scholarly journals Supporting local governance and local economic development – some experiences from Swaziland

2016 ◽  
pp. 4-16
Author(s):  
Terry Parker
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
West Africa ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The Third ◽  
Project Documentation

In the December 2012 issue of this Journal, Lucy Slack and Susan Rhodes (2012) of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) introduced a new CLGF programme focussing on improving governance and service delivery at local level in selected Commonwealth countries in Southern and West Africa and South Asia (CLGF no date; CLGF 2015). The initiative is in the third year of its four-year lifespan and it is opportune to examine progress made so far towards achieving the development aims sought by the programme funders, CLGF and partners in 2012. This contribution will explore the operationalisation of the programme to date through a snapshot of implementation in one country under the Southern Africa component of the programme, Swaziland. It will briefly describe how the project emerged, what it intends to achieve, examine progress to date and conclude with some observations around what has been learned so far. The paper draws on the author’s work as Regional Adviser for the CLGF Southern Africa Programme based in Pretoria and project documentation (see Acknowledgements). 

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.

Implementation dynamics of local economic development: Comparative empirical experiences from Ghana’s local governance system

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 609-624
Author(s):  
Akpeko Agbevade
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Tenure System ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
Land Tenure System

There has been an age old assertion that once public policies are formulated, the policies will automatically be implemented to achieve their stated objectives. To unravel this, the article through comparative empirical analysis discussed the dynamics that influenced local economic development implementation in Ghana. It emerged that four key dynamics: politics, leadership commitment and will, land tenure system and administrative, institutional and procedural mechanisms differently shaped local economic development implementation in the three local government units. Whereas these factors promoted local economic development implementation in some of the assemblies, it hindered its successful implementation in others. The findings of this article are of significance to local economic development and local governance practitioners and politicians as they strife to implement local economic development policies.

Determining the Nexus between National Policies and Local Practices in the Promotion of Businesses for Local Economic Development in Tanzania

2021 ◽  
pp. 245513332110476
Author(s):  
Faisal Hassan Issa
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Local Practices ◽  
Development Objectives ◽  
National Governments

National governments set policies that affect local level development and influence the pace and content of development initiatives. Local economic development (LED) initiatives require a more robust focus on issues that places local government authorities at centre stage. For decades, at the local government authority level, much effort has been seen in the social development arena shadowing efforts to promote local businesses through business development services. National level organs set to promote businesses and to support the business agenda are expected to be the change catalysts and to propagate supportive policies for sustainable local economic development objectives. Nonetheless, the desired integration of efforts between national and local authorities and the civil society is yet to be observed. Additionally, frequent policy changes affecting the balance of power and authority between the national and local level authorities impact less positively local capacity to promote businesses despite the national efforts in infrastructure development. It is observed that better integration of efforts between the different actors, increased capacity of local authorities and implementation of local initiatives to surmount local challenges while working on policy attributed gaps, are necessary for promoting businesses at the local authority level.

Incomplete Fiscal Decentralisation: An Impediment for Local Economic Development in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-105
Author(s):  
Audrey Smock Amoah ◽  
Imoro Braimah ◽  
Theresa Yaba Baah-Ennumh
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Fiscal Decentralisation ◽  
Local Government Level ◽  
Government Level

For the past three decades Ghana’s democratic decentralisation policy has sought in vein to establish a local government system capable of pursuing Local Economic Development (LED). One of the major impediments has been the insincere implementation of fiscal decentralisation for the local government to provide the enabling environment for LED. This paper employed primary and secondary data from the Wassa East District Assembly (WEDA) to assess the progress so far in Ghana’s fiscal decentralisation and its effect on LED. The paper highlights the potential benefits of LED and the incapacitation of the District Assembly by the Central government for LED financing. The paper again reveals the effects of the constraints of fiscal decentralisation on LED at the local government level and makes policy recommendations towards effective fiscal decentralisation for improvement in LED.

scholarly journals Possibilities and limitations of local economic development in Serbia

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-30
Author(s):  
Dušan Aničić ◽  
Jasmina Gligorijević ◽  
Miloje Jelić ◽  
Milosav Stojanović
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Living Standard ◽  
Government Influence ◽  
High Unemployment Rate ◽  
Development Concept

The practice in developed countries has shown a necessity for local government's stronger inclusion in local economic development issues. The economic system in Serbia has features of high unemployment rate and low living standard among the population, and therefore local government taking a larger part in local economic development issues is seen as a real possibility for reducing these problems. Although most of the economic policy instruments lie within the central government jurisdiction, which largely restricts local government possibilities, there is still an important area for local government influence on economic development. There are numerous obstacles for a successful application of the local economic development concept in Serbia, which causes the municipality and regional potentials to be used much less than the possibilities allow, and it has a negative reflection, especially in rural and undeveloped areas.

scholarly journals LOCAL TAXES IN THE FUNCTION OF LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - MUNICIPALITY OF PRIZREN

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 1397-1401
Author(s):  
Qëndrim Susuri
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Local Taxes ◽  
Negative Feature ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Business Tax

Taxes have a role in the implementation of economic and social objectives by local government to create a favorable business environment . The Municipality of Prizren has about 5,200 open businesses that carry out their activity within the territory of the municipality and with their taxes fill the budget budget of the municipality. Revenues that the municipality generates through businesses places them in function of local economic development indirectly by helping businesses to create an environment suitable for local businesses. One negative feature that has been noted during this research is that businesses registered in Prizren municipality are plagued by large businesses who are registered in other cities of Kosovo because they do not pay the business tax in the municipality of Prizren and this at the same time has a negative effect on local businesses as they are subject to tax on the firm while businesses registered from other cities do not pay this tax when the revenues from the firms' taxes in the municipality of Prizren are quite high. Municipality of Prizren is not helping businesses to develop the economy through tourism. During 2018 it has allocated subsidies to businesses that promote and influence tourism development only 5,000.00 Euros. While the expenditures allocated to the Capital Investment category in the Directorate of Tourism are realized only 13% of the allocated revenues.

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 Local Economic Development Strategies and Challenges: A Comparative Empirical Evidence from Ghana’s Local Governance System

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akpeko Agbevade
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Development Strategies ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
Land Tenure System ◽  
District Assemblies ◽  
Economic Development Strategies

Local level economic development has eluded Ghana since independence. This was because most policies were centralized. As a result, focus was shifted to local economic development. This article comparatively examined the local economic development strategies implemented in three of Ghana’s Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies. Using the mixed method and multiple case study approaches of research, the study sampled a total of 533 respondents across the three Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and analyzed data using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The study gleaned that the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies implemented similar local economic development strategies which could be categorized into contemporary local economic development and traditional local economic development approaches. Challenges such as inadequate finance, land tenure system, lack of modern equipment among others were identified. The provision of a central pool for financing local economic development, harmonization of locality development policies, de-politicization of local economic development policies, the adoption of change management strategies in Ghana’s local governance system, effective land tenure system are recommended for the success of local economic development in Ghana.

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