Date Posted: 4/9/2012 1:42:03 AM
Posted By: gidyon Membership Level: Bronze Total Points: 45
While the new constitution clearly stipulates that we will have a two tire system of government with the national government/central government and the devolved county governments, with their functions differentiated they both are supposed to work together ‘as sum in parts for the whole ‘which is the responsibility of any government to its citizens interests and its role as an institution of service delivery. In the execution of this mandatory role these two governments have varying advantages and disadvantages over the other, the following are some of the advantages of local governments over central government.Choices and responsibilities. The choice of what services to be provided at what level and how frequent are better addressed in the local governments where the choices are made in response to needs that are mostly top in the priority list which may be different in the priority list of the central government. E.g. the government may prioritize economic development projects in comparison to social security issues but in some counties we may find that these two needs are inverted as such people feel the local government is more responsive to the immediate needs thus more responsible to their needs.Component of citizen participation in the constitution such as access to mayors, city clerks are more easy in contrast to getting attention from the president, vice president, head of civil service, ministers etc. As such issues of concern may be easier to raise and be heard on the local setting and follow-ups be initiated on more personal level thus citizens feel more involved in the policy making and problem solving.Opportunity to innovate and experiment, it's easier to for an idea to be implemented in a few selected counties as study cases if the idea is successful it may be extended countrywide.Accountability, it's easier to monitor and evaluate financial decisions on local basis than on a nationwide scale. E.g. it’s more effective to monitor how funds are allocated within a county because of specificity in contrast to the whole country because it tends to be more general in nature.Improved revenue collection or mobilization, if citizens want improved quality services such as healthcare by adding additional funds. Depends on past performance of council. Citizens are willing to pay if services are improved. Example if in a market run the a council the collection of litter is effective and the stall owners feel that the council is worth the fee they pay for the services provided the council comes up with another important form of service for them say extended working hours with security provided for the market say till 8 pm from normal closing time of 5 pm at an additional extra fee the market workers may be more willing to pay thus improved revenue collection on part of the local authority.Easy to monitor results of government. At local level reports aren't required but rather physical observation is sufficient to evaluate development processes such as construction of roads construction and sanitation. Though this are some of the advantages of the local government over the central government its important to point that the central government also has its own advantages over the local government but in the end is important that the two do not interfere with the functions of the other but work hand in hand by complementing each other in the execution of their functions.
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