The Past, Present, and Future of Decentralisation in Africa: A Comparative Case Study of Local Government Development Trajectories of Ghana and Uganda

Abstract This article applies evolutionary theory of path dependency to explain the past, present, and future trajectories of decentralisation and local government (LG) institutional development in Ghana and Uganda. The article argues that in the pursuit of local governance, Uganda followed a sequence of political, administrative, and fiscal decentralisation whereas Ghana pursued an administrative, political, and fiscal decentralization. As a result, Uganda has made a little progress but more than Ghana's, in strengthening LG institutions. However, given that neither Uganda nor Ghana followed an ideal sequence of decentralisation reforms that would have strengthened LGs against unbridled central government (CG) interference, currently CGs in both countries are retaking much of what was initially decentralized. The article concludes that recentralization and further weakening of LGs are likely to continue in both countries and much of Africa because the initial path that was created benefited CG politicians and bureaucrats and they are committed to staying on that course. Keywords: decentralisationlocal governmentUgandaGhana Notes 1The author has worked at the Ministry of Local Government in Ghana as a development planning officer (1996–2000) and in Uganda was a leader of a Dutch Government project to enhance the capacity of Nsamizi Training Institute of Social Development to develop courses for local government officers (2004–09). 2The taxes, termed "ceded revenue, " were imposed on entertainment, casinos, betting, daily transport, advertisements, and categories of self-employed persons. They yielded ¢ 301m in 1990, ¢ 594m in 1991 and ¢ 2. 1b in 1992 (US1= ¢ 285 at 1993 exchange rate). 3A direct form of personal tax (poll tax) which constitutes about 75 percent of the total revenue of LGs 4So-called because members of parliament only found out about the new constitution when they received it in their pigeon-holes. 5The 1967 Local Administration Act, sec. 40–44, tasked the chiefs with maintenance of law and order, including power to enforce local council bylaws, effect arrest, enforce measures in the interest of socio-economic development and adjudicate disputes, collect government revenue, and act as a communication channel between government and population. 6The recommendations were: Each parent ministry technically responsible for a mandatory service should draw up a district-by-district development plan and advance corresponding finance to realise that plan; block grants should be allocated on the basis of need and not as an annual source of revenue; the taxation powers taken away from LGs in 1968 should be returned to them, and new taxes, such as on real estate, large-scale manufacturing and production companies, should be introduced. 7In 1993/4 the CG allowed 13 districts to raise and allocate their own revenue. They were followed by another 13 districts in 1994/5 and the remaining 35 districts in 1995/96 (CitationGolola, 2001: 11). 8Before 1987, LGs had lost the power to collect most revenues, such as from rents, local forests, royalties, and fishing licences. The block grants to LGs fell from 4. 3 percent of the CG recurrent budget in 1981 to 1. 6 percent in 1986. The nominal share of the national development budget to LGs also fell from 3 percent in 1982 to 0. 4 percent in 1983 and was 1 percent in 1986 (CitationRepublic of Uganda, 1987: 94). 9Unconditional grants cover LGs' recurrent budgets, while the conditional ones cover developmental expenditure. The equalisation grant is a subsidy to LGs considered to be poor and "lagging behind" in specific services. 10The new revenue sources were a US2 per room tax on all hotel and lodge guests and a local service tax on all persons in gainful employment. 11Each of the 81 districts has about 250 paid office staff and 700 salaried field staff. 12The 1995 Constitution (ch. 2, sec. 5) permits such a move but the urgency with which CG politicians are pushing for recentralisation of the city administration is a response to the growing opposition of Kampala citizens to the national government. 13Of the 46 districts that have been created since 1990, 16 have been in the East, 11 in the North, 10 in the West, and 9 in Central Uganda; 27 districts were created between 2005 and 2008.