Schoeman1 department of economics university of pretoria 1 professor in economics university of pretoria. In africa south of the sahara, the focus of this book, there are few countries that have not implemented decentralisation reforms. Political and democratic decentralisation are strong forms of decentralisation from which theory indicates the greatest benefits can be derived. Pdf centralised and decentralised assignment itumeleng. Decentralisation refers to tire systematic effort to delegate to the lowest levels all authority except that which can only be exercised at central points. The fact that id policy has been premised upon political rather than economic considerations has been thought to lie at the root of this failure. This is why a number of developing countries have opted for reforms in which decentralisation played an important part mookherjee 2001. Decentralisation itself is not an objective but a means to achieve something the purpose of section 32 is to analyse whether decentralisation leads to the improvement of service delivery. It examines the concept of decentralization and its manifestations in contemporary african constitutional design. Pdf challenges of decentralization in malawi nelson.
South africa s decentralization was an essential component of its. Recognizing that with any large region and, in the case of the african continent. Chapter 3 how to understand decentralisation in africa 125 321 before arguing how to decentralise. In the last decade or so, decentralization has gained prominence as an expressed goal or as an actual pursuit in several african countries. Pdf this countryspecific chapter examines the implementation process and the effects of decentralizing education in a developing country. Ala in cooperation with the max plank institute mpi on legal transformation in north africa and decentralisation in africa at heidelberg, germany. Decentralization or decentralisation see spelling differences is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group concepts of decentralization have been applied to group dynamics and management science in private. Decentralisation in africa and the nature of local governments. Decentralisation and local governance theory and the practice in botswana. Goals, dimensions, myths and challenges paul smoke new york university, new york, usa summary decentralisation is a complex and often somewhat elusive phenomenon. South africa s health system is already structured with a certain degree of decentralisation, and the advent of nhi facilitatessign ificant flexibility in this regard. It becomes easier to understand the popularity of decentralization in africa when we return to the point of departure. The above quote drawn from a recent undp document underscores the need to develop a better understanding of the concept.
More precisely, the system was based on several variants of hierarchical deconcentration, associated with an. Market decentralisation may involve constitutional law reform as well as the passage of new laws to. Some scholarly literatures conceptualize decentralization in broader terms, beyond the territorial angle we are pursuing. This is due to a combination of factors, first raising taxes is more difficult in rural. Decentralisation and local governance theory and the practice. South africa, with instituted decentralization to both the provincial and local levels, is an exception to this rule. D72,h2,h7 abstract decentralization has been put forward as a powerful tool to reduce poverty and improve governance in africa. The state of the process of decentralisation in cameroon. Second, the motives, claims and issues concerning decentralisation are outlined. However, in many cases decentralisation processes have been incomplete, perpetuating existing challenges and limiting the ability. It discusses the extent and depth of decentralisation, the drivers and impact on service delivery and poverty. It provides an overview of the extent of the constitutional entrenchment of decentralization in african practice, and then considers the rationale for, and possible implications of, this process.
Inadequate resource mobilization it is difficult to mobilize sufficient resources in rural areas to finance the components of rural development. Now, just before we proceed into discussing decentralization africa, it might be need for a very quick reminder here. Decentralization or decentralisation see spelling differences is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. The research assistance of donghyuk kim is gratefully acknowledged. Theoretical, conceptual, and analytical issues james s. Section 3 analyses decentralisation in the africa context. Evaluating africas track record from universiteit leiden. Decentralisation can be viewed as an extension of delegation. Fiscal decentralisation overseas development institute. Mixed progess posted on august 5, 2017 by isaac munene ndereba experience in burkina faso, ghana, senegal and sierra leone. To this end an overview of the objective of decentralisation is useful. And decentralization was often part of democratic reforms introduced through constitutional change. Decentralization is the means to allow for the participation of people and local governments morell.
Moreover, since independence, several countries have experimented with decentralization with varying degrees of success. Elected local governments, it was hoped, would give citizens more voice in public affairs, and so drain the reservoir of discontent that feeds insurgency usaid 2009. Concept paper on decentralisation and local governance 2 1. Abidjan municipality comprising ten city districts levels elazar 1987. The decentralisation process is polarising tunisia and risks fueling social and political tensions. The authors conclude that while decentralisation is not without its disadvantages, decentralisation of health care services in south africa can make a phenomenal impact on the quality and access to muchneeded health services for the most. Aug 05, 2017 experience in burkina faso, ghana, senegal and sierra leone.
This is followed by a section which, using the analytical frameworks, discusses the experience of decentralisation of health services in africa. Cameron concludes by suggesting that, in contrast to many african countries, decentralization in south africa is strong. Decentralization in africa lynne rienner publishers. Its goal is to introduce more participatory forms of governance by giving citizens, or their representatives, more influence in the formulation and implementation of health policies and plans. A condition for sustainable urbanisation in africa emmanuel innocents edoun the university of johannesburg, johannesburg, south africa abstract this paper is based on the premise that, urbanisation could be effective only if decentralisation. Agenda 2063 is the blueprint and master plan for transforming africa into the global powerhouse of the future. So indeed, decentralization owes its origins to these constitutions. The basic view is that decentralisation of government will address the problems with allocative inefficiency.
Educational decentralization and school governance in south africa. One of the more significant, if less publicised, reforms in africa over the past twenty years has been the progressive decentralisation of the state. Until the late 1980s, decentralisation experiments in subsaharan africa tended in the majority of states to reinforce central control rather than enhance local autonomy. Decentralisation entails the transfer of power, responsibilities and finance from central. Decentralisation itself is not an objective but a means to achieve something the purpose of section 32 is to analyse whether decentralisation leads to. Aug 12, 2019 this report examines the inception and implementation of the decentralisation policy in uganda and proposes somes reforms.
It is the strategic framework for delivering on africas goal for inclusive and sustainable development and is a concrete manifestation of the panafrican drive for unity, selfdetermination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity pursued under panafricanism and african. The author would like to acknowledge the valuable inputs provided by. While the national government has made some attempts to recentralize power the strong constitutional framework and financial decentralization mean that south african cities have maintained a large degree of independence. Educational decentralization and school governance in. Assessment and comparison of the four reference countries in subsaharan africa 297. Decentralization has gained prominence in africa in recent years. When a part of the work is entrusted to others, it is known as delegation. Although not all countries have fully revived local governance, a recent world bank study indicated that no country in africa today propounds a preference for the centralised state. Today, around 23 of sdcs country programmes include a support to local governance andor decentralisation. Decentralisation extends to the lowest level of the organisation. Decentralization reform refers to transforming the local institutional infrastructure for natural resource management on which local forest management is based ribot. Constitutional entrenchment of decentralization in africa.
Decentralization permits the rural communes to manage their own financial resources and their expenses. For example, william ascher of claremont mckenna college chronicles how decentralization concepts are playing out in natural resources policy, while kadmeil wekwete united nations outlines the specific challenges to decentralizing governance in subsaharan africa. Up until the 1980s, african decentralisation policies were either explicitly or implicitly confined to deconcentration even though the language of devolution was used. Assessment and comparison of the four reference countries in subsaharan africa 296 7. We argue that particular forms of decentralisation create particular regional and local interests. It seeks to appraise the practice in terms of achievements and challenges in the le. The argument for fiscal decentralisation is anchored in the socalled first generation theory of bringing government closer to the people. Decentralization is transforming the structure of governance in africa. In various jurisdictions, its success or failures have however been associated with instances of corruption to varied scales. Decentralization in africa decentralization, democracy. Now starting with the 1990s, decentralization reform started to change the political architecture of subsaharan africa. The task for this report is to provide a systematic look at the paradigm that links the. We argue that particular forms of decentralisation create.
Introduction sdc has been implementing projects in support to decentralisation and local governance for about 15 years. Political decentralisation aims to give citizens or their elected representatives more power in public decisionmaking. Key indicators of the success of decentralization are the amount of local government spen. The paper also includes an appendix looking at the particular case. An overview of decentralization and local governance in. It is an outcome of a comprehensive study of how the decentralisation policy was implemented. Political and economic obstacles to decentralization. Purpose and scope 5 and procurement reforms, informational campaigns andor political civic awareness programmes and citizeninitiated recall and referendum. The aim of this book is to contribute to this literature, with a particular emphasis on the outcomes of decentralisation in africa on the two themes of poverty re duction and the management of violent conflict. Arrow, musgrave, samuelson, and others have done seminal work in this field. For them, there are also other ways to decentralize political power. Center discussion papers are preliminary materials circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comments.
Their analysis covers many different contexts and regions. South africa both exemplies these processes, as well as providing some interesting counterexamples. It is the strategic framework for delivering on africa s goal for inclusive and sustainable development and is a concrete manifestation of the pan african drive for unity, selfdetermination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity pursued under panafricanism and african. Since the 1990s, various african countries have adopted measures of decentralized governments as a means to expedite development, improve the democratic space and enhance socioeconomic inclusion. We document the changing forms of decentralisation in south africa from the early 20th century through to the postapartheid era. Chapter 3 how to understand decentralisation in africa 123 chapter 3 how to understand decentralisation in africa 31 introduction in chapter 2, we studied the current state of local administration in each of the three countries as well as their decentralisation reforms, based on which it was intended to identify and analyse the major.
The above quote drawn from a recent undp document underscores the need to develop a. Despite attempts by the mlg, the little sectoral decentralisation that has occurred has been on a piecemeal basis and without adequate. How should we understand the decentralisation reforms and their consequences that are emerging in many african countries in such a rapid and drastic manner. The current momentum for decentralisation of government in africa and elsewhere in the developing world is unparalleled, but are the benefits claimed by its advocates being realised.
In some cases, decentralisation efforts are at least partly a guise for renewed attempts by national political elites to expand their control through developing new local institutions or restructuring existing ones. In order to fulfill its promise to reduce socioregional inequalities and improve public services all sides must compromise on a new understanding of decentralisation that includes strengthening state services nationwide. Since the middle of the l980s most african countries have started a transfer of power, resources and. South africa s particular combination of policy changes may be unique, but its experience has much resonance with the worldwide attempts to restructure and deregulate state schooling, and to create devolved systems of education entailing. Because it has several dimensions, its appropriate extent and form vary across countries and its implementation takes considerable time, decentralisation is a. Chapter 3 how to understand decentralisation in africa jica. Industrial decentralisation id has been a central component of south africa s regional strategy for over twenty years.
Decentralisation in africa and the nature of local governments competition. This working paper is an output of the renewable energy and decentralization read project, a research project epl0024691, 202015 funded by the uk engineering and physical sciences research council epsrc, the uk department of international. In order tocomplete its transition towards a constitutional democracy, south africa decided to renew its local governance system after apartheid. Decentralization in africa decentralization, democracy and. It is intended primarily for policymakers, in this case meaning civil servants and their. Market decentralisation involves shifting responsibility for health functions from the public to the private sector including businesses and nongovernment organizations. The next section of the chapter presents analytical frameworks for understanding decentralisation. Political, administrative, fiscal and market decentralization can also appear in different forms and combinations across countries, within countries and even within sectors. Evidence from benin emilie caldeira, martial foucault, and gregoire rotagraziosi nber working paper no.
Meaning, advantages and disadvantages of decentralisation. Munich personal repec archive an overview of decentralization and local governance in eastern and southern africa kundishora, phillip municipal development partnership eastern and southern africa mdpesa february 2009 online at mpra paper no. In africa south of the sahara, the focus of this book, there are few countries that have not. Pdf since the rise to power of the movement government under the leadership of yoweri museveni in 1986, uganda has largely been showcased as an. Uganda 1995 ethiopia 1994 nigeria 1999 south africa 1996 kenya 2010 zimbabwe constitutional entrenchment of multilevel government for zimbabwe. This has not changed much in the decade and a half since then. This is remarkable, as africa has a long history of formally centralised rule which dates back to colonial times, and in some instances much. Focusing on two claims in particular, this book questions whether decentralisation does offer a significant pathway out of poverty and conflict in africa. Until recently, though, the programme has evinced little interest amongst industrialists. However, the local level is considered to be a central issue for the success of development policies and the fight against poverty in madagascar as in other african countries. Vertical and horizontal decentralization and ethnic diversity.
In this political science course you will learn about the twin concepts of federalism and decentralization. Political decentralization aims to give citizens or their elected representatives more power in public decisionmaking. Effectiveness of decentralization in ghana james a. Vertical and horizontal decentralization and ethnic diversity in subsaharan africa. Section 4 concludes with a discussion of the limits of decentralisation in africa. Many countries have adopted health system decentralisation to address political, managerial and operational issues in terms of systemic efficiency and costeffectiveness.
Chapter 3 how to understand decentralisation in africa. Summary west african countries have been characterised by a process of decentralisation. However, the same word is often used to describe different things. East african federation and southern african development community and metropolitan e. Sectoral decentralisation there has been a great deal of talk about sectoral decentralisation in zimbabwe but very little actual decentralisation of meaningful powers has taken place. Goals, dimensions, myths and challenges decentralisation is a complex and often somewhat elusive phenomenon. However there is always the potential for party politics to play a role when the party in power nationally loses control of local governments, a situation of so called vertically divided political authority.
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