was the dominant model of governance in most parts of the developing world. However, since the mid-1980s many countries in Africa have adopted decentralisation owing to the failure of centralisation to deliver public goods to citizens. In 1992, Uganda adopted decentralisation policy reforms to give ordinary citizens more control over their own administration and development agenda. This article reports case study research conducted in Karamoja, Uganda to establish the extent to which decentralisation reforms have indeed empowered local people. Research findings revealed mixed results. Although decentralisation resulted in the creation of the local government system, which in principle offers representational governance for different interest groups in local communities, ordinary citizens have fallen short of being politically empowered. State–society power relations have remained unaltered in favour of local elites. The authors contend that for political empowerment of citizens to be achieved, there is a need to devolve a considerable amount of autonomy to local governments and review the law to make local elites subordinate to citizen representatives.

Filling the gaps in local governance: an analysis of the structure and process of informal community governance in Ibadan, Nigeria

Femi Olaniyan — 2023-09-25

The Nigerian local government system’s failure is widely documented, yet little is known about an alternative governance framework that communities have developed to tend to their needs. Using a case study methodology, this paper investigates the structure and process of informal community governance by which communities in Ibadan, Nigeria, fill in the gaps in local government. Documents and key informant interviews with community leaders provided qualitative data. The findings reveal that informal community governance systems are functioning well in Ibadan. Their governance process is open to all, participatory democracy is visible, and corruption is not tolerated. While Nigeria’s official local government structure lacks the governance and democratic culture essential for meaningful, long-term local development, this paper’s analysis shows that those features are being nurtured in the local community setting. The findings serve to draw attention to the need to institutionalise community governance as a form of local government capable of addressing a wide range of present and emerging community needs.

How informal ties matter: encroachment on road reservations along the Kumasi–Accra highway in Ghana

Ronald Adamtey — 2023-09-25

A failure of urban planning in many developing countries is evidenced by encroachment on road reservations. Urban planning literature suggests that such encroachment is largely explained by poverty and urban growth. But how do encroachers find space in the road reservations? This paper examines encroachment along the Anloga Junction to Ejisu section of the Kumasi–Accra highway in Ghana. It argues that formal rules are not effective in governing the road reservations: informal rules rooted in social networks of reciprocity matter more. The research involved interviews with encroachers, senior officials from government institutions and traditional authorities. It emerged that encroachers invoked mainly ethnic and political party ties with public officials to secure space in the road reservations. This occurred in an environment of non-enforcement of relevant laws, weak formal collaboration among public institutions, and inadequate political commitment. There is a need for effective application of the principles and methods of multi-stakeholder governance, linking improved legal regulation with informal processes, to achieve better outcomes.

Entrepreneurship in emerging cities: mitigating impediments to small business development in Tshwane, South Africa

Hayley Boks — 2023-09-25

This article explores, and offers recommendations to address, the factors impeding small business development in the City of Tshwane (formerly Pretoria), Gauteng Province, South Africa. It also examines small business development in the broader context of South Africa and other emerging economies. The research adopted a qualitative case study approach based on a systematic analysis of documents concerning governance and small business development in Tshwane. Obstacles for small businesses identified in this study include red tape and regulatory failure, inadequate infrastructure and support services, supply chain management challenges and a lack of markets, as well as inadequate vocational, educational and skills training opportunities for local entrepreneurs. The City of Tshwane needs to foster synergies between small businesses and the market to sustain growth and development. Its Integrated Development Plan should incorporate targeted measures to support competitive emerging businesses.

The impact of New Public Management reforms on the delivery of secondary education in Tanzania

Wilfred Lameck — 2023-09-25

This article discusses the impact of adopting New Public Management (NPM) reforms in the delivery of education services via a case study of the experience of Mwanza City, Tanzania. The case study reveals that NPM reforms, which came with new guidelines for the delivery of education services, have reduced the capacity and discretion of education officers and teachers in the delivery of education services. Furthermore, education services are confronted with scarcity of teaching and learning resources including classrooms, teachers, textbooks and laboratory equipment. Despite the good intentions of the NPM reforms in the education sector, the authors argue that the discretion of education officers and teachers should be protected as an essential tool to translate policies into reality.

Kerala’s celebrated Kudumbashree scheme for poverty reduction: a critical look through a feminist lens

Shilpa Santhosh — 2023-09-25

This paper critically examines whether the Kudumbashree scheme of the Kerala government was successful in both reducing poverty and enhancing the social capital of women. The evidence shows that while Kudumbashree’s programmes made a significant contribution to Kerala’s broader efforts to reduce absolute poverty and empower women, not enough is being done to remove societal constraints on women’s roles and advancement.

An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament: what can Australia learn from other countries?

Harry Hobbs — 2023-09-25

This is an edited version of a presentation to the Australian Institute for International Affairs on 16 May 2023. The authors explain the origins of the proposal for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to the Australian Parliament and why the Voice should be enshrined in the Australian Constitution. They also compare how other countries ensure that Indigenous peoples’ interests are properly considered in the processes of government. They conclude by noting that the proposed Voice is a modest request by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to be seen in the Constitution and heard in the democratic life of Australia.

Review: The Winding Stair by Sir Rodney Brooke

Andy Asquith — 2023-09-25

In this autobiography Sir Rodney Brooke provides a variously funny, thoughtful, inciteful and depressing read as he takes us through his illustrious career of over 40 years in English local government. Alongside Brooke’s own climb up the stairway, he chronicles the decline of local government as an institution in Britain, sprinkled with anecdotes that show the diversity and idiosyncrasies which make local government so fascinating, and at times entertaining.