Author: Isaac Munene Ndereba
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The State of Decentralization in West Africa: Mixed Progess
Experience in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Since the 1990s, various African countries have adopted measures of decentralized governments as a means to expedite development, improve the democratic space and enhance socio-economic inclusion. Key indicators of the success of decentralization are the amount of local government spending (as a percent of total government…
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Devolution in Kenya: Gender and Public Participation Dimension
Introduction The World Bank hails the devolution process in Kenya as one of the most ambitious decentralization efforts in the world. Since 2013, counties have been allocated an increasingly generous portion of the total annual government expenditure, currently standing above the minimum 15 percent threshold. Historically marginalized regions have benefited from the resource allocation to…
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Lessons from Decentralization in Rwanda
Introduction Various development institutions and Western governments have held up decentralization in Rwanda as fairly successful. A study commissioned by the government and development partners showed that decentralization had improved economic growth averaging 10% since early 2000s, reduced region inequalities, increased community participation, improved service delivery and made local government more responsive to citizen needs.…
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World Development Report 2017 and Community-Led Development
The flagship World Development Report 2017 by the World Bank Group highlights the need for continued collaboration between governments, citizens, civil society and private sector to improve governance and produce “life-improving outcomes.” This is in the midst of declining development assistance and strained government budgets. The movement for community-led development (CLD) in particular helps to…