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Effective Local Government in small states

Effective Local Government in small states. Graham Hassall School of Governance and Development Studies University off the South Pacific Commonwealth Local Government Conference 13 May 2009 Freeport, Grand Bahama. Context.

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Effective Local Government in small states

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  1. Effective Local Government in small states Graham Hassall School of Governance and Development Studies University off the South Pacific Commonwealth Local Government Conference 13 May 2009 Freeport, Grand Bahama

  2. Context • Governance Program works with CLGF – Pacific Project; with UNDP; with Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat • Local elected leaders – training • Urban Governance Indicators – pilot project • Traditional leaders and local government • Associate members of Technical Advisory Panel – CLF – Pacific Project • Other projects in: • governance; • democracy and elections; • Leadership • Peace and security

  3. Micronesia Melanesia Polynesia 3

  4. Numbers of villages, towns, cities, and other local level authorities in nine Pacific Island countries

  5. Some characteristics of (Pacific region) small states • Small land-mass (islands) and population (low to medium level development) • Small economies can support small public sectors (in face of large public expectations) – this problem magnified at town level) • Population having rural background; large proportion of urban population under-skilled and under-employed) • Environmental vulnerabilities • Exodus of human resources • Distance from markets

  6. Key issues • Good Governance • Engaging civil society • Culture and Tradition • Intergovernmental relations • Human Resources • Human Security

  7. Good Governance • Ensuring transparency and accountability • Need for timely annual reports – to government and to the public (CLGF has assisted with financial management workshops) • Maximising revenue collection through taxation and other methods (made clear in our UGI project) • Under-collection of taxes and rates in deference to business community/rate-payers – the voters/constituency • Increasing public participation in decision-making • Advertising dates of council meetings; providing seating for the public; • Ensuring integrity • Confronting nepotism; cronyism; corruption (kickbacks, preferential tendering, contracting, employment, etc) • Challenge of “whistle-blowing” – how to do it in small societies? (ADB Has policy suggestions but I don’t think they cater for small states/societies)

  8. Table: Local Government Expenditure inFiji

  9. Engaging civil society • “civil society” can take diverse forms – cultural associations and movements; women; religious; youth – not necessarily “NGOs”

  10. Culture and Tradition • Recognizing and accommodating traditional leadership and authority • Tonga - Samoa • Tuvalu - Palau

  11. Intergovernmental relations • High dependency on central government and its agencies for services – tends to passivity in asserting preferences • Tendency to direct intervention in local affairs by national and provincial leaders (eg, Constituency Development Funds; PNG constitutional arrangement) • Fairness in Revenue sharing – eg, taxes collected by national agencies that are not dispersed to urban authorities (LTA-Suva) • Lack of ‘whole of government’ approach to issues – typified by the urban/rural split in administrative functioning • Lack of “horizontal” relations between government authorities – eg: those authorities adjacent to urban government. • Lack of “dispute resolution” procedures for inter—governmental disputes – suspensions in Cook Islands; Nauru; Fij; Port Vila; Honiara • Need to engage with central government in provision of infrastructure

  12. Example of infrastructure: Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia

  13. Workshops on squatter settlement policy

  14. Human Resources • Inadequate skills in accounting, planning, law • Enhancement of skills can result in exodus

  15. Human Security • Climate change – particular impact on coastal communities • Thousands displaced in PNG, SI and Marshall islands in December 2008/January 2009 with little press coverage • Informal settlements • informal settlements are the ‘flashpoints’ for conflict; health issues, • local authorities placing responsibility with central government • USP-PIFS “Enhancing Public Policy Around Squatter Settlements” • Markets • upgrading to protect women and families (UNIFEM initiative)

  16. Vulnerability: Marshall Islands

  17. Key issues • Good Governance • Engaging civil society • Culture and Tradition • Intergovernmental relations • Human Resources • Human Security

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