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DeconcentrationDevolution: Organisation Accountability

Deconcentration. Also is called administrative decentralisation. It is an umbrella term which encompasses the various forms of field administration.It involves the use of centrally appointed civil servants (in the main), who are posted to the field to represent central government and defend its int

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DeconcentrationDevolution: Organisation Accountability

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    1. DeconcentrationDevolution: Organisation & Accountability SA62B Lecture 2

    2. Deconcentration Also is called administrative decentralisation. It is an umbrella term which encompasses the various forms of field administration. It involves the use of centrally appointed civil servants (in the main), who are posted to the field to represent central government and defend its interest (supporting devt policies, providing intelligence reports on dissident politicians (Mawhood 1983). Mawhood opines that decentralisation should be reserved for local govt. He uses the concept in an narrower sense than Maddick (1963) and Smith (1985). The Dual Hierarchy model.

    3. Main Features Institutional arrangements: the ties that bind are never broken. Rule by directives and regulations Accountability institutions: Normally hierarchical; and reporting processes always fashioned to flow vertically upwards to headquarters It works to supplement the institutionalisation of devolved authority. Historically, not enough attention has been paid to its collaborative role with devolved local authorities.

    4. Devolution: Organisational, Institutional Issues and Accountability

    5. Outline Definitional issues Legal and Constitutional Basis- Entrenchment: Deep entrenchment; ordinary entrenchment; non-entrenchment; statutorily-based. (ii) the concept of “ultra vires”. (iii) Autonomy and accountability.

    6. Legal and constitutional issues Entrenchment: Deep entrenchment; ordinary entrenchment; non-entrenchment; statutorily-based and policy-based institutions. The Principle of Ultra-vires

    7. Local autonomy Autonomy: relates to local democracy; freedom from higher authorities; freedom to achieve particular outcomes; reflection of local identity. The ecology of local government.

    8. Structures and categories The debate about size and viability Categories of Size in local and municipal governance: mega cities (more than 10m residents), big cities (one to ten million), cities (40,00 to 1 million); towns (5,000 to 40,000); small towns and villages (less than 5,000). Boundary Commissions. Electoral systems.

    9. Organisational arrangements Representation and committee arrangements. Models of political management: ceremonial (mayor and council manager) vrs executive mayor model (mayor directly elected works with council). Prefectoral model (French origin) Local bureaucracy: organisation and capacity to achieve distinctive outcomes. Procurement Local Government Services Commissions, HRM issues, Pensions and Conditions Relations between officials and elected members.

    10. Central-Local Relations Political control: central government appointing the chairman and some members. Political control: political parties Economic regulation: Central government operates to guide the spending of public funds and the location of economic projects; and negatively to prevent the local authorities from creating inflation and payments problems.

    11. C-L Relations: administrative efficiency Imposing minimum standards upon LA services. Mawhood (1983, 1987) notes that there is often an unexpressed tension here: should they be elite or mass standards? Administrative efficiency: Inspection and Auditing - central govt sends inspectors and auditors to ensure performance,

    12. Accountability: Conceptual issues Accountability=answerability: obligations to answer questions regarding decisions and actions. Two types of questions: (i) the first type asks to be informed: this can include budget information and/or narrative description of activities or outputs. Such questions are about basic monitoring and implies one-way transmission of information from the accountable to the overseeing actors. This relates to transparency (Brinkerhoff 2001: 2)

    13. Accountability: Conceptual issues The second type of question moves beyond facts and figures, and asks for explanations and justifications (reasons). This can take place internally (hierarchically) or to more public arenas (including city hall meetings where local officials answer to residents.

    14. Accountability: institutional issues Professional propriety: Local government associations, Public Service Commission, Ombudsman systems Administrative propriety: auditor-general, accountant general. Popular accountability: institutional basis in Local government law.

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