Download - EAZ – PUBLIC DISCUSSION December 4, 2008
EAZ – PUBLIC DISCUSSIONDecember 4, 2008
THE ROLE OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES IN DECENTRALISATION
Presentation by:
Dr. Peter Kaumba Lolojih
Democratic Decentralisation(Political decentralisation or Devolution)
• The transfer of powers and resources to sub-national authorities which are: (a) largely or wholly independent of the central government, and (b) democratically elected.
Local communities and Decentralisation
Involvement in the decision-making process – local communities make their own decisions through their local leaders
Problem solving – local communities are encouraged to find solutions to everyday problems >>> innovative ideas that are more in tune with local conditions
Community Driven Development – empowers local communities to exert influence over local governance/services
Requisite community characteristics
• Capacity to demand and support democratic government
• Realisation that communities are principal players and a source of political legitimacy in local administration
• Capacity, and the interest to hold local officials accountable
• Willingness to take responsibility in the process of public service delivery
AFROBAROMETER• A comparative series of national attitude surveys on Democracy, Markets and
Civil Society in Africa
• It is an independent, non-partisan research instrument that measures the social, political and economic atmosphere in Africa. Afrobarometer surveys are conducted in many African countries on a regular cycle. Because the instrument asks a standard set of questions, countries can be systematically compared and, ultimately, trends in public attitudes can be tracked over time.
• So far – 1999 (12 countries); 2003 (16 countries); 2005 (18 countries); 2008 (20 countries) - on going
• National probability sample >>> random selection methods; PPPS
• Funded through grants: National Science Foundation; SIDA; USAID; World Bank; ADB; Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; DFID
• Core Partners: MSU (USA); CDD (Ghana); IDASA (South Africa)
Zambians’ views on Democracy
73% of Zambians associated democracy with:- civil liberties/personal freedoms (33%)- Government by, for, of the people/popular rule
(9%)- Voting/elections/multiparty competition (21%)- peace/unity/power sharing (4%)- Social/economic development (2%)- Equality/justice (1%)- Majority rule (1%)- Governance/effectiveness/accountability/rule of
law (2%)- Don’t know/did not understand the question
(20%)
Support for Democracy
75
9 12
70
1510
64
11 12
01020304050607080
1999 2003 2005
Democracy preferable Non- Democratic Govt. preferableDoesn't matter
22
4
35
19
9
44
10 11
72
3
14
81
2
21
78
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
No formal schooling Primary education Secondary education Post-secondary University education
Support for Democracy by level of education in Zambia: 2005
Doesn't matter Non-democratic Preferable Democracy preferable
27
8
65
22
12
66
25
15
60
23
10
67
29
10
61
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
18-25 years 26-33 years 34-41 years 42-49 years 50 and above
Support for Democracy by age group in Zambia: 2005
Doesn't matter Non-democratic Preferable Democracy preferable
Which of the following statements is closest to your view?
Statement A: We should choose our leaders in this country throughregular; open and honest elections.
Statement B: Since elections sometimes produce bad results, weShould adopt other methods for choosing this country’s leaders.
Choosing leaders
55
32
7 5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Agree very strongly with A Agree with AAgree with B Agree very strongly with B
9591
8085
90
72
92 9186
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1999 2003 2005
Rejection of Authoritarian rule in Zambia: 1999 - 2005
Reject military rule Reject one-man rule Reject one-party rule
SATISFACTION WITH DEMOCRACY
In your opinion, how much of a democracy is Zambia today?
5
44
22
10 9
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Not a democracy
Democracy withmajor problemsDemocracy but withminor problemsA full democracy
Don't know
Overall, how satisfied are you with the way democracy works in Zambia?
16
37
21
5
20
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Not at all satisfiedNot very satisfiedFairly satisfiedVery satisfiedDon't know
In your opinion, how likely is it that Zambia will remain a democratic country?
4
25
37
8
26
05
10152025303540
4th Qtr
Not at all likely Not very likely Likely Very likely Don't know
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
Here is a list of actions that people sometimes take as citizens. For each of these, please tell me whether you, personally, have done any of these things during the past year.
Attended a community meeting? Joined with others to raise an issue? Attended a demonstration or a protest march?
Political Participation
6
30 3035
10
47
2418
52
38
82
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
meeting Joiners demo/Protest
No - would never No - would if had a chanceOnce or twice Several times/Often
Political Awareness of Incumbents
Can you tell me the name of your Member of Parliament?
6 4
63
27
010203040506070
1st Qtr
Know but can't remember Incorrect guessCorrect name Don't know
Can you tell me the name of your Local Government Councillor?
136
35
46
0
10
20
30
40
50
1st Qtr
Know but can't remember Incorrect guessCorrect name Don't know
FORMAL CONTACTING
During the past year, how often have you contacted a Local Councillor about some important
problem or to give them your views?80
117
2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Never Only once A few times Often
During the past year, how often have you contacted a Member of Parliament about some important problem or to give them your views?
88
83 0
0102030405060708090
Never Only once A few times Often
During the past year, how often have you contacted an official of a Government Ministry about some important
problem or to give them your views?
89
6 4 10
102030405060708090
Never Only once A few times Often
INSTITUTIONAL TRUST
How much do you trust each of the following, or haven’t you heard enough about them to say: your elected Councillor?
21
40
21
12
6
0
10
20
30
40
Not at all Just a littleSomewhat A lotDon't know/Haven't heard enough
SELECTED VIEWS ON CORRUPTION
How many of the following people do you think are involved in corruption, or haven’t you heard enough
about them to say?
Elected Councillors?
8
48
28
7 9
0
10
20
30
40
50
None Some of themMost of them All of themDon't know/Haven't heard enough
Local Government Officials?
6
43
34
611
0
10
20
30
40
50
None Some of themMost of them All of themDon't know/Haven't heard enough
Putting it all together
• Sufficient demand for democracy• Inadequate supply of democracy• Insufficient interaction between communities and local
officials• Somewhat low levels of institutional trust (Councillors)• Inadequate and unreliable local authority financing• General dissatisfaction about local authority performance
(communities)• Some resistance to fulfil statutory obligations in a timely
manner (communities)
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Some Ideas• Enhance the appreciation of democratic decentralisation
(political decentralisation, or devolution) in MDAs, and communities
• Statutory prescription for minimum levels of formal interaction between elected Councillors and their constituents (communities)
• Enhance the supply of democratic governance at the local authority level
• Ensure adequate appreciation of the principal role of communities in democratic decentralisation
• Assist communities to articulate their interests, carry out their mandates and responsibilities >> effectively participate as citizens in democratic processes
• Ensure sufficient resources to anchor the process of decentralisation
For More Information on Afrobarometer:including
downloadable versions of questionnaires, data sets, results and publications
see
www.afrobarometer.org
You can also contact:
Dr. Peter Kaumba Lolojih at [email protected]
Tel: 295150 (Office); 294030 (Home)Mobile: 0955-831969
THANK YOU