Local Government Councils Research Articles

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN E-VOTING MOBILE APPLICATION

The fundamental right to vote or simply voting in elections forms the basis of democracy. The conduct of periodic, competitive, participatory, credible and non-violent elections is one of the main yardsticks used to determine the democratic condition of a state. In Nigeria, elections have been conducted using the manual system of voting ever since we started practicing democracy in 1999, but these elections using the manual means, have been marred with a lot of electoral malpractices and hitches. These include; violent attacks on the voters, result manipulations, vote buying, remoteness of polling centers etc. These are enough reasons that necessitate the development and implementation of an electronic voting system that goes a long way in addressing most of these problems. Nigeria’s first ever electronic voting election was in introduced on February 6, 2018 in Kaduna state independent electoral commission (KAD-SIECOM). (KAD-SSIECOM) has appointed EMPTECH to provide an integrated electronic voting solution for the purpose of conducting local government council elections in the 23 local government councils of Kaduna state in 2018. The e-voting system aims at eliminating the bottlenecks evident in the manual voting system such as; the lengthy registration process, unnecessary movement of votes units, election violence and ultimately, the incredibility of the votes. This was achieved by developing a time effective registration platform which registers a voter and assigns a voter their voter’s card immediately. The voter also gets to vote from their nearest safe and convenient polling unit and their votes is counted where it belongs. The results obtained from subsequent tests were very impressive in terms of time, security and accuracy as compared to the manual system. Such system with all these capabilities will go a long in ameliorating the aforementioned problems of the existing manual system of voting in the Nigerian electoral process.

INFLUENCE OF AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP ON ORGANIZATIONAL TRUST: THE MEDIATORY ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

Prior studies indicate that a leaders’ authenticity has a positive effect on organizational trust (OT). However, the place of organizational commitment (OC) in this relationship has not been well established. This study assesses the role played by OC as a mediator on the nexus between authentic leadership (AL) and OT. Participants were drawn from Local Government Council employees in three states in Southern Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was administered to three hundred and twenty-eight respondents selected using a purposive sampling technique. Structural equation modeling results indicate that OT was positive and significantly related to AL and OC respectively. Also, AL was positive and significantly related to OC. Furthermore, OC partially mediates the relationship linking AL and OT. The study recommends that organizational leadership should develop a high level of trust and commitment among organizational members, as this has serious implications for growth and productivity in today’s organizations. In terms of building theories, the study suggests that mediators like OC be added to new theories.
 Keywords: Organization, Relationship, Growth, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Path Diagram, Structural Equation Model.

Assessment of Corporate Social Responsibility Performance of Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State

This study assessed the corporate social responsibility performance of Gokana Local Government area of Rivers State. Two specific objectives and two research questions guided the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted in the study. The population of the study comprised of 229,114 respondents and a sample size of 402 was adopted in the study. A self-structured questionnaire was used in collecting the data for the study while mean was used in analyzing the data collected. Findings in the study revealed that; the council engages in corporate social responsibility, the CSR undertaken by the council are on the areas of providing educational grant, provision of infrastructures, improving public /private partnership in its host communities, assesses the needs of the people before embarking on CSR and the CSR has a positive impact on the host communities. Based on these findings, conclusions were made and it was recommended that more CSR activities should be embarked on by the local government council.

ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC FUND MANAGEMENT IN IFE CENTRAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT, OSUN STATE, NIGERIA.

The current financial predicament of Local Government Councils and constant pressure for increase in allocation has been in the front burner of Local Governments Administration in Nigeria. The focus of this research paper examined Local Government Finance in Nigeria using Ife Central Local Government. Data for the study were gathered from face-to-face interview and available records in Ife Central Local Government. The data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics (simple percentage) and content analysis. The study explored various sources of financing local governments in Nigeria. It also explained financial relationship of Nigerian local government vis-à-vis State and Federal Government using theory of decentralization. The study went further to explain financial management in Ife Central L.G. Result obtained from the analysis shows that financial transfers from federal government (Statutory Federal Allocation) are the most viable and reliable source of local government revenue and that without Federal Allocation no capital project can be embarked on. Therefore, to arrest this financial situation that local government find itself, that is over dependence on federal allocation, this work submitted that local government should increase their revenue base by laying more emphasis on the internal revenue sources, especially those areas that are hitherto neglected or not been fully exploited.

ASSESSING THE NEED FOR MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NIGERIA

Ekwusigo local government council is a bureaucratic organization that ought to implement essential public policies while maintaining professionalism and other attributes of bureaucracy. However, poor staff training and development culture affected this function. The specific objective of this research was to identify the necessary strategies for effective manpower training in Ekwusigo local government council of Anambra State, Nigeria. The research adopted survey research design. The research submitted that the purpose of manpower training in Ekwusigo local government area should center on improving quality of workforce, improving employee growth, preventing obsolescence, assisting new comer, bridging the gap between planning and implementation, enhancement of health and safety measures, and increasing workers morale cum enthusiasm. Regarding the specific objective, result shows that the appropriate strategies towards manpower development in Ekwusigo Local Government Council are significant. In conclusion, the findings predicate that the optimal performance of Ekwusigo local government is dependent upon the adoption of these identified strategies for training and re-training of the council’s employees. It recommended that manpower development should be encouraged by the council leadership for the members of staff of Ekwusigo local government council.

About the Book by N. P. Verkhovsky «Railway Confusion». Part 3

News from the archivesThe final part of the article published in two previous issues.Let us remind that in 1910 the experienced railway manager Nikolai Petrovich Verkhovsky presented in the 8th Department of the Imperial Russian Technical Society the book «Railway Confusion» written by him, dedicated to the comprehensive solution of a wide range of pressing issues of organising the work of railways.In the third part published in this issue, the emphasis is on the functions of the so-called local government councils within the railways and under the auspices of administrators of railways, role of the divisions of the traffic control within the railway companies and on countering the thefts and misappropriations. The speaker also commented on the organisation of the railway companies regarding the staff, and summed up his report with his main thoughts about the importance of railways.Punctuation and vocabulary of the author are preserved in the text as much as possible.

GOVERNMENT ENTERPRISE EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME: ITS EFFECT ON WOMEN DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL COMMUNITIES IN AKWA IBOM STATE

The study investigated the effects of government enterprise empowerment programme on women development in rural communities in Akwa Ibom State using four selected local government councils namely; Abak, Ibiono Ibom, Uruan and Etinan as case studies. The study adopted the modernization and empowerment theories which promote women empowerment and establish a link between cultural modernity with a high value for gender equality. It also adopts a simple percentage method of data analysis, especially the use of frequency tables and convenient sampling technique to collect data from 399 respondents with the aid of a 12 item questionnaire. The respondents comprised rural women empowered by government based on marital status, mode of occupation and age. The findings revealed that most rural women have benefited from government empowerment programme where free fertilizers, sewing, knitting and hand craft training programmes have been provided to rural women. On the contrary, the findings revealed that most empowerment officials have diverted funds and facilities meant to develop rural women. This is why government should put monitoring team in place to assess how empowerment schemes are executed.

Impact of COVID-19 lockdown and health risk modeling of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Onne, Nigeria.

The people living in Onne are highly vulnerable to PAH exposure due to constant exposure to black soot through oral, dermal, and inhalation routes. This work aims to determine the PAHs profile of selected soils in Onne, to determine the health risks associated with PAHs exposure through the soil, and to determine the impact of reduced industrial and other activities on the PAHs profile and associated public health risks. This study evaluated 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) pollutants in soil samples from the four (4) major clans in Onne using a gas chromatography flame ionization detector (GC-FID) during and after the COVID-19 lockdown. The results showed a differential presence of PAHs during and after the lockdown. Of the 16 priority PAHs, 10 and 8 PAHs were respectively detected during and after the COVID-19 lockdown. High molecular weight PAHs such as benzo(k)fluoranthene and benzo(a)anthracene were major contributors during the lockdown, while low molecular weight PAHs such as naphthalene, acenaphthylene, and fluorene were present at higher levels after the lockdown. An assessment of health risk by incremental lifetime cancer risks revealed that the entire population of Onne might be at risk of cancer development across periods, though a higher risk was presented during the lockdown. In addition, children under the age of 18 may be at greater risk. To the best of our knowledge, there is no previous report on the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on soil PAH profile and health risks, with particular attention to the Onne industrial host community. Earlier work considered the ecological risks of heavy metals on dumpsites in Onne. Taken together, the PAH-contaminated soil in Onne poses an immediate health concern. Therefore, reduced anthropological activities, as evident during the COVID-19 lockdown, may play a role in exposure and cancer risk reduction. While there may not be another lockdown due to the challenging impacts associated with a physical lockdown, firmly controlled economic activity can be a solution if embraced by stakeholders. The COVID-19-lockdown was encumbered with restricted movements and security checks, which limited the number of samples collected. However, the Local Government Council (Department of the Environment) granted permission for the researchers to work with a minimal threat to their lives.

지방자치의 활성화를 위한 법적 검토

The Residents' Self-Governing Council is an organization comprised of representatives of residents to perform matters concerning self-governing activities in accordance with the ideology of residents' autonomy. The Residents' Self-Governing Committee has been introduced and operated since 1999 to expand the direct participation of residents. However, the Residents' Self-Governing Council, which supplemented the existing problems and expanded its roles and functions, is introduced and operated. For the successful operation of the local autonomy system, it is necessary to vitalize the residents' self-government meeting through the voluntary and high participation of residents in local administration. In order to realize this premise, the rapid settlement of the local self-government system is required. However, concerns are being raised that the expansion of self-governing functions through the residents' self-governing council will have a negative impact, such as infringement on the positive functions of the existing local councils and local governments, which have been operated based on the principle of representative democracy. Such concerns can be attributed to the distrust of residents' understanding of the system and the ability to execute it, inconsistency with the recent expansion of special self-governing bodies, and disagreement about the legislative purpose of the system. Therefore, rather than a rapid expansion of the establishment of the Residents' Self-Governing Council, it is necessary to consider the problems that arise during the operation of the existing local autonomy system from the perspective of supplementing and careful introduction.Hereinafter, as a way to successfully operate the local government system, an effective plan to expand the role of the local government council is to be derived.

지방자치의 활성화를 위한 법적 검토

The Residents' Self-Governing Council is an organization comprised of representatives of residents to perform matters concerning self-governing activities in accordance with the ideology of residents' autonomy. The Residents' Self-Governing Committee has been introduced and operated since 1999 to expand the direct participation of residents. However, the Residents' Self-Governing Council, which supplemented the existing problems and expanded its roles and functions, is introduced and operated. For the successful operation of the local autonomy system, it is necessary to vitalize the residents' self-government meeting through the voluntary and high participation of residents in local administration. In order to realize this premise, the rapid settlement of the local self-government system is required. However, concerns are being raised that the expansion of self-governing functions through the residents' self-governing council will have a negative impact, such as infringement on the positive functions of the existing local councils and local governments, which have been operated based on the principle of representative democracy. Such concerns can be attributed to the distrust of residents' understanding of the system and the ability to execute it, inconsistency with the recent expansion of special self-governing bodies, and disagreement about the legislative purpose of the system. Therefore, rather than a rapid expansion of the establishment of the Residents' Self-Governing Council, it is necessary to consider the problems that arise during the operation of the existing local autonomy system from the perspective of supplementing and careful introduction.Hereinafter, as a way to successfully operate the local government system, an effective plan to expand the role of the local government council is to be derived.

Residents’ trust in local government councils in an emerging nation: effect of political efficacy, good governance and performance

PurposeThis study aims to explore residents’ trust in local government councils and to examine the effect of political efficacy and good governance on that trust and on the performance of local government councils in an emerging nation.Design/methodology/approachData were analysed using qualitative and quantitative research designs. Firstly, a thematic analysis was performed to explore residents’ trust in local government councils and compare it with the data gathered in the literature review. Thereafter, a partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach was used to investigate the hypothesised linkages.FindingsThe thematic analysis of the face-to-face semi-structured interviews discovered four themes (trust, performance, political efficacy and good governance). Additional analysis of these themes via the PLS-SEM approach revealed good governance to be the most influential factor in promoting residents’ trust in local government councils. Political efficacy was the second most influential factor. Residents expect local government councils’ officers to demonstrate a strong commitment to the rule of law and comply with all relevant laws and regulations.Practical implicationsLocal government councils should openly accept residents’ requests and suggestions, be more flexible in policy delivery and be responsive to policy demands given the relatively small constituencies and greater policy latitudes. Multiple avenues should be available for interaction between residents and local government councils in the mission to achieve sustainable urban growth.Originality/valueThis study is unique in that it advances existing research that is lacking in the context of the Malaysian local government council. The result alerts are crucial in that they alert local government councils to the need for high levels of governance and accountability in terms of resident support to gain more trust and confidence.

Local Government Caretaker Committees in Nigeria and their Effects on Socio-Economic Development

The state governors in Nigeria have manipulated the local government councils in Nigeria to the extent that they appoint their cronies and loyalists as caretaker committee chairmen without regard to the constitutional provisions for democratically elected council chairmen. In all cases, the choice of their appointees is not always the choice and wishes of the local people and the masses at the grassroot always rejected them. The most fundamental problem inherent in caretaker committees of local government council is that caretaker committees are conduit pipes for corruption by the state governors to siphon off local government councils’ finances. The state governors solely or in tandem with their party leaders handpick few individuals viewed as core loyalists to the governors. Local government councils ought to be managed by democratically elected individuals and not the state governors appointing their cronies and loyalists as caretaker committees’ chairmen without regard to the constitutional provisions for democratically elected local government council’s chairmen. Presently in Nigeria, the state governors are truncating the tenure of the democratically elected council officials and replacing them with members of the ruling political party in the state as caretaker committee. We perused at the constitutional provisions for local government councils through the Democratic Participatory Theory. This paper studied carefully the reasons for state governors in Nigeria setting up caretaker committees and the impact of these committees on local government councils in the country. Based on the conducts of the state governors, it was recommended that state governors who fail, neglect and refuse to conduct free and fair elections for local government councils in a state should be prosecuted after their tenures and if found guilty be given maximum capital punishment. This would serve as a deterrent to others in the future, among others.

The regulatory framework for enterprise risk management in South African local government

Background: Enterprise risk management (ERM) entails the processes and procedures applied to mitigate uncertainties that could impact the achievement of objectives. New public management introduced business practices such as ERM to the public sector, which was adopted by the South African government across all three spheres of government including municipalities. Local government is obliged to implement ERM because of legislative requirements, National Treasury prescripts and the adoption of the King IV Code of Corporate Governance.Aim: To discuss ERM within the public sector and provides the contextualisation of ERM. It sets out the ERM structure, roles and responsibilities required by legislation and good corporate governance. Recommendations to improve ERM are provided.Setting: Within the South African local government.Methods: This study adopted a qualitative research approach and applied a research method based on desktop analysis of literature and secondary data sources using unobtrusive research techniques.Results: Reference is only made to risk in relation to financial management in municipal legislation. National Treasury has guided ERM through the Public Sector Risk Management Framework. The King IV Code provides guidance to local government councils regarding risk governance.Conclusion: The current legislative framework does not provide adequate guidance for effective ERM. Focus is placed on controls and compliance, which undermines ERM’s potential contribution to value creation. ERM within local government has little predictive value and has limited contribution in ensuring objectives are achieved.

Fiscal Decentralization and Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Critical Literature Survey and Perspectives for Future Research in Cameroon

Much literature exists on fiscal decentralization and intergovernmental fiscal relations in sub-Saharan Africa, and some of the very salient policy actions that have impacted local government development have emerged from such literature. The developing world, including sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), has markedly promoted fiscal decentralization in the last three decades. However, many important aspects of fiscal decentralization in SSA and Cameroon, in particular, have not been addressed by existing literature. The main objective of this review paper is, therefore, to identify the literature gaps and design an agenda for future research in the areas of fiscal decentralization and intergovernmental fiscal relations that has the potential to impact policy and spur development in Cameroon. A qualitative research methodology (content analysis) is used to gather, group, and offer a critical look at existing literature on the benefits of fiscal decentralization and intergovernmental fiscal relations in sub-Saharan Africa. It uses an integrative review and a standardized approach of abstracting appropriate information from each article and performing an appropriate analysis of the literature survey of a few decentralized countries in SSA as the population focused on in the primary studies. This review paper recommends that areas for further research on FD in Cameroon should include: Types of funding autonomy desired by local government councils in Cameroon; Revenue sharing formulas that are good for Cameroon’s economic development; How central government transfers enhance local revenue mobilization in councils which share the same political affiliation as the ruling party compared to those who do not. Studies that point to new ways of generating supplementary financing at the local level in Cameroon to match the increased responsibilities due to decentralization are still rare. The percentage of shares of central government revenue transfers to local communities is necessary to reduce poverty and inequality, and what agency and criteria should be put in place to control the execution of these transfers? The above recommendations of this review paper will greatly inform theory, policy, and practice on fiscal decentralization realities in SSA as a whole and Cameroon in particular.

A qualitative study on patient-centered care and perceptions of nurses regarding primary healthcare facilities in Nigeria

BackgroundPatient-centered care (PCC) approach has continued to gain recognition globally as the key to providing quality healthcare. However, this concept is not fully integrated into the management of primary health care (PHC) in existing nursing practice due to numerous challenges. Among these challenges is the perception of nursing on PCC in the Primary Health Care system. This study seeks to present the results of qualitative research performed at various selected PHC centres on nurses’ perceptions in PCC practice. This study aim was to explore the perception of nurses on PCC.MethodsA qualitative action research approach was adopted. The study involved 30 local government PHC centres located in Osun State Southwest of the federal republic of Nigeria. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview guide questions. Thereafter, data analysis was performed using thematic analysis and NVivo 12 software to generate themes, subthemes, and codes.ResultsPCC perceptions of nurses that was revealed in our findings were categorised into positive and negative themes. The negative themes include: poor approach by the nurses and lack of enforcement agency. The positive themes that emerged include: outcome driven healthcare, valued care provider, communication to sharpen care and driven healthcare service.ConclusionThere is need for continuous training, and upgrading of nurses in line with global recommended standards of providing quality healthcare service delivery to the people. Therefore, the federal and state governments and local government council through the Nursing and Midwifery Council body should regulate, supervise, monitor and enforce the use and implementation of PCC in the PHC healthcare system.

Vegetation Structure and Diversity in Northern Yobe, Nigeria

The study examined the diversity of vegetation (tree species and shrubs) for the preservation, utilization and conservation of tree species in Northern Yobe. A point centred quarter (PCQ) method was employed to study the vegetation structure in six randomly selected experimental sites across the three local government councils in Northern Yobe (Yunusari, Yusufari and Geidam). A total of 22 tree species and 7 shrubs belonging to 15 families were identified, with Fabaceae being the family with the highest number of tree species (5 members), and followed by Combretaceae, Mimosaceae, and Rhamnaceae each with 3 members. Aracaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rhamnaceae, and Moraceae have 2 members each, while other identified families had a member of tree species. Specifically, Sodom apple was the dominant tree species based on Importance Value Indices (IVI) of 23.3, followed by Doum palm (22.0), then Guiera tree and Combretum species, each with IVI of 20.7, followed by Desert date (20.3), Thorn Acacia (19.9), and then Whistling thorn (19.3 as their IVI. The Diversity index was determined as 1, Simpson’s index of diversity was very low (-0.0082) and the species richness was 0.41. The low values indicate a less complex community, and the distribution pattern of the various parameters assesses was that of a typical Sahel-Savannah vegetation. Nevertheless, there was a large number of different tree species (29) recorded which implies many tree species are adaptable in the study area but only regenerated naturally without effort for intensive production. Therefore, the need of mass production of these trees in plantation and agroforestry for the conservation and utilization of the dominant (most adapted) tree species to halt environmental associated problems including desertification and erosion in the study area.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Using Post-Kerbside Organics Treatment Systems to Engage Australian Communities with Pro-Environmental Household Food Waste Behaviours

Dealing with the wicked problem of global food waste and loss is a complex and challenging area. In Australia, increased political will has landed the diversion of domestic food waste from landfill squarely at the feet of local government (councils), often requiring significant change to kerbside collections systems. This paper discusses how post-kerbside household food waste treatment systems can encourage pro-environmental behaviours. To achieve this, current food waste literature is examined against kerbside domestic waste collection measurable outcomes (diversion rates, system uptake and contamination rates). The hypothesis is that specific interventions can establish, or rebuild, community trust, responsibility and pro-environmental behaviours around food waste avoidance and diversion. Two post-kerbside systems—commercial composting and anaerobic digestion—provided the framework. Two themes emerged from the study: (1) the benefits of connecting the community with the interactions of household food waste inputs with post-treatment outputs (compost, soil conditioners, digestates and biogases); and (2) providing engaged communities with pathways for sustainable, pro-environmental actions whilst normalizing correct kerbside food waste recycling for the less engaged (habitual behaviours, knowledge and cooperation). The paper contributes to understanding how councils can connect their communities with the issues of household food waste.

Collecting the History of the Church in Australia

Collecting the History of the Church in Australia

A Study on the Improvement of Local Government and Local Councils Hearings: Focused on AHP Analysis

The purpose of this study is to present improvement measures according to the relative importance through expert AHP analysis to improve the personnel hearing system of metropolitan governments. For the analysis, the opinions of professors related to administration and policy studies and experts in confirmation hearings were collected. As a result of the analysis, in order to improve the hearing system, the scope of the documents submitted to the hearing should be improved first, and the influence that can actually reflect the results of the hearing should be secured. Above all, it can be seen that the qualification verification of candidates requires intensive verification focusing on expertise and understanding of provincial government. The hearing system is also characterized by the higher the issue and interest in candidates for public office, the more focused public opinion is formed on morality rather than expertise.

Does accountability enhance service delivery? Assessment of a local scorecard initiative in Uganda

This article assesses whether the Local Government Council’s Scorecard Initiative, implemented in Uganda since 2009, achieved its intended impact of enhancing service delivery by providing information on the performance of local government. We analyse a district-level panel dataset (2005–2016) with administrative data, as well as Afrobarometer data on citizen perceptions (2005–2017). Empirically, we exploit the phasing in of the scorecard for a meticulous difference-in-difference framework with district-specific trends. The results show some small measurable impacts of the scorecard along the so-called ‘long route of accountability’ on public service delivery. Scorecard districts appear to spend less of their budgets in comparison with non-scorecard districts. This points to greater budgetary restraint of local government councils in scorecard districts. Although no direct impacts on service delivery can be detected, districts with more electoral competition in their constituencies perform better on one service-delivery indicator, the primary school leaving exam pass rate. Concomitantly, the scorecard impacts on perceptions of corruption, as citizens of scorecard districts perceive the local councillors as less corrupt compared to citizens of non-scorecard districts. This result can be interpreted as an indication of the trust-enhancing effect of government scorecards and civic engagement. Overall, our results provide a quantitative contribution to the literature on accountability by demonstrating that civil society reporting mechanisms about the performance of political representatives only trickle down slowly to improved services. The findings suggest that the sustained implementation of instruments to provide citizens with more information about their political representatives may have a positive impact on civil society perceptions as well as relevant political and policy outcomes. Like earlier research, we find that impacts also depend on political competitiveness, thus highlighting the positive role of democracy.