Decentralization Reforms in Developing Countries Designed to Champion the Interests of Central Politicians and not Grassroots Development

Decentralization has been considered as a powerful tool for enhancing development. However, after nearly four decades of implementing decentralization in many countries in the Global South, the evidence suggests that the impact of decentralization on development is weak and uninspiring. This article argues that the design of a decentralization program is always critical with regard the extent to which it can promote development. The evidence across the developing countries demonstrates that the motivations behind decentralization are typically not politically neutral, political interests have been the key motivation behind the adoption of various types of decentralization programs in the developing countries. As a result, the faith in decentralization as a technical tool that could propel grassroots development needs to be reconsidered, since political interests and not development are the main determinants of decentralization. This is because, in practice, the decentralization designs in many developing countries tend to limit rather than expand the political, fiscal, and administrative powers of subnational governments, while the center retains control. This severely limits the development potential of subnational governments.

Impact of State Government Development Scheme for Economic Empowerment on Community Dwellers of Anambra State Nigeria

The study examined the impact of Anambra Government’s Grassroots Development Scheme on economic empowerment of community dwellers especially the youths and women, in all the local governments of Anambra state, in Southeastern Nigeria. The purpose was to assess the major beneficiaries of the development scheme and determine the impact of the scheme on the common people especially the youth and the women. The work is anchored on community development theory which emphasizes holistic approach to development through participation of all tiers of government, from the federal administrative office to the regional and local governments to community dwellers at grassroots level. Primary data was used for the study. The questionnaire was used for collection of data. The number of respondents for the study is 975. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. The result of the study showed that a lot of the common people benefitted from the grassroots development scheme of the Anambra state Government. The hypothesis stated was tested at 0.05 level of significance to determine if the development scheme was beneficial to community dwellers of Anambra State using one sample Kolmogorov Smirnov Z test and it was rejected because the p value was less than 0.05 (Z=0.6.913, p=0.00). The research findings also showed that the development scheme of the Anambra state government had also impacted positively on the people of the state, especially the youth and the women. The statistical significance of this result was determined using Pearson Chi square coefficient. The hypothesis was because the p value was less than 0.05 (χ2=887.779, df =125, p=0.00). The study, therefore, concludes that the first tier of the grassroots development scheme of government in Anambra state impacted positively on the life of the community dwellers of Anambra state, particularly the youth and women. The study recommends that more of such development scheme should be embarked upon by different tiers of government and other states in Nigeria should replicate same in their own states. This will be a way of boosting the economy, reducing unemployment, and diversifying economic activities.

Assessment of Grassroots Empowerment Programs for Economic Development in Anambra State, Nigeria

Background: The work is anchored on community development theory and decentralization process which emphasize both a holistic approach to development and transfer of power, functions, competencies, and means from the central government to the regional and local governments at the grassroots.Objective: The study assessed the Anambra State Government’s Grassroots Development Scheme for economic empowerment of community dwellers, in all the local governments of Anambra state, in Southeastern Nigeria. This was with the view to determine the extent of involvement of all the communities in the Government’s Grassroots Development Scheme and the commitment of the people to the purpose for which the development scheme was initiated. Method: The primary source of data was used for the study. The population was made up of all the indigenes of Anambra State. The total number of respondents selected for the study is 975. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.Result: The result showed that all the communities were involved in the grassroots development scheme of the Government of Anambra state (χ2=698.211, df =4, p=0.00). The research findings also showed that the communities were committed to the purpose for which the grassroots scheme was initiated (r=0.747, p=0.00). Conclusion: The study, therefore, concludes that all the communities in Anambra State were included in the grassroots development scheme of Anambra State and that the people of Anambra State were committed to the scheme as they embarked on and completed different development projects in the state

Impact of State Government Development Scheme for Economic Empowerment on Community Dwellers of Anambra State Nigeria

The study examined the impact of Anambra Government’s Grassroots Development Scheme on economic empowerment of community dwellers especially the youths and women, in all the local governments of Anambra state, in Southeastern Nigeria. The purpose was to assess the major beneficiaries of the development scheme and determine the impact of the scheme on the common people especially the youth and the women. The work is anchored on community development theory which emphasizes holistic approach to development through participation of all tiers of government, from the federal administrative office to the regional and local governments to community dwellers at grassroots level. Primary data was used for the study. The questionnaire was used for collection of data. The number of respondents for the study is 975. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. The result of the study showed that a lot of the common people benefitted from the grassroots development scheme of the Anambra state Government. The hypothesis stated was tested at 0.05 level of significance to determine if the development scheme was beneficial to community dwellers of Anambra State using one sample Kolmogorov Smirnov Z test and it was rejected because the p value was less than 0.05 (Z=0.6.913, p=0.00). The research findings also showed that the development scheme of the Anambra state government had also impacted positively on the people of the state, especially the youth and the women. The statistical significance of this result was determined using Pearson Chi square coefficient. The hypothesis was because the p value was less than 0.05 (χ2=887.779, df =125, p=0.00). The study, therefore, concludes that the first tier of the grassroots development scheme of government in Anambra state impacted positively on the life of the community dwellers of Anambra state, particularly the youth and women. The study recommends that more of such development scheme should be embarked upon by different tiers of government and other states in Nigeria should replicate same in their own states. This will be a way of boosting the economy, reducing unemployment, and diversifying economic activities.

Creative Aging Collaborations: New Directions in Solving Critical Societal Aging and Health Problems

From the grassroots development of creative aging research to broad base community collaborations that address the issues of today and tomorrow, this presentation will illustrate how state departments of aging and state arts agencies can combine to partnership with research universities to demonstrate the efficacy of the arts to mediate problems of loneliness, isolation and caregiver stress. This case study will show how resources can be expanded and effective practices established through community based research to find ways to build healthy and engaging communities that serve to break down the barriers of isolation and promote social networks.

The Masquerades of Grassroots Development

This chapter dissects how grassroots development initiatives enabled the creation of a vast criminal economy. Paramilitaries' use of grassroots development went beyond simply whitewashing their plunder with fashionable, politically correct development-speak. The discourses, institutions, and practices of grassroots development formed an integral part of the paras' extralegal political economy. In the context of the frontier effect, grassroots development made their economies of violence surprisingly compatible with formal projects of liberal state building. The paramilitaries turned grassroots development into a vehicle both for executing their massive land grabs and for promoting, in their words, the “arrival of the state.” As a strategic assemblage of discourses, practices, and institutional formations, the grassroots development apparatus did more than simply give the paras' economic ventures a veneer of symbolic legitimacy; it also enabled and worked in conjunction with the concrete practices of paramilitary rule. Grassroots development was thus both a means of state building and a way of laundering their violently and illegally accumulated landholdings.