The Changing Nature of Local Government in Developing Countries

THIS BOOK IS a collection of case studies from ten countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, describing the structure and functions of their local governments. Working within a common framework, the authors give country and government profiles and explore the issues of decentralization, democratic development and challenges to local government. The book starts with a chapter on the growing importance of local government, and the changes at global, national and local levels that are leading countries in the South to decentralize state structures and functions, reform public institutions and promote democracy are examined. The ideas emerging from international agencies, the academic community, governments and professionals are also discussed.

Zimbabwe is the first case study presented. The author argues that the real success of decentralization should be measured by factors such as people’s participation in decision making and the availability of financial resources at local level. For Burkina Faso, the development of state, province and commune government structures is traced, with remaining challenges including the development of transparency and financial autonomy at the local level. The decentralization process in Uganda is revealed to be less advanced, with state and local governments being unable to cope with the demands of the urban population. In response, a decentralization programme was finally launched in 1994. The final African case study is Côte d’Ivoire where, despite a long history of decentralization, local structures still lack financial and political autonomy.

In Thailand, government administration is described as centralized and local government remains weak. It is argued that local governments must cooperate more among themselves, deliver services more efficiently and encourage the participation of the local populations. In Vietnam, institutional capacity and human resources are weak at a local level but as the country undergoes a transition from centrally planned to market economy, decentralization and democratization processes are accelerating. In the Philippines, historically, local government has been very reliant on the central state but, since 1991, local governments have assumed the role of service providers, and popular participation in decision-making and service delivery has increased.

The final section presents three Latin American case studies. The chapter on Mexico shows that the municipalities still face challenges of political and financial dependence, and their institutional resources remain an obstacle to progress. In Ecuador, the powers of local authorities have been diminishing since the 1970s as central government has assumed more decision-making powers. There are currently plans for municipal reform, but local governments remain weak. Finally, from Chile, the municipal reform process is traced from its beginnings in the 1970s to more recent progress, which has significantly modified the Chilean municipal framework.