This section contains information relating to all aspects of lcoal democracy and good governance at the local level.
The Commonwealth principles on good practice for local democracy and good governance - known as the Aberdeen Agenda - which have been adopted by all CLGF members and are incorporated in the Commonwealth Charter, set the framework for the promotion of local democracy in the Commonwealth.
The materials in this section relate to the constitutional and legal provisions for local government and include a range of studies, policy and training materials on local elections, leadership, community participation, representative local government, local government management and partnerships between local government and other key stakeholders such as traditional authorities.
Featured
The Government of Uganda established external agencies as part of the control mechanisms aimed at promoting accountability in the public sector in general and local governments (LGs) in particular. The two cardinal control agencies include the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and the Inspectorate of Government (IG), who are mandated to enhance public service through efficient and effective resource management, ensuring adherence to standards and regulations, and promoting responsiveness to community needs. In spite of these institutional controls, a surge of unbearable events involving abuse of authority and misuse of public resources still exists, suggesting significant managerial and capacity handicaps, not only in the internal mechanisms of LGs, but also in the external control agencies.
This paper presents findings of a study conducted to evaluate the institutional capacity of the OAG and the IG in the enhancement of accountability in local governments (LGs) in Uganda. The findings demonstrate deficiencies in institutional capacity across the spectrum of financial, human and material resources, as well as the enabling legislation and lack stakeholder support. The scenario is a recipe for encouraging public malfeasance. The paper makes a strong case for strengthening institutional capacity, through improvements in planning, resource facilitation and collaborative relations among the key stakeholders. It is argued that the establishment of a special anti-corruption court could help reduce the delays and provide appropriate corrective measures in support of accountability.
Author: Umar Kakumba Publisher: University of Technology Sydney Press Publication year: 2012
Local government is purposely established by law to provide grassroots development. In
federal states, it is usually created by law of the federating units, and in unitary states it is
created by central government. However, since the entrenchment of local government as a
third-tier level of government in the 1979/1999 federal constitutions of Nigeria, there have
been a lot of difficulties in creating new local governments. This paper examines the
dynamics of this structure and the challenges posed to the orderly creation of new local
government areas in Nigeria. The paper adopts secondary methods of data collection and
analysis. It finds that the conflicting constitutional provisions which vest in the state and
federal governments powers to create new local government areas have created many
controversies in the polity. It recommends that the creation and statutory finance of local
government councils in Nigeria should be expunged from the federal constitution.
Author: Jude Okafor Publisher: University of Technology Sydney Press Publication year: 2012
This paper discusses crucial aspects of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) through a comparison of two case studies: the SEA of the Torbay Local Transport Plan 2006-2011 (LTPT) published by Torbay Council,
and the Masterplan of the Port of the City of Cagliari, 2010 (MPPC) published by the
AutoritĂ Portuale di Cagliari in Sardinia, Italy, to provide evidence and lessons of good
practice for both the UK and Italy. These include the assessment of:
i. the endogeneity of the SEA process’ with respect to the planning process;
ii. the sustainability and participation approaches;
iii. the way available alternative planning options are compared;
iv. the definition of the monitoring process.
The paper is based on an analysis of the written plans and their SEAs rather than a wider
trawl of sources, on the basis that the plan preparation process should be explicit within the
plan.
Author: Corrado Zoppi Publisher: University of Technology Sydney Press Publication year: 2012
This paper begins with an explanation of the nature of local government in Botswana, its
structures, and their functions and accomplishments since independence. It then proceeds to
look at the challenges, and considers measures for meeting them. It ends by looking at future
prospects and draws some lessons.
Author: Keshav C. Sharma Publisher: University of Technology Sydney Press Publication year: 2010
This paper examines cases of low-level non-compliance in a municipal waste collection
services and a state owned railway to identify some of the factors that could be
contributing to reoccurring workplace corruption. The analysis suggests that a major
factor in repeated workplace corruption is the failure to monitor and implement reforms
recommended by investigations and existing organisational integrity systems.
Author: Ray Plibersek Publisher: University of Technology Sydney Press Publication year: 2010