Creation Of Local Governments Research Articles

MILITARY IN POLITICS AND RURAL AREAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA

At the grant of independence Nigerians were hopeful for socio-economic development. The hope was dashed due to corruption, mismanagement of the nation’s resources by civilian-led administration. The military intervened in the nation’s politics to rescue the poor socio-economic condition of Nigerians.. Consequently, the paper focused on military in politics and rural development by examining the development administration efforts of the military in the development of Nigerian rural areas. The military in politics and its development administration was a rural development strategy to alleviate the suffering of the people living in the rural areas in Nigeria. The paper adopted a historical research method which relied on secondary data and it also adopted direct military participation theory. The paper revealed that the Nigerian military in politics was corrective in nature. The military seized power in Nigeria to change the poor socio-economic and political system. Therefore, the military embarked on several developmental programmes such as the creation of local government, rural banking programmes, the Directorate For Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DIFFRI ), National Directorate for Employment. The paper revealed that undue political interference, unstable cash-flow to finance programme and inadequate qualified personnel to handle some of the programmes/projects constrained the impact of the military development administration efforts in the rural areas. The paper recommended among others that Nigeria government should designed no-stop financing plan for every rural development programme and train adequate rural dwellers to manage some of the needed programmes/projects

Samorząd terytorialny w kryzysach III RP. Zarys problematyki

During the majority of Polish crises, apart from the reaction of the central authorities, the responses of the local institutions were also noticeable. The very creation of local government in 1990 materialized under conditions of the profound political, social and economic crisis. In 1997, the flood revealed the weaknesses in the administration of the commune. In turn, the strength of frustration that was accumulated in many local communities, manifested itself during the agricultural protests in 1999. The global financial crisis (2008–2009) has had the mild impact on Poland, but it caused a breakdown in many communes. Similarly, the effects of social unrest during the pandemic and the wave of refugees from across the eastern border (2020–2022) were unevenly distributed. This article is an attempt to address the questions concerning its title: did the crises turn out to be more of a threat or an opportunity for local communities? To what extent have the crises revealed the specific functioning of local government? Were local councilors and municipality staff able to work effectively under the extreme circumstances? How to assess the crisis experiences in the context of legal and institutional changes.

Planowanie strategiczne w zreformowanym samorządzie terytorialnym na Ukrainie. Przykład gromady Herca w obwodzie czerniowieckim

Reforming public administration is a complex and lengthy process, especially in so-called transition countries. Practically, for the first twenty years after regaining independence, Ukraine was only creating the foundations of a decentralized public administration, partially combining Western models and the structures of the Soviet administration that had been functioning for decades. It was only in the second decade of the 2000s that a milestone was made towards a significant reconstruction of the structure and functions of public administration, guided by the standards of Western democracies. The culmination of the process of reforming the public sector was the creation of local government at the community level. Along with the process of creating independent territorial units, a need arose to formulate long-term development plans as the basic instruments of social and economic development policy at the local level. This process in many cases was and is supported by the activity and experience of Polish institutions implementing various projects in Ukraine, the purpose of which is to develop a development strategy for territorial units. The aim of this article is to present the conditions of territorial decentralization in Ukraine after regaining independence in the early 1990s and the results of the strategic project implemented in 2021 by the employees of the Department of Public Administration of the Institute of Political Sciences and Administration of UMCS. The main product of the implemented project was the development of the Herca Municipality Development Strategy in the Chernivtsi Oblast in Ukraine, based on the participatory-expert model. The results presented below refer in particular to the description of the process of elaborating the development strategy and the conclusions of the strategic analysis carried out.

Competent and Qualified Personnel and Service Delivery at the Local Government Level in Nigeria: A Conceptual Review

This paper examined the concept of competent and qualified personnel and service delivery at the local government level in Nigeria. One of the core reasons for the creation of local government in almost all countries of the world is to provide goods and services to the local population. Unfortunately, this third tier of government has performed abysmally in meeting the felt needs of those in their jurisdictions and this has been a major concern to public policy makers and various stakeholders. The method used to obtain data was through the secondary sources, findings suggest that service delivery at the local government level in Nigeria has been very poor due to lack of competent and qualified personnel, the resultant effect has been lack of accountability and transparency. Service delivery at the local government’s level suffered neglect because of institutional weakness and lack of competent and qualified personnel. Paradoxically, poor services are the social vices bedeviling the Nigerian society of which local governments is charged with the responsibility of mitigating; hence for the local government to perform its statutory function of service delivery efficiently, there must be a complete autonomy of local government both administratively and fiscally; and for service delivery to be realistic. There must be competent and qualified personnel with expertise through regular workshops, seminars and training for capacity building.

Тамбовское наместничество – новый этап административно-территориального устройства Тамбовщины

The research is devoted to the study of the significance of the Tambov viceroyalty as one of the stages of the administrative and territorial structure of the Tambov region. The main problem was to determine the role and significance of the viceroyalty in the process of developing a separate administrative and territorial unit with the center in Tambov. For the analysis of this topic, both historical and interdisciplinary research methods were used: historical-comparative, historical-typological, historical-legal. The political and administrative system created by Peter I remained incomplete. The existing shortcomings of the system of local and gubernatorial administration, becoming more and more obvious, pushed Catherine II to reform local government. The main merit of the ongoing reform is the creation of local government, acting independently. It can be said that the “Institutions for the Administration of the Governorates of the All-Russian Empire” became a document of “great strength” by historical standards – they basically operated until the liberal reforms of the 1860s, to a certain extent – until October 1917. Changes related to the local administration of Russia in the 18th century they directly affected the status and role of Tambov. The provincial city of the early 18th century became by the end of the same century the center of the vast Black Earth governorate.

Система государственного налогообложения городского недвижимого имущества в центральноазиатских окраинах Российской империи (конец XIX — начало ХХ в.)

На основе документов делопроизводства органов власти Степного и Туркестанского генерал-губернаторств, а также статистических данных анализируется процесс формирования региональной модели государственного налогообложения на недвижимое городское имущество. Отмечается, что господство традиционных экономических отношений в центральноазиатских окраинах, незначительное присутствие в региональной экономике рыночного сектора и соответствующей ему городской инфраструктуры исключали возможность проведения здесь земской реформы и создания органов местного самоуправления — земств. Этот факт определил особенности формирования системы земских повинностей, в том числе налогообложения на городское недвижимое имущество. Данный налог начал вводиться в центральноазиатских окраинах гораздо позднее, чем в целом по империи — в конце XIX в., его распределение и контроль были возложены на областные и уездные правления. В условиях неравномерного роста численности городов и городских поселений в областях Степного края и Туркестана в пореформенный период введение государственного налога на городское недвижимое имущество происходило поэтапно.
 Так, в Степном крае городское население стало выплачивать данный налог с момента введения Степного положения в 1891 г., в Туркестане — только с 1905 г.
 Следует отметить, что суммы, поступаемые от сбора налога на недвижимое имущество, были незначительными и не могли в полном финансовом объеме обеспечить инфраструктурное и социальное развитие городов и городских поселений центральноазиатских окраин Российской империи.

A Jurisprudential Overview of the Legal Obstacles to the Creation of New Local Governments in Nigeria Since 1999*

Local Governments constitute the last level of government in all countries where they exist and form the link between the grassroot, the State Governments (Regional) and the Federal Government (Central). A properly managed Local Government system will bring development to the rural areas of the country, train up-coming politicians for participating in national politics and create jobs for the young and the old. Local Governments had existed in Nigeria before colonialism and had continued to be after independence in 1960 where each Region adopted her own system of Local Government until 1976 when the Federal Military Government decreed Unified Local Government System in the whole country. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1979 adopted Unified Local Government System in section 7 of the Constitution just as the 1999 Constitution in section 8 provided for very stringent procedure for the creation of Local Governments amongst other obnoxious provisions which have made nonsense of the possibility of creating new Local Governments in the country. This paper argues that looking at what obtains in established democracies such as U.S.A, Brazil, India etc; that time has come for the obstacles stopping the creation of new Local Government Areas in Nigeria to be removed from the Constitution to allow this important level of government to be multiplied in the country for expanded and even development of the nation. Keywords: Local government, obstacles, constitutional amendments, creation, even development. DOI : 10.7176/JLPG/90-03 Publication date :October 31 st 2019

Interrogating Governance and Constitutional Issues of Local Government System in Nigeria

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, contains some provisions for the creation of local government as the third tier of government whose objective is to ensure effective, measurable and efficient service delivery to the people, while bringing government closer to people at the rural communities in order to attain the transformation of lives in these communities. However, local governments in Nigeria are facing various difficulties which have brought to the fore the question of local government autonomy. The experience with many Local Government Areas is that their states starve them of the statutory grants, and in the process deny them the opportunity of rendering essential services as required. The major concern of this paper is identifying these difficulties and the factors responsible for them. In achieving this, the paper relies on descriptive approach. The conclusion of the paper is that problems confronting local governments in Nigeria are multifarious, and the solutions for them should be adequate and practical to evolve into a viable and development-oriented third tier of government.

Creation of Local Council Development Areas in Southwestern Nigeria: A SWOT Analysis

The study examines the nature and rationale behind the creation of Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) by some states in Nigeria, especially in southwestern Nigeria. In this paper, critical consideration is given to understanding why the creation of more local governments has not influenced development. Ordinarily, it is expected that the more government is closer to the people, the more development ought to be to the grassroots. Yet, this has not always been the case. This can be traced to the fact that the creation of local governments in Nigeria has always been influenced by political considerations rather than developmental considerations. The methodology used for this paper is based on content analysis. The SWOT Analysis tool was used to describe the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing local government creation and administration in Nigeria. The findings revealed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are likely to occur. The paper suggests that creation of local government should be more on viability that would lead to development at the grassroots rather than the political gains surrounding such creation

Cities and climate change: How historical legacies shape policy-making in English and German municipalities

This article draws on secondary historical sources and primary interviews to highlight how the legacy of the creation of local governments in England and Germany has significant implications for policy-making in the present day. By employing an institutionalist perspective to analyse how one municipality in each country tries to promote renewable energy and retrofit private housing, it demonstrates how historical factors have resulted in the German Council having more capacity to act hierarchically in local governance arrangements than its English counterpart. These findings have notable implications for how governments at all levels seek to tackle major challenges such as climate change.

Political fragmentation and widening disparities in African-American and white mortality, 1972–1988

ObjectiveDuring the 1970s and 1980s in the U.S., population movement, urban sprawl and urban governance reform led to a proliferation of local, autonomous jurisdictions. Prior literature examines how this creation of local governments, also referred to as political fragmentation, contributes to economic growth and social inequality. We examine the impact of political fragmentation on health equity by testing the hypothesis that the mortality disparity between whites and African-Americans varies positively with political fragmentation. MethodsWe retrieved mortality data from the multiple cause-of-death file and calculated total number of local governments per 1000 residents in a county to measure the degree of political fragmentation. We focused on 226 U.S. counties with population size greater than 200,000 and restricted the analysis to four distinct periods with overlapping government and mortality data (1972–73, 1977–78, 1982–83, and 1987–88). We applied generalized estimating equation methods that permit analysis of clustered data over time. Methods also controlled for the age structure of the population, reductions in mortality over time, and confounding by county-level sociodemographic variables. ResultsAdjusted coefficients of fragmentation are positive and statistically significant for both whites (coef: 2.60, SE: 0.60, p<0.001) and African-Americans (coef: 5.31, SE: 1.56, p<0.001). The two-fold larger positive coefficient for African-Americans than for whites indicates a greater racial disparity in mortality among more politically fragmented urban counties and/or time periods. ConclusionsFrom 1972 to 1988, political fragmentation in large urban counties moves positively with the racial/ethnic gap in mortality between whites and African-Americans. We discuss intervening mechanisms through which political fragmentation may disproportionately affect mortality among African-Americans.

Nigeria Local Government: A Discourse on the Theoretical Imperatives in a Governmental System

The need for the creation and existence of local governments in a governmental system has, over the years, been one of the most frequently discussed issues in public administration studies. Accompanying this discussion usually is the consideration of the challenges confronting the local governments in the performance of the functions that underscore the imperative for their creation. In this work, we articulated and analyzed in detail, the theoretical imperatives for the creation of local governments in governmental system. This we did under three major schools of thought on the functional relevance of the local governments. These schools of thought are the democratic participatory school, the efficient-service school and the development school. We further explored and analyzed some of the factors that constitute fundamental challenges to the performance of the expected development roles by the local governments using the Nigerian Federal system of government as a reference point. In conclusion, we noted that local governments constitute key institutions for enhancing democracy and advancing development particularly at the local or grassroots level but constrained in the performance of these roles, by inadequate finance, poor political leadership and insufficient autonomy as exemplified in the Nigerian federal system of government. Key words : Local Government, governmental system, development

Citizen Participation and Service Delivery at the Local Government Level: A Case of Ise/Orun Local Government in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Service delivery is an essential function in the relation between government bodies and citizens. According to Eigema(2007), Service delivery is the government’s key task.The best yardstick to measure government performance of good governance is through service delivery to the people. A government is expected to deliver better services to its people, and the indices of measuring service delivery to the people include low inflation, better education, provision of improved health care at affordable rates, provision of clean water, provision of good roads and good road networks to the rural areas for the transport of agricultural products and raw materials etc. (Akanji et al, 2011). Despite Nigeria earning over $800 billion in oil revenue in 56 years since oil was first discovered in the country in the South-South in 1956(Izuora,2013), poverty index remain very high. According to African Development Bank, “The proportion of people living below the national poverty line has worsened from 65.5 per cent in 1996 to 69.0 per cent in 2010. “Poverty is higher in rural areas at 73.2 per cent than in urban area at 61.8 per cent.” (theeagleonline,com.ng/news/nigerias-poverty-level-has-worsened-afdb/). The creation of local government anywhere in the world stems from the need to facilitate development at the grassroots. The importance of local government is a function of its ability to generate sense of belongingness, safety and satisfaction among its populace. The Nigerian state therefore created local government as the third tier of government whose objective is to ensure effective, measurable and efficient service delivery to the people (Arowolo, 2008). The need to improve local government service delivery cannot be overemphasized.Mathoho argued that government’s service delivery is a response to moral obligation and is attached to the economic growth and the alleviation of poverty(Mathoho, M.).The demand for social service at rural level is on the increase because of the increase in population. More than 70 percent of the Nigerian population reside in the rural areas and are directly or indirectly affected by services rendered by the third tier governments(Agba et al, 2013).

Strategies for Transforming Rural Areas and Ensuring Effective Governance in Local Governments in Nigeria

It is believed that the only reasonable form of development is the development that comes from within, sustainable development that comes through the will and desires of the people. The ideas behind the creation of Local Government in Nigeria is that the people at the local level are assumed to have the fullest awareness of their needs. Every local jurisdiction has its unique economic, social and physical characteristics and its historical tradition which are better understood by its people. Thus, the Local Government Areas are created to provide the services which the Federal and State Governments cannot easily undertake due to their remoteness from the local communities. Therefore, the concept of local government is to bring governance closer to the people at the grassroots, with the aim of caring for the socio-economic and development needs of local populace. Over the years, it has been observed that massive rural-urban migration and over congestion are heating up lives in the cities. Others have contented that Local Governments are docile in terms of aggressive revenue collection to augment allocations from the federation account which they get on monthly basis. Yet, others hinged Local Governments’ abysmal revenue generation on dishonesty on the part of council revenue collectors, who, in most cases, misappropriate collections made on behalf of the council. In the face of these charges or allegations, it has become pertinent to investigate why Local Governments in the country have poor revenue generation efforts. The thrust of this paper therefore is to find a lasting solutions to the financial problems hindering local governments in Nigeria, most especially strategies to ameliorate the over-dependence on allocation for the up-keep of the Local Government. The paper also recommends amongst others, that any official who divert local government funds to their personal purse should be punished in accordance with the law of the land, use of council staff for revenue collections should be encouraged and stop using agents who are not council staff. The paper concludes that undoubtedly, for Local Governments to be able to perform these functions creditably, they need sufficient funds. Keywords : Local, Relevant, Mobilize, Revenue, Autonomy, Allocation.

Local Government Administration and Development: A Survey of Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria

The need to escape conditions of underdevelopment by the provision of adequate facilities for its citizenry is the concern of any nation state. It has also been accepted that this is better done by bringing government closer to the people. This underscores the philosophy behind the creation of local governments. In Nigeria however, it is sad to note that local governments have performed far below expectations in the above direction. It is in this wise that this paper takes a survey of the opinions of people in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. Using simple percentages to analyze responses to questions, the authors found out that though funds available to local governments are grossly inadequate, there is the general impression that the little money made available are directed into private pockets. It is our recommendations that local governments should increase their revenue base and also ensure proper accountability.

Buyer's Remorse: The Relationship between Local Economic Circumstances and Special District Policies

Burns argues that the creation of local governments is not a politically neutral act. From the 1950s through the 1980s, many governments in the United States were incorporated to provide publicly funded infrastructure for private developments and reduce the tax burdens of manufacturers. Although it is unclear whether or not the factors necessary for the formation of special districts had any impact upon subsequent district policies in either 1972, 1982, or 1992. Using U.S. Bureau of the Census data sets, I demonstrate that manufacturers maintained their influence over municipality‐sized special districts, but not county‐sized districts. The study also finds that private development had some impact upon the policies of county‐sized districts as did the racial composition of those counties. Finally, state statutes restricting local governmental behavior had a strong effect upon the policies of both county‐sized and municipal‐sized districts for most periods under examination.