Governance and Decentralisation
PARTICIPATION AND TRANSPARENCY ARE THE KEY TO SUCCESS
Self-managed water supply in Senegal. Source: KfW Photo Archive/ Bernhard Schurian
Good governance has become a central theme of Development Cooperation (DC) in recent years. Experience has shown that, where there is no citizen participation and no transparency or system of checks and balances, those in government often abuse their power. Societies marked by despotism and corruption do not, however, offer fertile ground for sustainable development to flourish, which would benefit the poor sections of the population. The recent revolutions in North Africa have once again proved that political systems of this sort are not stable in the long term.
To fight poverty though it is not only important to initiate governance reforms at macro level. Germany also takes care in all its development cooperation projects and programmes that the actions of the state are geared to the needs of the people and that development progress is sustainable.
Bringing Government Closer to the People
To this end, German Development Cooperation supports measures designed to improve governance at various levels. Decentralisation reforms bring governments closer to the populace and thus give the latter greater opportunities to become involved in political processes, while also improving direct control of the actions of those in government.
The establishment of bodies mandated to supervise the actions of government, including courts of audit and land registration authorities, enhances transparency and legal certainty in the country. Municipal development funds with parallel advisory services at local authority level go a long way to improving local infrastructure and allow municipalities to practise acting independently at political level. The construction of training centres for local officials and elected representatives of the people helps train the technical and administrative specialists needed in the municipalities.
Last updated: July 2011
