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Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance, Iss 29 (2024)
ISSN 1836-0394 · UTS ePRESS · 331 articles in the index
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Journal Article
Making dysfunctional municipalities functional: towards a framework for improving municipal service delivery performance in South African municipalities
Local government is underpinned by the principle that finding sustainable ways to meet the needs of communities through service delivery matters. Post 1994, the South African government opted for a ‘developmental’ local government system as a way of addressing the socio-economic challenges of…
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Journal Article
Advancing local government in Pacific Island Countries: a practitioner reflects
This paper presents the author’s reflections on efforts to advance the scope and role of elected local government in the Pacific Islands. It focuses primarily on the Commonwealth Local Government Forum Pacific Project, which has been operating since 2000, but also looks at broader issues around…
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Journal Article
How effective are social accountability mechanisms in Bangladesh’s rural local governments?
Over the last few decades, governance systems across the world have prioritised citizen participation. Direct participation of the citizenry facilitates social accountability, which contributes to the advancement of good governance. In Bangladesh, following the success of donor-funded pathfinder…
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Journal Article
Constraints on property taxation in Malawi: insights from Zomba City Council
Low property tax collection rates are common in developing countries such as Malawi compared with developed countries – where property taxes account for over double what is prevalent in low-income countries. This paper presents findings of a study on constraints to property taxation in Zomba City…
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Journal Article
Review: Decentralised governance: crafting effective democracies around the world edited by Jean-Paul Faguet and Sarmistha Pal
The premise for this book is that for more than six decades decentralisation has been one of the most powerful reform movements across the world, and that – under the right conditions – decentralised systems produce more effective public services and are more democratic. However, despite the…
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Journal Article
Review: Solved: how the world’s great cities are solving the climate crisis by David Miller
This new, paperback edition of Solved by David Miller is a re-issue of the original published in 2020, with an additional chapter updating the reader on the urgency for cities to contribute to tackling climate change. Miller’s argument rests, essentially, on the theory of incremental gains. That…
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Journal Article
Implementation of Tanzania's Development Vision 2025: local government authorities' endeavours and challenges
This paper contributes to the discussion of efforts made by local government authorities (LGAs) to execute Tanzania's Development Vision 2025. LGAs’ endeavours have revolved around the following areas: establishment of the Women, Youth and People with Disabilities Revolving Fund; the ‘opportunities…
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Journal Article
Commonwealth Caribbean Cities, Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience: Empowering Local Government
Cities of Small Island Developing States face unprecedented challenges in climate change adaptation with local governments in these territories being increasingly called upon to respond to related natural hazards and deploy resources for planning, preparedness, emergency efforts and post-recovery…
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Journal Article
The unrealised potential of local institutions in Papua New Guinea: adopting a bottom-up approach to governance, rule of law, and peace and development
According to the principles of the bottom-up approach to peace and development, true and sustainable development and social harmony can only emerge by individuals taking constructive actions towards peaceful individual and communal governance – something which each individual and each community…
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Journal Article
Engagement of local government to promote maternal and newborn health services: the case of Faridpur district in Bangladesh
In rural Bangladesh, local government institutions, especially union parishads, play a key role providing essential services for community development. They help connect people with primary healthcare, along with providing nutrition and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services that reduce the…
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Journal Article
Strengthening local autonomy in development: composite budgeting, expenditure planning and implementation in Nanumba South district, Ghana
Including local citizens in decision-making about the use of local resources is crucial to improving the generation of locally raised funds. This study illustrates the positive effects of composite budgeting – a participatory process – in meeting local people’s development interest and needs, and…
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Journal Article
Fiscal decentralisation and public service delivery: evidence and lessons from sub-national governments in Kenya
This paper provides empirical evidence on the effects of fiscal decentralisation on public service delivery in devolved systems of government in Kenya. A qualitative study interviewed 126 respondents and held two focus group discussions with key stakeholders from within two of Kenya’s 47 counties…
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Journal Article
Kerala’s celebrated Kudumbashree scheme for poverty reduction: a critical look through a feminist lens
This paper critically examines whether the Kudumbashree scheme of the Kerala government was successful in both reducing poverty and enhancing the social capital of women. The evidence shows that while Kudumbashree’s programmes made a significant contribution to Kerala’s broader efforts to reduce…
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Journal Article
Entrepreneurship in emerging cities: mitigating impediments to small business development in Tshwane, South Africa
This article explores, and offers recommendations to address, the factors impeding small business development in the City of Tshwane (formerly Pretoria), Gauteng Province, South Africa. It also examines small business development in the broader context of South Africa and other emerging economies…
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Journal Article
Decentralisation and political empowerment of citizens in Karamoja, Uganda
For centuries, centralisation was the dominant model of governance in most parts of the developing world. However, since the mid-1980s many countries in Africa have adopted decentralisation owing to the failure of centralisation to deliver public goods to citizens. In 1992, Uganda adopted…
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Journal Article
Filling the gaps in local governance: an analysis of the structure and process of informal community governance in Ibadan, Nigeria
The Nigerian local government system’s failure is widely documented, yet little is known about an alternative governance framework that communities have developed to tend to their needs. Using a case study methodology, this paper investigates the structure and process of informal community…
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Journal Article
How informal ties matter: encroachment on road reservations along the Kumasi–Accra highway in Ghana
A failure of urban planning in many developing countries is evidenced by encroachment on road reservations. Urban planning literature suggests that such encroachment is largely explained by poverty and urban growth. But how do encroachers find space in the road reservations? This paper examines…
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Journal Article
Review: The Winding Stair by Sir Rodney Brooke
In this autobiography Sir Rodney Brooke provides a variously funny, thoughtful, inciteful and depressing read as he takes us through his illustrious career of over 40 years in English local government. Alongside Brooke’s own climb up the stairway, he chronicles the decline of local government as an…
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Journal Article
Funding primary health care service delivery in the West Nile sub-region, Uganda
The provision of primary health care services is a global concern and quality health service delivery is based on a number of factors, including motivated health workers, good-quality infrastructure, consistent supply of medicines and technologies, adequate funding, sound health plans, and…
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Journal Article
The impact of New Public Management reforms on the delivery of secondary education in Tanzania
This article discusses the impact of adopting New Public Management (NPM) reforms in the delivery of education services via a case study of the experience of Mwanza City, Tanzania. The case study reveals that NPM reforms, which came with new guidelines for the delivery of education services, have…