Local Government Infrastructure Research Articles

Regional Head Discretion Against Disharmony Between the Head of Service and the Regional Secretary in Cianjur Regency: reviewed from Law No. 30 of 2014 concerning Regional Government

The legal authority given to public officials is the responsibility of the position as the head of the Regional apparatus to provide appropriate legal information. The purpose of this study is to understand the regulations related to the Discretion of the Regional Head of Cianjur Regency so as to create a harmonious, clean and free government from all forms of corruption. Normative Juridical is the chosen research method, through a field approach and analyzed based on theory and comparative. The results of this study conclude that Law No. 30 of 2014 on Local Government explains how to use common sense, the concept of the right to reason as a middle ground between the weaknesses of the legal system and legal opportunities. As a state that adheres to the doctrine of the welfare state, the rule of law can play the highest role in protecting people's welfare. As the Local Government Law does not specifically regulate the settlement of disputes between public officials, mediation is the main way to unify perceptions based on Law No. 8 of 2003 concerning Guidelines for Regional Apparatus Organization whose task is to support the leadership of local government through policies and the main task of assisting Regional Heads in managing local government infrastructure, finance, equipment and facilities. The general principle of good governance so that in rational decision making as a responsibility of the position and personal responsibility.

FACTORS AFFECTING SUSTAINABLE POVERTY REDUCTION LIVELIHOODS IN RURAL AREAS IN THE MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM

Sustainable poverty reduction livelihoods in rural areas is a comprehensive process to solve current problems and build sustainability for the future. Sustainable Poverty Reduction Livelihoods in Rural Areas aims at solutions to reduce poverty and ensure complete and sustainable development of rural communities. The research seeks to discover factors affecting sustainable poverty reduction livelihoods in rural areas. Research data was collected in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. In the survey with the questionnaire, 750 people responded directly to the questionnaire. SPSS 20 and AMOS 24 software are used to analyze data. The data collection process takes place from August to October 2023. Implementation methods include data descriptive statistics, testing scales, analyzing factors' suitability, and testing research structure. The research results show that six factors affect sustainable livelihoods and poverty reduction in rural areas in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, including local government policies, infrastructure, education and training, labour market, community involvement, and finance and banking services. From the study's findings, several contents are discussed and suggested to help understand the relationship between factors affecting sustainable poverty reduction livelihoods in rural areas.

Assessing citizen satisfaction of urban local government service and infrastructure in Bangladesh: A case study of Pabna municipality

The provision of essential services to residents heavily relies on the infrastructure and functioning of urban local government institutions. The satisfaction citizens have with these institutions is an important indicator of the effectiveness of governance mechanisms. This study aims to assess the degree of citizen satisfaction with urban local government services and infrastructure, specifically in the context of Pabna municipality in Bangladesh. A qualitative and quantitative research approach was employed, utilizing survey data from 120 structured questionnaires and 20 interviews. The study results show that a significant proportion of municipality residents (56%) express deep dissatisfaction with basic services and infrastructure performance. The municipality has failed to effectively deliver sanitation, disaster management, waste management, roads and bridges, traffic infrastructure, and public utilities services as required. The study also identified key challenges in delivering basic services, including poor infrastructure, a lack of initiatives, adequate resources, a large workforce, and sufficient equipment. The findings suggest that the municipality should prioritize sustainable city planning through democratic participation and consideration of residents’ perceived experiences to deliver a high degree of citizen satisfaction.

Insights into Significant Contribution by Local Government toward Community Development in the Bahawalpur Division

This research investigates the role of local government institutions in promoting community development in Bahawalpur division from 2001 to 2018. The provision of municipal amenities is crucial for community growth, and local governments are expected to play a significant role in enhancing social, political, and cultural development. However, financial constraints, lack of education, community participation, and infrastructural development hinder their effective functioning. The study used statistical sampling techniques and analyzed the data using regression, and correlation analysis. The results show a positive trend in the contribution of local government towards community development, with a significant positive relation between the local government budget, community participation, education level, and infrastructure development. The study suggests that local governments should prioritize allocating sufficient budgets for community development programs and encourage community engagement in decision-making processes. Overall, the study highlights the significance of local government institutions in promoting community development in Bahawalpur division.

An Analysis of Improvements in Accounting Standards for Local Government Infrastructure

An Analysis of Improvements in Accounting Standards for Local Government Infrastructure

Public-Private Partnership (P3) Success: Critical Success Factors for Local Government Services and Infrastructure Delivery

The Public-Private Partnership (P3) approach is a viable option to address the slow growth and burgeoning need to deliver infrastructure projects and services by state and local governments. This study focuses on identifying critical success factors (CSF) that influence the success of P3s for local government service and infrastructure delivery. A framework is presented for integrating relationship and project management CSFs identified from previous literature into P3s. In addition, public agency entrepreneurial orientation is introduced as a potential CSF – a focus that has been absent in previous P3 CSF literature. To empirically assess the influence of these CSFs on P3 success, we surveyed public administrators from municipalities and counties in Florida, asking about their perceptions of these success factors. The results show that the P3 relationship, project management, and public agency entrepreneurial orientation are critical to a project’s success. Moreover, government stakeholder influence significantly affects these factors. Private sector stakeholder influence also affects project management and public agency entrepreneurial orientation’s effect on P3 success. When applied in a managerial context, these findings can help public agencies to improve their P3 success rates and growth and help to solve the infrastructure and service delivery challenges facing local governments in the US today.

A Photographic Essay on Landslides Across Southeastern New South Wales Triggered by the Rainfull Events of 2022

Eastern Australia has experienced a significant magnitude rainfall event of extended duration in the first 7 months of 2022. Across the east coast of New South Wales (NSW) a series of troughs and East Coast Lows occurred during a La Nina weather cycle bringing above average rainfall to the region. As this first half of 2022 La Nina event was drawing to a close the Indian Ocean Dipole entered a negative phase which coincided with another intense East Coast Low in early July 2022 impacting the Illawarra region of NSW. These events caused widespread flooding and significant landslide damage to road and rail infrastructure across the state networks and local government infrastructure across NSW. During this extended wet period in the first 7 months of 2022 more than 200 landslides have been recorded across the Illawarra, Southern Highlands and Blue Mountains regions of NSW whilst many more have occurred across the north coast region. This paper presents a brief and albeit preliminary summary of the rainfall and provides a series of photographs with very brief descriptions of some of these landslide events within southeastern NSW. The intent of the paper is to provide early guidance to AGS members of the nature and form of landslides that have occurred across the Illawarra region. This paper does not discuss the dual fatality resulting from the Wentworth Falls area rockfall of the 5th April.

THE REFORM OF THE DISTRICT LEVEL OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT: STATUS AND POSSIBLE OPTIONS FOR ITS FURTHER IMPLEMENTATION

Topicality. The urgency of the article is substantiated by an excessive centralization of powers and financial and material resources of the executive branch, the inability of territorial communities at the district level to exercise their powers, limited access to public services due to lack of funding and deterioration of local government infrastructure as well as reduced professionalism of officials. There is a need for scientific substantiation of scenarios for further implementation of the decentralization reform in terms of determining the rational balance of powers and tasks to be allocated to the district level of government with an appropriate financial support. The experience of forming enlarged administrative-territorial entities at the district level in Ukraine is a modern interpretation and development of European approaches to the definition of functional areas and statistical units according to NUTS-3, which determines the relevance of this study not only at the national but also at the Pan-European level within the context of development of applied principles of the regional development theory.Aim and tasks. The objectives of this study are: to analyze the state of the reform of local self-government at the district level, to consider possible options and scenarios for further implementation of this process, to determine a list of powers that should be transferred to the district level, and to propose measures of material, financial and organizational support.Research results. The peculiarity of a new districts formation in Ukraine is that the districts, which include regional centers, have a number of population several times higher than in other districts of the region. This does not comply with the European standard NUTS-3, which specifies a number of population in districts from 150 thou people to 800 thou people. The concept of local self-government reforming and territorial organization of power provides for the transfer of powers at the district level from executive power bodies to executive bodies of district councils; however the executive bodies of district councils have not been created yet, given that the relevant adjustments to the legislation have not been made. On September 17, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine to Align the Provisions of Budget Legislation in Connection with the Completion of Administrative and Territorial Reform." This legislative act abolishes personal income tax revenues directed to district budgets, which is the main source of their funding. The district level is also excluded from the system of horizontal equalization, hence district budgets will not receive a basic subsidy and will not be engaged in direct inter-budgetary relations with the state budget and they are excluded from the list of "recipients" of educational and medical subventions. The revenues structure of district budgets’ general fund, which is enshrined in the new Article 64 of the Budget Code of Ukraine, narrows their revenue base dramatically. The district level of local self-government is almost leveled, and it is deprived of most powers and financial resources, as a result, it cannot represent common interests of territorial communities at the basic level, which contradicts a principle of subsidiarity, and an issue of expediency of further existence of the district level of local self-government will be raised in the near future. The article considers possible options for further reform of the district level of local self-government, namely: (1) liquidation of the district level of local self-government, (2) preservation of existing state of the district level of local self-government, (3) preservation of the district level of local self-government, while giving it authority and financial resources to represent the common interests of territorial communities of the basic level. A draft of powers, which should be transferred to the district level of local self-government, has been proposed.Conclusions. The amendments to the legislation made in 2020 have led to a situation where the district level of local self-government was deprived of a larger share of its revenues and was significantly limited in its powers. As a result, the local self-government at the district level cannot fully represent common interests of territorial communities of the basic level in accordance with Article 140 of the Constitution of Ukraine and the principle of subsidiarity. This raised a question on expediency of the existence of the local self-government at the district level. Possible options for its further reform have been considered in the article. The most expedient option is to preserve the district level of local self-government and provide it with powers and financial resources so that it would be able to represent common interests of territorial communities of the basic level. The list of powers to be transferred to the district level has been determined.

Local Government and Road Infrastructure Delivery: Nigeria Experience

The provision of essential and basic infrastructure, especially at the Local Government level in Nigeria constitutes a major role in socio-economic and political development, and in improving the standard of living at the grassroots. Sadly, the road infrastructures are in a state of dilemma particularly the Local government roads due to so many constraints. The paper intends to look at these constraints and proffer possible solutions. Both primary and secondary methods were employed. The paper discovered that local government roads constitute the highest trunks of roads, and which got increasing day-by-day due to its proximity to the populace, and yet, the most negligible trunk of road in Nigeria. Finally, some recommendations were articulated.

Pre-figurative practice and the educational leadership of Sir Alec Clegg in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England (1945–1974)

ABSTRACT This article recalls a time when local government infrastructure was strong and a Chief Education Officer's (CEO) vision could be realised across a region, in Clegg's case the West Riding of Yorkshire, one of the largest of the pre-1974 counties in England. It is timely to revisit Clegg's educational leadership and practice from 1945 to 1974, as a valuable source of learning, and challenge to the current ideologically-informed policy rhetoric which has undermined the framework of democratic educational decision-making. The authors identify four possible areas to learn from Clegg's work. Firstly, the need for CEOs or their modern-day equivalents or successors, to consider their potential as political and community leaders; secondly, Clegg's leadership style prefigures some of the recent discussion about the leadership of public services in uncertain times; thirdly a re-evaluation of administration and bureaucracy; and lastly the need for supportive partnerships to enable schools to thrive.

Land-based financing in sub-Saharan African cities

Decentralization reforms and rapid urbanization place increasing pressure on African urban authorities. In response, land-based finance has been gaining popularity within development discourses as a method of increasing local autonomy and financing local government infrastructure provision. This paper discusses the conceptual basis for land-based finance, the instruments that form part of this approach, and the actual application in several African cities. Drawing on three case studies (Addis Ababa, Harare and Nairobi) and a high-level scan of 29 developments in various African cities, we show how land-based finance is being implemented in practice and discuss the potential for wider uptake. We conclude that African city governments are using land-based financing, albeit in inconsistent ways. We argue that urban authorities should consider the more extensive and progressive use of land-based financing instruments, despite the constraints imposed by both technical and political conditions. A progressive agenda for local government finance in African cities should take land-based finance seriously, as well as the local practices and institutional arrangements through which it operates.

Mass Media Attribution to Local Government Infrastructure Performance

Mass media is a public communication channel for the government, as well as a detector of field situations, program observer, and reporter to the public on government performance. Responsibility attribution theory sees the presence of two types of attributions: causal attribution and maintenance attribution. This study examines the attribution of mass media to the Public Works Department, Tapin Regency, Republic of Indonesia. News coverage was collected from regional and national news sites between 2015 and 2017. A total of 30 news items are relevant for further analysis. Of these, 24 are known to attribute causal responsibilities to non-governmental actors, while 29 provide attribution of responsibility for maintenance to the government. However, only three stories show the government as an active actor solving the problem completely. These results indicate that the mass media are not interested in the results achieved by the government, but only look at the responses given to problems. The media did not report on the progress or performance of the government's response measures. Theoretically, this study has implications on the theory of attribution of responsibility by asserting that attribution also needs to be seen from temporal dimensions. It is important for government to make partnerships with mass media more actively. The originality of this research lies in the use of the theory of attribution of responsibilities in more detail to inform on the improvement of public administration.

Perceived accountability for local government infrastructure assets: the influence of stakeholders

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the degree of stakeholder salience and the degree of emphasis placed on accountability dimensions for infrastructure assets (IFAs) as perceived by mayors and chief executive officers (CEOs) of local government authorities (LGAs). Comparisons are drawn between the salience accorded to two broad stakeholder groups at the public level and at the government level.Design/methodology/approachPerceptions of mayors and CEOs are examined through a mail questionnaire survey administered among LGAs in Australia.FindingsOverall accountability for IFAs by the LGAs is influenced by the salience accorded to the demands and needs of public stakeholders (PSs) but not the salience accorded to government stakeholders (GS). It is evident that public and managerial accountabilities are impacted by PS salience, whereas political accountability is impacted by the salience of GS. Thus, it emphasises that the establishment and implementation of policies, processes and systems that render transparency and responsiveness to the public, as well as service quality and the disclosure of performance measures, are positively affected by the salience accorded to PS groups.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of the study may be affected by the inherent weaknesses associated with mail surveys.Practical implicationsAccountability of LGAs for IFAs to GS needs enhancement, specifically stronger policy incentives.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature, providing evidence on how mayors and CEOs of LGAs perceive the salience of different stakeholders of IFAs and its impact on the perceived accountability.

Sorting through Neoliberal Variations of Ghost Cities in China

Since 1978, the Chinese central government has undertaken a series of market-oriented policy reforms which has led to responsibility for urban development shifting from central government to the local level, i.e., the provincial, prefectural city and district governments. As a result, local district governments in China’s larger cities have become key players driving economic development through an intensive process of entrepreneurial urbanization (where markets drive urban policy). These urban projects are best characterized as property-led, encouraged by neoliberal policies such as government support for land-based urban growth coalitions and property speculation. Based on local government planning and infrastructure development, this process has led to several newly built districts or towns. However, they have become ghost cities due to their lack of inhabitants and empty apartment units (apartment units are often purchased as part of an investment portfolio rather than as primary residences). This paper will unpack economic mechanisms and government motivations behind three iterations of ghost cities, to explore how local governments interact with central government as well as with property developers to expand urbanization. We examine three cases, the distinct urban contexts of Shanghai Thames town, Ordos, and Kunming (reflecting suburban tourism; debt-financed urbanism; and pro-growth strategic urbanism respectively) – to examine the variations across ghost cities in China (both in terms of neoliberal mechanisms and its outcomes).

Strategy for Increasing Traditional Market Competitiveness in Dealing with the Presence of Modern Market

Modern market growth in Indonesia showed significant figure compared to the growth of the traditional markets. The shrinking of the traditional market and modern market growth was also due to the rising living standards and changing lifestyles of people, as well as the desire for comfort, freedom, guarantee low price and good quality into consideration of the public. The purpose of this research was to analyze the impact of the modern market to traditional market traders. The analysis used in this research was a quantitative analysis with Difference-in-Difference (DiD) method, analysis using different test (t-test) with Wilcoxon, Buyer Perception Analysis, and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Based on the results of analysis using DID (Difference-in-Difference) by comparing market treatment and control markets, it was found that the impact of the presence of a modern market to traditional market traders evidenced by the decrease in the average turnover of the traditional market traders reaching (-7.8 %), the average profit (-9.39%), the number of buyers (-12.3%), and a decrease in the number of workers in traditional markets (-2.50%). Meanwhile, the results of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) indicated that there were several aspects to improve the traditional market competitiveness according to priority measures to be carried out in the first place, namely the local government support (29.43%), facilities and infrastructure (23.96 %), the market management (20.60%), finance (15.02%) and merchandise inventory in the last rank (10.98%).Keywords: Traditional Market Competitiveness, Local Government Support, Market Management, Finance, Traditional Market Traders.

Financial Distress of Local Government : A Study on Local Government Characteristics, Infrastructure, and Financial Condition

This study aims to obtain empirical evidence related to the effect of the variables such as local government characteristics, infrastructure, and...

The Unavoidable Nature of Population Ageing and the Ageing-Driven End of Growth – an Update for New Zealand

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, many people still question the extent to which population ageing and the ageing-driven ending of growth will unfold more or less as projected. This is particularly so in New Zealand, where the population is still relatively youthful due to near-replacement fertility and many years of high per capita net migration gains. As elsewhere, however, the picture differs markedly at subnational level, with the populations of one-quarter of the nation’s 67 territorial authority areas (TAs) already (in 2017) having more than 20% aged 65+ years. Accompanying this trend, one-third of the nation’s TAs declined in population between 1996 and 2013, primarily because of net migration loss at young adult ages, but in the process accelerating their structural ageing. Taking a subnational approach, this paper explores the dynamics of population ageing across New Zealand’s TAs. We demonstrate that structural ageing is accelerating and that even excessively high levels of net international migration gain cannot be expected to appreciably reduce future structural ageing. We also show that over the period 2013–43 the majority of declining TAs will move from the old form of decline, caused by net migration loss exceeding natural increase, to a new form caused by the combined effects of net migration loss and natural decrease. The findings reinforce our central argument that the phenomenon of population ageing and the ageing-driven end of growth will not ‘go away’ and has urgent implications for matters such as rate-based local government infrastructure funding.

Key Issues of Central and Local Government Finance in the People's Republic of China

Fiscal decentralization has been established in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), but crises emerge at the local government level due to remaining problems of the fiscal administration system of tax allocation and the impact of replacing the business tax with a value added tax. The PRC taxation system requires readjustment and local governments have begun to focus on innovative financing models. The main path to stable and sustainable government finances is to maintain the general public budget and the government fund budget. We show that the use of innovative fundraising and financing channels will lead to the upgrading of local government infrastructure and public service. Suggestions for enhancing local government fiscal stability and sustainability include: reducing the fiscal burden at the local level by standardizing and legalizing outlay responsibilities at all government levels; forming a long-term fiscal growth mechanism by establishing a modern taxation system; establishing a standardized and predictable transfer payment system by introducing block transfer payments and prioritized transfer payments as a basis for a stable growth mechanism for general transfer payments; promoting public-private partnership legislation to encourage participation of social capital and maximize the multiplier effect of public expenditure; improving the mid-term budget and debt-annexed budget; and establishing a government planning mechanism for investment and debt financing of major infrastructure construction projects.

Puerto Rico Debt Crisis: Trying to Reconcile Sanchez-Valle with the Puerto Rico Bankruptcy SCOTUS Opinions: Some Preliminary Thoughts

Puerto Rico Debt Crisis: Trying to Reconcile Sanchez-Valle with the Puerto Rico Bankruptcy SCOTUS Opinions: Some Preliminary Thoughts

Convention Center Follies: Politics, Power, and Public Investment in American Cities

This book presents an important story about misguided local and state expenditures for new or expanded convention centers. It is a bigger story than the more widely known success of fabulously wealthy professional sports teams in persuading strapped local governments to build new stadiums. It is bigger because the number of U.S. local governments involved and the dollars spent dwarf what I would call the stadium scam. In the second half of the twentieth century, cities, counties, and states engaged in a race for bigger and better convention centers lest they lose out to competitors. In an arms race, there are no winners. But here there are winners, namely, some landlords and consultants. Here in a nutshell is the sad story laid out in this book: With the end of the Great Depression of the 1930s and then World War II, American cities sought to upgrade the built environment. Alarmed by massive shift to the suburbs and growing slums in or near central business districts, mayors acted to preserve and protect the center. In this, they were unfortunately aided and abetted by federal urban renewal dollars. Traditional local government infrastructure spending was funded by general obligation bonds (the issuer must pay from any revenue source). But the issuance of such bonds required voter approval, which became more difficult to win after Proposition 13 in California announced a war on local government taxes throughout the nation. Voters, more often than not, defeated proposals to build or expand convention centers. But the edifice complex of mayors and governors was not so easily defeated. Revenue bonds, where the income to pay interest and principal is earmarked, became widely used and did not require voter approval. Authorities, legally separate from municipal governments and having their own revenue streams, built and managed convention centers.