Local Government matters in the Commonwealth
Posted by AlexT - 19/08/09 at 05:08 pmThe post is written by Carl Wright, Secretary-General, Commonwealth Local Government Forum. 
The Commonwealth should take a more active role in supporting and promoting local government. As an organisation it should return to what it does best: fostering partnerships and positive links. It is on a local level that the future success of the Commonwealth will be seen.
Local government is often viewed as the poor relation to its glamorous national associates, but it is through us that thriving, safer communities are developed, and the Millennium Development Goals will be delivered. It is best placed to provide basic services such as water, sanitation and primary health care for its people. It is closest to them and knows their needs and concerns. It is where involvement and consultation can be focused and effective channels for the engagement of local people and other stakeholders in the wider work the Commonwealth does can be built.
Why then is this crucial element of modern democracy all too often ignored by heads of Government in important international discussions?
Several things need to change for the Commonwealth to fully utilise the power of local government.
It must show genuine respect for the Commonwealth Aberdeen Agenda which set out the principles for good governance in local government. Better partnerships between different levels of government need to be encouraged and we must not be ignored in the big decisions made about sustainable development. On issues such as climate change and disaster management, local authorities are on the front line. But to have a big impact they must have adequate resources.
The CLGF links local authorities when they are trying to tackle common problems, and can learn from each other. We bring cities and towns together in a network which fosters collaboration, and have spearheaded a project to develop an international peer review mechanism to measure and evaluate success in local democracy and good governance. But for this to continue and develop we need more support.
The strengths of the Commonwealth, its diversity and common values and solidarity, means it is well placed to make a difference and share good practice and knowledge whatever the field. Local government must be central to this. With its network of central ministries responsible for local government, local government associations, individual provinces, town and rural councils, the Commonwealth has the potential to make real and noticeable difference to the two billion people it represents. It needs to wake up to its own potential.
Category : Climate Change & Environment, Economic Development, Education, Health, Mobility & Exchange, homepage items
Tags: climate change, Education, Health, Local Government
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August 30th, 2009 at 10:47 am
This is one of the greatest issues that Member states must deal with. The sad fact is that many aid programs, Commonwealth or no, fail at the local government level, either due to corruption, insufficient resources, or incompetence.
This is even true of the UK today, where the Labour government has more or less invalided local government as an effective tool, meaning that local councils are often polluted with busybodies who care more about the state of the town hall than the widening cultural gulf between young and old. They just aren’t equipped or staffed to deal with local problems, which has meant that the ignoble phrase ‘broken Britain’ has become a staple rallying cry of opposition parties.
National governement is too curmudgeonly to deal with local problems – and local problems make up the vast majority.
The Commonwealth should promote a more devolved approach to government – and not the ‘national assmblies’ approach which Britain used to appease the bigoted minorities in Wales and Scotland. There has to be an agreement to reduce central control, and Commonwealth inspectors to follow it up. At the same time, the Commonwealth must keep up its admirable efforts to fight corruption with legislation and by training local magistrates. If the local police and officials can be trusted in all member states, then you have built a stable society.
And that is the fundamental distillation of all Commonwealth principles.
September 27th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
How is Local Govt connected with an institution like the Commonwealth that meets to talk about human rights?
October 5th, 2009 at 10:16 am
I agree with RFlowings.
In a developing country such as Bangladesh local government seems to be effective in some areas like empowering local people particularly women?s participation in the decision making processes (election/involvement with politics), primary education, health care, disaster management etc. But the successes of local government are always being in question due to the fact that some local leaders and politicians are so powerful and influential that it appears other government agencies ie police depart, local court have physically no power at all. In some places corruption within this institution is so gross that it turns to be a place of business/trade and extortion of some of the local leaders. Poverty and illiteracy in those places are still in common among a large numbers of people. They do not understand ?democracy?, or perhaps they do not need more than what they need for their daily survival, a handful of food for their kids. Poverty made them so vulnerable that they don?t mind selling their freedom of choice(/right to vote whoever they want to elect) to those leaders when they come to knock their doors with a bundles of notes before the election. That?s how some (most) of our local leaders get elected over the time. Can anyone say it as proper democracy? I doubt
But at the same time I can envisage a real local government system and it is only possible if the local leaders are properly educated, trained and genuinely believe in the real essence of democracy. I think just a little effort of the Cth Secretariat can bring a huge change in terms of development and advancement of local government. Cth can organise leadership training program, workshops, seminars, conference etc where all the elected/selected (countrywise) local leaders from different commonwealth countries can meet together and share their experiences, skills, knowledge etc.
December 8th, 2009 at 9:15 am
Replying to Tim Malone and being triggered by his key phrases, ‘local government’ and ‘human rights’: see the latest issue of the Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance and my paper, A Human Rights Approach to Localising The MDGs Through Gender-Equitable Local Development. It might answer a few questions about the link between LG and HR. Two of the pioneering countries in the cited GELD programme are in Sierra Leone and Rwanda.