scholarly journals Decentralization of Authorities in Ukraine; As an Efficient Instrument for Strengthening Local Democracy in The Modern Stage Of Government

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 6786-6792
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Active Form ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Public Budget ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Everyday Problems

The article deals with the issue of the decentralization of power in Ukraine, the unification of territorial communities, the development of a democratic local government, the establishment of local democracy, the factors that influence this process, the forms of participation of residents in solving everyday problems of the community. The purpose of the research paper is to reveal the mechanisms of decentralization of power at the local level, identify the main tendencies that appear during its implementation, ways to improve local governance and develop local democracy in the current crisis. In result, the study has established that the found in the developed democratic countries, the Institute of Local SelfGovernment – is a unique area that promotes the introduction of such signs of democracy as a community of tasks, joint responsibility, universal agreement, brotherhood, tolerance, equality. So, local democracy is necessary; it should be developed, strengthened in all directions. Has been established that the active form of citizen participation in community affairs is the implementation of the idea of the participation budget or public budget. The project had supported in virtually all regions of Ukraine and, thanks to it, people managed to solve a large number of local affairs under its responsibility, while increasing transparency and accountability of management structures and deepening decentralization processes on the ground.

Current Features and Developments of Local Governance in Finland

2016 ◽  
pp. 304-327
Author(s):  
Hanna Vakkala ◽  
Jaana Leinonen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Process Efficiency ◽  
Structural Reforms ◽  
Local Democracy

This chapter discusses local governance renewals and the recent development of local democracy in Finland. Due to profound structural reforms, the role of municipalities is changing, which is challenging current local government processes, from management to citizen participation. Nordic local self-government is considered strong, despite of tightening state steering. Ruling reform politics and the increasing amount of service tasks do not fit the idea of active local governance with sufficient latitude for decision-making. To increase process efficiency, electronic services and governance have been developed nationally and locally, and solutions of eDemocracy have been launched to support participation. Developing participative, deliberative democracy during deep renewals creates opportunities but also requires investments, which create and increase variation between municipalities. From the point of view of local democracy, it becomes interesting how strong municipal self-governance and local governance renewals meet and how the role and status of municipalities are changing.

scholarly journals Local Government Response to COVID-19: Revitalizing Local Democracy in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-712
Author(s):  
A.N.M. Zakir Hossain
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Google Docs

The study aims to identify the role of local government and its transformation in response to the COVID-19. It also shows how local governments extended the scope of accountability and transparency to strengthen democracy. The study followed the social survey method and collected data online through Google Docs form. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics to generate expected results and test the hypothesis by the Spearman correlation coefficient. The study found local governments were positive during COVID-19 to provide services and offered more public engagement in policy formulation, thus more democratic. The health sector has shown the highest priority, with food and environmental services. Inefficient management capacity of leaders and apathy in public engagement hamper resource mobilization at the local level. During COVID-19, ICT intervention and innovation for digital transformation in local governance increased accountability and transparency through easy and effective participation of mass people to strengthen local democracy to respond effectively against COVID-19.

Current Features and Developments of Local Governance in Finland

2020 ◽  
pp. 1849-1872
Author(s):  
Hanna Vakkala ◽  
Jaana Leinonen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Process Efficiency ◽  
Structural Reforms ◽  
Local Democracy

This chapter discusses local governance renewals and the recent development of local democracy in Finland. Due to profound structural reforms, the role of municipalities is changing, which is challenging current local government processes, from management to citizen participation. Nordic local self-government is considered strong, despite of tightening state steering. Ruling reform politics and the increasing amount of service tasks do not fit the idea of active local governance with sufficient latitude for decision-making. To increase process efficiency, electronic services and governance have been developed nationally and locally, and solutions of eDemocracy have been launched to support participation. Developing participative, deliberative democracy during deep renewals creates opportunities but also requires investments, which create and increase variation between municipalities. From the point of view of local democracy, it becomes interesting how strong municipal self-governance and local governance renewals meet and how the role and status of municipalities are changing.

Exploring the Uncharted Territory of Devolution in Zimbabwe

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jephias Mapuva ◽  
George P Miti
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Participatory Governance ◽  
Enabling Environment ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
Local Levels

Devolution, which was incorporated into the Constitution of Zimbabwe through section 264, is a new phenomenon in Zimbabwe. This incorporation came about because of the need for participatory governance and the devolution of power away from the centre. Over the years, local governance has been informed by a plethora of pieces of legislation that do not provide an enabling environment for citizen participation, giving Zimbabwe’s local government a chequered history that excludes citizens from participating in public affairs that affect their lives. An analysis of section 264 of the Constitution revealed that devolution has the propensity to enhance transparency, efficiency and effectiveness as well as the fulfilment of central government’s responsibilities at provincial and local levels. This article argues that the belated implementation of the devolution of power has delayed improved service delivery, effectiveness, efficiency and accountability within local governance. This article further seeks to explain how the implementation of section 264 of the Constitution can bring about good local governance.

scholarly journals Local Government: Constitutional Vision and Present Practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-128
Author(s):  
Krishna Man Pradhan
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Power Allocation ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Federal Level ◽  
Allocation System ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Opposition Party ◽  
Present Practice

Is it local government or local level unit of provincial and federal level governments? The constitution is still unclear. The constitution has not any provision of opposition party but it has executive, legislative and judiciary power allocation system of the organs of a government. To explore the vision and practice of local governance in Nepal, the study has been conducted. The methodology consists of analyzing primary and secondary sources. Primary data have been collected through field discussions with the stakeholders. Regarding the local governance various recommendations are presented in conclusion.

scholarly journals The ‘silent pistol’ in Ghana’s local government system: presiding members vs. chief executives

2016 ◽  
pp. 161-180
Author(s):  
Issah Justice Musah-Surugu ◽  
Emmanuel Yeboah-Assiamah
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Potential Conflict ◽  
Chief Executives ◽  
Main Research

Decentralisation and local governance aim at local economic development, but collaboration among key actors at the local level is essential in realising this objective. However, at district assembly level Ghana exhibits problematic conflicts between district chief executives (DCEs), who head the executive committee, and presiding members (PMs) who convene and preside over assembly deliberations, acting as speaker. This study aims to unpack the main causes of such unsavoury conflicts by using 13 case studies from the Ashanti Region. Both primary and secondary data were collected for the study. Primary data was gathered from a selection of 40 key informants drawn from three main groups including DCEs, PMs, and other stakeholders such as regional coordinating council members, assembly members and chiefs. The main research instrument was one-on-one in-depth interviews with participants. The study found deep-seated conflicts between DCEs and PMs, in some cases even transcending these two actors to involve a greater section of actors within the local government administration. The study noted that professional bureaucrats within the local government service are affected when allegations of affiliation are levelled against them. The study also found that the legal status of DCEs and PMs appears to be the main driver of potential conflict, although other context-specific issues were also prevalent.

scholarly journals Performance Management as an Alternative Tool for Local Governance: Evidence from Ghanaian Local Government Sector

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Abagsonema Abane ◽  
Boon-Anan Phinaitrup
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Performance Culture ◽  
Government Sector ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
Secondary Data Sources

The benefit of performance management is to have value for money and make local authorities more responsive to the needs of the grassroots. Therefore, the study addresses the perceived challenges which have been taken-for-granted in institutionalising performance culture at the local level in the context of sub-Sharan Africa. The purpose of this research is to investigate the progress and challenges affecting the institutionalisation of performance management in local government authorities to understand how these impediments impacts on performance culture in local governance. Using two major secondary data sources from Local Government Service, the study analyzes the contents of four key performance areas and the performance rating of local government authorities in Ghana . The study finds evidence to support that performance management may be an alternative tool to enhance the performance of local authorities. However , insufficient resource allocation, the absence of performance improvement programs and involvement of employees remains a challenge.

Understanding political participation in West Africa: the relationship between good governance and local citizen engagement

2016 ◽  
Vol 83 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 136-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Ann Krawczyk ◽  
Jennie Sweet-Cushman
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Negative Binomial Regression Model ◽  
Citizen Engagement

Strengthening citizen participation in West Africa is an increasingly important aspect of democratic development – especially in mitigating setbacks arising from poor governance. This article uses Round 4 Afrobarometer data to explore what stimulates local-level participation by examining determinants against the backdrop of eight West African nations: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal. Using a negative binomial regression model, our results are evaluated within the framework of good governance, and show that local context, specifically relative to citizens’ perceptions of and attitudes about the performance of local government, matters when it comes to local political participation. Points for practitioners This study provides public administrators with a framework for understanding what drives local-level, non-electoral citizen participation in West Africa, and helps them understand how to increase local citizen engagement and build a more democratic society through the pursuit of good governance principles. In addition, this study highlights the critical importance of local government performance, and the role of citizens’ attitudes and evaluations, in local civic engagement.

scholarly journals Governance of disaster risk reduction in Cameroon: The need to empower local government

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry N. Bang
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Risk Reduction Strategies ◽  
The Impact

The impact of natural hazards and/or disasters in Cameroon continues to hit local communities hardest, but local government lacks the ability to manage disaster risks adequately. This is partly due to the fact that the necessity to mainstream disaster risk reduction into local governance and development practices is not yet an underlying principle of Cameroon’s disaster management framework. Using empirical and secondary data, this paper analyses the governance of disaster risks in Cameroon with particular focus on the challenges local government faces in implementing disaster risk reduction strategies. The hypothesis is that the governance of disaster risks is too centralised at the national level, with huge implications for the effective governance of disaster risks at the local level. Although Cameroon has reinvigorated efforts to address growing disaster risks in a proactive way, it is argued that the practical actions are more reactive than proactive in nature. The overall aim is to explore the challenges and opportunities that local government has in the governance of disaster risks. Based on the findings from this research, policy recommendations are suggested on ways to mainstream disaster risk reduction strategies into local governance, and advance understanding and practice in the local governance of disaster risks in the country.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Poverty at the Local Level

2005 ◽  
Vol 44 (4II) ◽  
pp. 1093-1109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rashida Haq
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Participatory Development ◽  
Perceived Needs ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Grass Root

Poverty is a situation of deprivation, failure to fulfill the minimum basic physical and psychological needs of an individual due to unavailability of sufficient economic resources at its disposal. It is associated to insufficient outcomes with respect to nutrition, health and education, to deficient social relations, to insecurity and to low self-esteem and powerlessness. So poverty can be analysed from monetary and non-monetary indicators of well-being. In Pakistan Poverty have manifold expressions, many dimensions and indeed, many root causes. Given such multidimensionality, it is not difficult to see why poverty cannot be reduced or summarily expressed, in terms of a single quantitative or qualitative indicator alone. Similarly, for alleviating poverty, all routes matter, recognising the heterogeneity of the voices and the perspectives of the poor expressed in economic and non-economic terms. Such a multidimensional approach, moreover, brings into forefront the importance of recognising the causal factors of poverty at the local level and addressing area-specific problems based on perceived needs and demands of the poor. An essential pre-requisite of institutionalising the approach, however, is the existence of decentralised and participatory structure of local governance that can introduce participatory development in which citizen at the grass-root are involved in planning, formulating and implementation of programs for themselves. In Pakistan, a local government system has been installed in the form of “Devolution Plan 2000” after the promulgation of Local Government Ordinance 2001 by all Provinces.....................

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