Welcome to Commonwealth Local Government Forum
clgf logo
Welcome to
Commonwealth Local Government Forum
  • About us
    • About CLGF
    • Our Board
    • Our staff
    • Become a member
    • Opportunities
  • What we do
    • Women in local government
    • Partnership with Microsoft
    • Research Advisory Group
    • Cities Network (CSCN)
    • Sharing policy and practice
    • Promoting local democracy
    • Event calendar
    • Programmes
  • What's new
    • CLGF guest blog
    • LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACTION ON COVID-19
    • News
    • E-newsletter
    • CLGF Bulletin
    • E-Newsletter sign up
  • Regions
    • CLGF Pacific
    • CLGF Asia
    • CLGF Southern Africa
    • CLGF West Africa
    • CLGF East Africa
    • CLGF Europe
    • CLGF Americas
  • Conferences
    • CLGC 2017
  • Resource centre
    • Knowledge hub
    • CLGF publications

CJLG

Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance

The Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance is a peer-reviewed e-journal that aims to strengthen the research voice of local government in the Commonwealth by providing a forum for researchers and practitioners interested in local government ideas and practices. Its overall focus is upon improving local governance and supporting local government as an agent of development. The journal brings together perspectives of researchers and local government practitioners to disseminate information, ideas and good practice across the Commonwealth and is edited by Prof Alison Brown, Cardiff University and published by UTS Publishing on behalf CLGF.
 

The Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance was launched on 7 May 2008 by CLGF, in partnership with the University of Technology Sydney, Centre for Local Government, under the founding editorship of Prof Graham Sansom.

If you would like to submit a paper for consideration for peer review/inclusion in a future issue please see the Author guidelines for style, content and how to submit

 

For all back issues visit https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/cjlg/issue/archive

 

 

 

Latest issue 28 

Published: 2023-09-26

 

In this issue:

 

Editorial

Graham Sansom

1-4

PDF


RESEARCH AND EVALUATION (PEER REVIEWED)

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

Justa Mwangi, Gitile Naituli, James Kilika, Wilson Muna

5-23

  PDF 

 

 

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

Stella B Kyohairwe, Christopher Yikii Agatre

24-41

  PDF 

 

 

Decentralisation and political empowerment of citizens in Karamoja, Uganda

Jimmy Francis Obonyo, William Muhumuza

42-60

  PDF 

 

 

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

Femi Olaniyan

61-83

  PDF 

 

 

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

Ronald Adamtey, Florence Aburam, Benjamin Doe, Clifford Amoako

84-104

  PDF 

 

 

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

Hayley Boks, Adrino Mazenda

105-121

  PDF 

 

POLICY AND PRACTICE

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

Wilfred Lameck, Chagulani Shabiru

122-131

  PDF 

 

 

 

COMMENTARY

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

Shilpa Santhosh

132-138

  PDF 

 

 

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

Harry Hobbs, Ed Wensing

139-154

  PDF 

 

BOOK REVIEW

 

Review: The Winding Stair by Sir Rodney Brooke

Andy Asquith

155-157

  PDF 

 

 

 

 

Issue 27

Published: 2022-12-21

 

Editorial

Graham Sansom

1-4

PDF HTML


RESEARCH AND EVALUATION (PEER REVIEWED)

Decentralisation and local governance in Nigeria: issues, challenges and prospects

Olanrewaju O Ogunnubi

5-16

  PDF HTML

 

 

Impacts of municipal re-demarcations on service delivery in South Africa

Mpfareleni Mavis Netswera

17-36

  PDF HTML

 

 

The leadership style and motivation of women council candidates in regional New South Wales, Australia: a heuristic inquiry

Delanie Sky, Hedy Bryant

37-56

  PDF HTML

 

 

Women, ethnic minorities and local electoral success in Auckland, New Zealand

Karen Webster, Charles Crothers

57-82

  PDF HTML

 

 

Designing and implementing a local residential property tax from scratch: lessons from the Republic of Ireland

Gerard Turley

83-101

  PDF HTML

 

 

Capacity, voice and opportunity: advancing municipal engagement in Canadian federal relations

Tomas Hachard

102-124

  PDF HTML

 

 

COMMENTARY

Perspectives on local government’s place in federal systems and central–local relations

John Phillimore, Alan Fenna, K K Pandey, Jean Drage, Eghosa E Osaghae, D M Powell, Andrew Walker

125-157

  PDF HTML

 

 

Decentralisation, revenue and the capital city: the case of Kampala, Uganda

Astrid Haas

158-169

  PDF HTML

 

Local governments can show national governments how to plan better: integrated planning and reporting reforms in Australia

Bronwyn Kelly

170-180

  PDF HTML

 

POLICY AND PRACTICE

Supporting local councillors: learnings from post-election interviews in New South Wales, Australia

Sarah Artist

181-187

  PDF HTML

 

 

Issue 26

Editorial

Graham Sansom

PDF

In this issue:

Research and Evaluation (peer-reviewed)

Assessing the impact of sporting mega-events on the social and physical capital of communities in host cities: the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games experience

Michael Falla, Jason Prior, Brent Jacobs PDF

  

Visualising the invisible: collaborative approaches to local-level resilient development in the Pacific Islands region

Rebecca McNaught, Kalara McGregor, Matthew Kensen, Rob Hales, Johanna Nalau

PDF

 

Participation of chiefs in decentralised local governance in Ghana

Emmanuel Debrah PDF

 

Roadblocks to diversity in Local Government in New South Wales, Australia: changing narratives and confronting absences in diversity strategies

Tanya Jakimow PDF

 

Betwixt agency and accountability: re-visioning street-level bureaucrats

Priyanshu Gupta, Manish Thakur, Bhaskar Chakrabarti PDF

 

The implications of COVID-19 and Brexit for England’s town councils: views from the town hall, and beyond

Gordon Morris PDF

 

Regionalism from above: intergovernmental relations in Canadian metropolitan governance

Zack Taylor PDF

 

POLICY AND PRACTICE

Perspectives on metropolitan governance

Alex Gooding, Alan Harding, Peter McKinlay, Marius Pieterse

PDF

 

Fact Sheets on decentralisation in Africa

Jaap de Visser, Tinashe Chigwata PDF

 

 

 

 

 

Issue 25 

Editorial Graham Sansom, University of Technology Sydney


Download Issue 25 here. 

In this issue:

Research and Evaluation (peer-reviewed)

Elusive empowerment: characteristics of indirectly elected women chairpersons of district councils in Uttar Pradesh, India

Preety Choudhari, Trisha Roy, Khushboo Verma, Reena Bharti, Sonia Verma  PDF

 

Upward and downward accountability in local government: the decentralisation of agricultural extension services in Tanzania

Wilfred U Lameck, Rudie Hulst PDF

 

Participatory monitoring and evaluation in local government: a case study of Lambussie District, Ghana

Bernard Afiik Akanpabadai Akanbang, Anass Ibn Abdallah PDF

 

Trends in rural fiscal decentralisation in India’s Karnataka state: a focus on public health

Megha Rao, Arnab Mukherji, Hema Swaminathan PDF

 

Resourcing local government in Ghana: the potential of volunteering to deliver basic services

Ronald Adamtey, Clifford Amoako, Benjamin Doe PDF

 

Factors affecting the performance of South African municipal officials: stakeholders’ perspectives

Tyanai Masiya , Yul Derek Davids, Mary S Mangai PDF

 

The nexus between the traditional system of governance and the local government system in Karamoja, Uganda

Jimmy Francis Obonyo, William Muhumuza PDF

 

Indigenous peoples’ human rights, self-determination and local governance – Part 2

Ed Wensing  PDF

 

 


 

 

Issue 24 

In this issue: 

Editorial Graham Sansom, University of Technology Sydney


RESEARCH AND EVALUATION (PEER REVIEWED)

Localising the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa: implementation challenges and opportunities

Eunice Annan-Aggrey, Elmond Bandauko, Godwin Arku

  PDF 

 

 

Organisational citizenship behaviour and service delivery in urban local governments in Uganda

Wilberforce Turyasingura, Lazarus Nabaho

  PDF 

 

 

Localising democracy on an uneven playing field: the roles of ward councillors in the City of Cape Town

Vinothan Naidoo

  PDF 

 

 

Australian local government’s contribution to good governance on major projects: increasing information, participation and deliberation

Sarah de Vries

  PDF 

 

 

Voting in New Zealand local government elections: the need to encourage greater voter turnout

Andy Asquith, Karen Webster, Andrew Cardow

  PDF 

 

 

Indigenous peoples’ human rights, self-determination and local governance – Part 1

Ed Wensing

  PDF 

 

 

POLICY AND PRACTICE

 

Enhancing youth participation in local governance: an assessment of urban and rural junior councils in Zimbabwe

Paradzai Munyede, Delis Mazambani, Jakarasi Maja

  PDF 

 

 

Examining citizens’ trust in local government institutions: a focus on upazila parishads (sub-district councils) in Bangladesh

Niaz Ahmed Khan, Jannatul Ferdous, Md Imran Hossain Bhuiyan

  PDF 

 

Issue 23 

In this issue: 


RESEARCH AND EVALUATION (PEER REVIEWED)

Promoting inclusive urban economies in a world of changing technology and patterns of trade

Glen Robbins

  PDF HTML

 

 

Does decentralised governance of primary education improve performance of pupils in Eastern Uganda? Perspectives of education managers

Rose B Namara

  PDF HTML

 

 

Local government in England: evolution and long-term trends

John Parr

  PDF HTML

 

 

Decentralisation and urban primary health services: a case study of Delhi’s Mohalla Clinics

Sejal Patel, Priyankita Pant

  PDF HTML

 

 

When public spending goes local: agricultural expenditure at a key stage in Ghana’s decentralisation reform

Tewodaj Mogues, Kwaku Owusu-Baah

  PDF HTML

 

 

POLICY AND PRACTICE

 

Recent trends in Australian local government reform

Graham Sansom

  PDF HTML

 

 

BOOK REVIEW

 

Review: How to Steal a City: The Battle for Nelson Mandela Bay, an Inside Account by Crispian Olver

Thina Nzo

  PDF HTML

 

Issue 22 

In this issue: 

Editorial Gareth Wall, University of Birmingham


RESEARCH AND EVALUATION (PEER REVIEWED)

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through decentralisation and the role of local governments: a systematic review

Joydeep Guha, Bhaskar Chakrabarti

  PDF HTML

 

 

Not quite what’s on paper? Comparison between theoretical and actual information-sharing networks in the Ugandan rural water service sector

Sara Dewachter, Patricia Bamanyaki, Nathalie Holvoet

  PDF HTML

 

 

A critique of the newly proposed model of decentralisation in Lesotho

Hoolo ‘Nyane

  PDF HTML

 

 

Performance management in Ghana’s local government: a case study of Ada East District Assembly

Justice Nuse Sosu

  PDF HTML

 

 

Critique of the functional assignment architecture of Punjab’s local governance legislation of 2013 & 2019

Moazzam Ali Janjua, Rainer Rohdewohld

  PDF HTML

 

 

Property rate in Ghana: a poor local revenue source or underexploited potential?

Abdulai Kuyini Mohammed

  PDF HTML

 

 

POLICY AND PRACTICE

 

Sustainable community services for older people

Chris Taylor, Jed Donoghue

  PDF HTML

 

 

Post-Covid-19 and local economic development (LED): sharing experiences from Ghana

Bilattey Bimi

  PDF HTML

 

 

BOOK REVIEW

 

Review: The case for Community Wealth Building by Joe Guinan and Martin O’Neill

Gareth Wall

  PDF HTML

 

Issue 21 

In this issue: 

Editorial Yvette Selim, University of Technology Sydney and Gareth Wall, University of Birmingham


RESEARCH AND EVALUATION (PEER REVIEWED)

The contribution of participatory budgeting to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals: lessons for policy in Commonwealth countries 

Yves Cabannes

  PDF HTML

 

 

Legislating community engagement at the Australian local government level

Helen Christensen

  PDF HTML

 

 

Rhetorically decentralised, practically recentralised: a review of the local governance system of Ghana

David Anaafo

  PDF HTML

 

 

Municipal finance for housing: local government approaches to financing housing in cities

Christopher Feather

  PDF HTML

 

 

Local government and community events in New Zealand: a case study of two neighbouring cities

Joany Grima

  PDF HTML

 

 

Community governance and service delivery in Nepal: an assessment of influencing factors

Keshav K Acharya, Habib Zafarullah

  PDF HTML

 

 

BOOK REVIEWS

 

Review: Bangladesh: Reform Agenda for Local Governance by Tofail Ahmed

Soumyabrato Bagchi

  PDF HTML

 

 

POLICY AND PRACTICE

 

Commonwealth Local Government Forum’s support of Local Councils Associations in Pakistan

Noor Akbar

  PDF HTML

 

Issue 20 

In this issue: 

Editorial by Gareth Wall, CLGF and Gordon Morris, University of Exeter


RESEARCH AND EVALUATION (PEER REVIEWED)

Fiscal decentralisation frameworks for Agenda 2030: understanding key issues and crafting strategic reforms 

Paul Smoke

  PDF HTML

 

 

Women’s local government representation in Auckland – does size matter?

Karen Webster, Judy McGregor

  PDF HTML

 

 

Rural policy, rural quangos – searching for clarity in West Dorset, south west England 

Gordon Morris

  PDF HTML

 

 

Governing authorities in the same boat and a tale of two schedules: Marius Nel v Hessequa Local Municipality (2015) 

Anél du Plessis, Oliver Fuo

  PDF HTML

 

 

Alternative approaches to community participation beyond formal structures: evidence from Langa within the municipality of Cape Town 

Adam Andani

  PDF HTML

 

 

The consequences of path dependency on funding for infill development in Victoria, Australia 

Emily Killin, Alan March

  PDF HTML

 

 

Democratisation of local government planning in Bangladesh 

Shuvra Chowdhury

  PDF HTML

 

 

Decision-making processes in Sylhet City Corporation: who plays the dominant role? 

Muhammad Mustofa Kamal,Anwara Begum,Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Hossienie

 PDF HTML

 

 

Botswana development vision and localisation of UN Sustainable Development Goals 

Norbert Musekiwa, David Mandiyanike

  PDF HTML

 

 

POLICY AND PRACTICE (NON-REFEREED)

PRACTICE

Who is responsible? Local government and accountability for service delivery in Kenya’s devolved health sector

Kenneth Okwaroh Ochieng

  PDF HTML

 

 

Intergovernmental planning and budgeting in Zimbabwe: learning the lessons of the past

Tinashe C Chigwata, Sylvester Marumahoko

  PDF HTML

 

 

Holding governments accountable for service delivery: the local government councils scorecard initiative in Uganda

Lillian Muyomba-Tamale, Kiran Cunningham

  PDF HTML

 

 

BOOK REVIEWS

Review: Directly Elected Mayors in Urban Governance: Impact and Practice edited by David Sweeting

Andrew Walker

  PDF HTML

 

 

Review: Local Government in England: Centralisation, Autonomy and Control by Colin Corpus, Mark Roberts, Rachel Wall

Jonathan Carr-West

  PDF HTML

 

 

Issue 19 

In this issue:

Editorial by Alison Brown, University of Cardiff
 

Research and evaluation

Successful, safe and sustainable cities: towards a New Urban Agenda

David Satterthwaite

 

Mind the gap: Australian local government reform and councillors’ understandings of their roles 

Su Fei Tan, Alan Morris, Bligh Grant

 

Australian local governments and the early national broadband network roll-out: an online survey 

Tooran Alizadeh, Heather Shearer

 

Assignment of functions to local authorities in Lesotho 

Hoolo Nyane

 

Amalgamation of South Africa’s rural municipalities: is it a good idea?

Mkhululi Ncube, Jabulile Monnakgotla

 

Provincial–regional ANC politics in the Northern Cape: corruption or everyday informal practices? 

Thina Nzo

 

Citizen participation in urban local government: a case study of Kanaighat Paurashava in Bangladesh

Mohammad Shahjahan Chowdhury, Md Aktaruzzaman

 

Can organisation development principles in India's local governments improve governance?

Sonali Srivastava, Madhavi Rajadhyaksha

 

Practice

The Greenway social housing estate: lessons in community development

Chris Taylor, Jed Donoghue

 

The ward sabha in Bangladesh – lessons from Kerala and West Bengal

Tofail Ahmed

 

News and reviews

 

Book review – Reclaiming Local Democracy: A progressive future for local government

Gordon Morris

 

Book review – Cities and Agriculture 

Aloysius Clemence Mosha

 

Issue 18 

In this issue:

Editorial by Alison Brown, University of Cardiff
 

Research and evaluation

Supporting local governance and local economic development – some experiences from Swaziland, 

Terry Parker

 

Role of courts in interpreting local government's environmental powers in South Africa, 

Oliver Fuo

 

Symbolic politics, legalism and implementation: the case of street vendors in India, 

Philip Amis

 

Urban agriculture in Botswana, 

Aloysius Clemence Mosha

 

Women’s leadership in local government in the Caribbean, 

Kizzann Lee Sam

 

Network governance and capacity of local governments to deliver LED in Uganda, 

Rose B Namara, Gerald Kagambirwe Karyeija, Betty C Mubangizi

 

Learning in Australian local government: A roadmap for improving education and training, 

Ronald Woods, Sarah Artist, Geraldine O’Connor

 

Public participation in services delivery projects in Buikwe District Local Government Uganda, 

Sylvester Kugonza, Robert Mukobi


Mobilising internally generated funds to finance development projects in Ghana’s Northern Region, 

Felix Puopiel, Musah Chimsi

 

The ‘silent pistol’ in Ghana’s local government system: presiding members vs. chief executives Issah Justice Musah-Surugu, Emmanuel Yeboah-Assiamah

 

Local government administration in Nigeria: the search for relevance, 

Ozohu-Suleiman Abdulhamid, Paul Chima

 

News and reviews

Book review of 'Perspectives on Australian Local Government Reform' edited by Brian Dollery and Ian Tiley 

Bligh Grant

 

Book review of 'Local Governance in Bangladesh: Policy and Strategy Framework' by Mohammad Rafiqul Islam Talukdar 

Tofail Ahmed

 


 

For older issues - visit https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/cjlg/issue/archive

  • Become a Member
  • Board and Patrons
  • SG's Blog
  • eNews
  • eJournal
  • Knowledge Hub
  • Contact Us
CLGF CLGF
© CLGF 2025 : Privacy Policy