Too often, government leaders fail to adopt and implement policies that they know are necessary for sustained economic development. Political constraints can prevent leaders from following sound technical advice, even when leaders have the best of intentions. Making Politics Work for Development: Harnessing Transparency and Citizen Engagement focuses on two forces—citizen engagement and transparency—that hold the key to solving government failures by shaping how political markets function.

Background discussion for Commonwealth Local Government Conference 2015.  CLGF commissioned two “thinkpieces” Local government 2030 achieving the vision – the role of local democracy and good governance and Local government 2030 achieving the vision – the importance of local government in economic development and cities as engines of economic growth. 

A number of approaches have been adopted in medical education geared towards training health professionals that can improve access to health care by communities most vulnerable to inequalities and injustices in health systems. Relevant health professions education is vital for improvements in health and health care access. A symbiotic medical education can improve the quality of health care and impact on career choice, yet the challenge to sustain equitable access to improved health and healthcare particularly for those most in need remains a major global challenge ( Ssewankambo, 2012). Within a decentralized system, such as in Uganda, Local Governments are mandated to ensure health promotion and equitable healthcare for the population under their jurisdiction. Whereas public service reforms have mainly focused on decentralization and good governance (Mamdani, 2012, Stiglitz, 2012), the role of curriculum reforms in addressing health and health care challenges through needs-based education of health professionals has been largely ignored. Through an analysis of the challenges of health care within a decentralized Local Government setting, this paper, by presenting experiences from one public university in Uganda, reveals how a partnership between Universities and Local Government can go a long way in addressing health disparities and reduction of morbidity and mortality.

This paper provides an overview of key trends and developments impacting on local democracy and is intended to be a broad-ranging background paper to assist in discussions at a workshop organised by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), in partnership with the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF), to be held in Stockholm in early November 2014, which will bring together academics and practitioners to explore current trends and developments in local democracy.

The purpose of the study was to carry out an assessment of local democracy and local governance through benchmarking Aberdeen principles on the local government system in Rwanda to appreciate the achievements and establish gaps and suggest appropriate recommendations for future improvement. As laid in the terms of reference, the study was guided by research questions for each of the 12 principles, which include, Constitutional and legal recognition for local democracy, political freedom to elect local representatives, partnership and cooperation between spheres of government, defined legislative framework, citizens participation in local decision making, open local government – accountability, open local government – transparency, scrutiny of the executive, inclusiveness, adequate and equitable resource allocation, equitable services viii and capacity building for effective leadership. The said Aberdeen principles were used to analyse and assess Rwanda’s local government system vis a vis the Aberdeen principles. In terms of methodology, the study employed extensive desk research, analysing local democracy and local governance structures, systems policies and processes in Rwanda. Evidence was collected and collated through wide-ranging literature review with limited field research.