Why have decentralisation reforms in Africa not produced the expected results? What causes the strong counter-current towards ‘recentralisation’? Over the past 15 years, many African countries have invested in political and administrative reform aimed at increasing local governance. However, a reluctance of actors at central level to relinquish resources and decision making power to local entities has created a reverse current towards ‘recentralisation’.
This article from Public Administration and Development examines the reasons for the widespread difficulties encountered in making decentralisation operational. A number of African case studies illustrate how the local political process is in many cases reduced to ‘going through the motions’, eroding public credibility in effective governance. It is only by looking back at the experience of these countries with a very long-term perspective that some positive outcomes can be noted.
In many cases it is the ‘nuts and bolts’ of change that prevent the ideals of decentralisation from becoming a reality. The author looks at four key functions of local government that are obstructed by recentralisation pressures:
- Planning is a local activity in theory only, but remains top-down and is dictated by those who wield resource-allocating power. Loopholes in decentralisation legislation allow central ministries to override local decisions
- Budgeting at local level suffers from low levels of technical staff that are qualified for the complexity of the task and from central interference and manipulation
- Personnel systems that can support local government depend on a number of variables, including whether local officials should be elected or employed, and whether they should belong to regional or national bodies, for example the civil service. Different countries have solved these dilemmas in various ways
- Finance is largely dependent on inadequate, erratic and arbitrary central transfers and a limited revenue base. A lack of legal status obliges local authorities to beg central ministries for resources that should be theirs by right.
The article does not provide many alternatives to the problems it outlines. However, a number of case studies suggest the following:
- Despite the instability of many African contexts and the many pitfalls in the decentralisation process, the ‘long haul’ has produced some positive outcomes, for example in Botswana
- While problematic in the short-term, creating a strong and stable revenue base is important for the long-term establishment of local government
- Technical expertise and maturity in local government eventually provides an effective counterbalance to central intrusion
- A political will that overrides personal interests remains a prerequisite for effective governance at every level
- National mandates have an important role in restricting local corruption and integrating local political processes, but this becomes overbearing when it reduces public involvement and undermines local authority.
