Download Free Perspectives On Local Government Management And Development In Africa Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online Perspectives On Local Government Management And Development In Africa and write the review.

Questions surrounding democracy, governance, and development especially in the view of Africa have provoked acrimonious debates in the past few years. It remains a perennial question why some decades after political independence in Africa the continent continues experiencing bad governance, lagging behind socioeconomically, and its democracy questionable. We admit that a plethora of theories and reasons, including iniquitous and malicious ones, have been conjured in an attempt to explain and answer the questions as to why Africa seems to be lagging behind other continents in issues pertaining to good governance, democracy and socio-economic development. Yet, none of the theories and reasons proffered so far seems to have provided enduring solutions to Africa’s diverse complex problems and predicaments. This book dissects and critically examines the matrix of Africa’s multifaceted problems on governance, democracy and development in an attempt to proffer enduring solutions to the continent’s long-standing political and socio-economic dilemmas and setbacks.
An exploration of why some decentralization reforms have led to viable systems of local governance in Africa, while others have failed. It outlines the key issues involved, provides historical context, and identifies the factors that have encouraged or discouraged success.
Integrating information and communication technologies (ICTs) into governance processes can greatly enhance the delivery of public services to all citizens. ICT integration will not only improve the performance of governance systems, it will also transform relationships amongst stakeholders, thereby influencing policymaking processes and regulatory frameworks. In the developing world, however, the potential of ICTs for effective governance remains largely unexplored and unexploited. This book presents the context, theory, and current thinking on the interaction between ICTs and local governance, particularly in Africa. It discusses the shift from OC governmentOCO to OC e-governance, OCO describes the role of local-level authorities, and presents the benefits and limitations of introducing ICTs in government operations. Case studies from Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda describe local governance/ICTs projects executed by civil society organizations, academic institutions, and government authorities. Drawing from the findings in these case studies and from the introductory research and original conceptual framework, the book presents a series of conclusions and recommendation on the future of effective ICTs use for better governance and improved economic development at the local level. This book will be of interest to professionals, practitioners, and policy advisors at local and national government levels in developing countries (particularly in Africa); international organizations staff, bilateral aid agencies, international financial institutions, civil society organizations, and private sector; researchers, academics, students, and professors of public administration and governance in Africa and throughout the world."
The global movement toward democracy, spurred in part by the ending of the cold war, has created opportunities for democratization not only in Europe and the former Soviet Union, but also in Africa. This book is based on workshops held in Benin, Ethiopia, and Namibia to better understand the dynamics of contemporary democratic movements in Africa. Key issues in the democratization process range from its institutional and political requirements to specific problems such as ethnic conflict, corruption, and role of donors in promoting democracy. By focusing on the opinion and views of African intellectuals, academics, writers, and political activists and observers, the book provides a unique perspective regarding the dynamics and problems of democratization in Africa.
The quality of local governance matters more than ever before. To many citizens, their local government is the most tangible form of government, and it is also the layer of government with which they have most contact in their everyday life. The power of the local administration is that it represents ordinary citizens. People eat, drink, work, play and socialise with others in towns and cities. To be fully effective, local government management and service delivery capacity needs to be strong, and resources need to be adequate. Civil society and businesses are essential actors in ensuring local governments have the capacity to meet the needs of its citizens. There are a host of challenges that confront local government in the 21st century: delivering quality services; lack of finance and local fiscal autonomy; engaging citizens and communities in meaningful and authentic ways; forming effective partnerships which incentivize local actors to find solutions to the many complex and intractable issues facing communities; generating inclusive and sustainable development; implementing strategies for disaster risk reduction; managing transparent communications; and, rapidly evolving technologies and socio-economic demographics. The Governance of Local Communities: Global Perspectives and Challenges is about the role that ideas, institutions, and actors play in structuring how people govern local communities and, more specifically, the types of adaptations necessary in local government roles and responsibilities, structures, and processes to effectively respond to a changing local government environment. Global changes require that we rethink local governance. A wide net of international experts on local governance was assembled for this volume to stimulate frank conversations around the many contemporary challenges facing local government.
With contributions from leading regional scholars, Public Administration in Africa: Performance and Challenges examines the complexities of the art of governance from the unique African perspective. The editors bring together a cohesive study of the major issues and regions by taking an analytic approach with the strong problem-solution application. Regions addressed range from South Africa, Congo, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Mauritius, and Botswana. Themes include colonialism, reform, poverty, economy, decentralization, financing, media, political structures, and more. Beginning with an analysis of the relationship of policy design and its destination, service delivery, the book discusses the historical development of a state that has gone through upheavals in government and explores a decayed political economy that ultimately results in a need for sweeping measures. The text examines the issues emerging policy-makers in Africa must tackle, namely poverty and the denial or lack of resources to keep a dignified human life. It highlights how the media can be a catalyst for good governance and provides analytical aspects of implementing good governance reforms. The book concludes with an examination of the concepts of decentralization and devolution in measuring service delivery performance and an exploration of Africa’s economic success story. It also details the African Peer Review Mechanisms in selected African countries and provides a holistic analysis of local government functioning in Africa. These features and more make it an interdisciplinary reference for diverse social, economic, political, and administrative issues.
An examination of the transformation of South Africa's apartheid local government system into a development-oriented system of municipal governance, requiring, however, continuing short and long-term interventions on the part of both the central and provincial governments if it is to deliver its desired outputs.
This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the role of local governments around the world in the management of the migration, integration and development nexus. Drawing on case studies from the Global North and South, this comparative work fills a lacuna in the existing literature which has focused largely on migration as addressed by European and North American cities. Further, it widens the current debate by confronting northern experiences with attitudes and strategies observed in sending countries; clearly demonstrating that international mobility has become a global issue for cities at both end of the migration spectrum. This innovative work will provide a valuable resource for students and scholars working in the social sciences, public policy and development; in addition to practitioners and policymakers.
Local Government Financeÿdoes not follow the conventional operational approach to local government finance which typically focuses on issues such as revenue collection, budgeting, performance auditing and accounting, and debt administration. Instead, it offers a broader systemic and multi-level perspective by assessing the governance model of local government finance. For this purpose, the authors compare and contrast the South African model with the international experience. The publication thus makes a significant contribution to analysts and scholars in their sense-making and knowledge production endeavours in this field.