Do local governance systems have the potential to prevent and manage conflict? How can they become more responsive to local needs? This study from the Development Studies Institute at the University of Colombo and the South Asia Institute at the University of Heidleberg provides an overview of the way in which local government works in three different regions of Sri Lanka.
In spite of the many different characteristics of the three regions, local government functions in many similar ways, with familiar disputes and problems arising. A functioning local governance system that is efficient, transparent, inclusive, participatory and responsive could contribute to the establishment of a democratic culture at the local level, supporting a non-violent culture of decision making.
- Pradeshiya Sabhas are elected regional councils. People regard them as important democratic bodies, but they are sidelined by lack of resources and autonomy and hampered by lack of capacity.
- There is competition between the administrative system and the elected local government authorities in all three regions, which leads to duplication of services.
- Political interference by Members of Parliament or political parties can bring funds to certain local authorities while others are neglected, leading to disputes between elected members and institutions. Tensions at national level filter down to the grass roots, undermining the formation of consensus politics.
- People’s participation in local level decision making is almost non-existent in all three regions. Trust in local authorities is low, and there are few opportunities for people to participate in the local planning and decision making process.
- Some groups feel left out and not represented, this is aggravated by a lack of resources, effective planning and transparency in resource distribution.
Reform of the local government electoral system is needed, as well as the strengthening of the existing local government system. Specific policy recommendations are as follows:
- More autonomy should be granted to local authorities, who need support to improve their existing revenue collection and to find new revenue collection avenues.
- Local authorities’ capacity and human resource management needs to be improved. Training should include both administrative staff and the elected representatives.
- More spaces need to be created for people’s participation to improve responsiveness of local government to local needs.
- Strengthen the conflict management role of local authorities. Local government could become a learning ground for democratic non-violent discussion, culture and problem solving. Ethnically mixed ward committees and peace and cultural committees could further contribute to this.
- A first step could be to identify key issues and develop an action plan to implement local government reforms.
- Some of the key issues could be transformed into pilot projects, for example establishment of inter-ethnic committees. These pilot projects could then be used to develop models on how the respective issues could be addressed.
