Decentralization

Decentralization is a challenging, complex process of dispersing decision making closer to the point of service or action (i.e., from central government institution to local government) and is the institutional framework in which political, social, and economic decisions are made and carried out. Decentralization means reassigning responsibility, authority, and resources that have a significant degree of autonomy and accountability so that there is system of co-responsibility between institutions of governance at the central, regional, and local levels.

The term attracted attention in the 1950s and 1960s, when British and French colonial administrations prepared colonies for independence by devolving responsibilities for certain programmers to local authorities. In the 1980s, decentralization came to the forefront of the development agenda alongside the renewed global emphasis on governance and human-centered approaches to human development. Today both developed and developing countries are pursuing decentralization policies, as they can address poverty, gender, inequality, environmental concerns, and the improvement of healthcare, education, and access to technology. Central governments are motivated to decentralize for a number of reasons, including meeting the increasing needs of citizens and alleviating the fiscal burdens imposed by expanding demand for infrastructure and services.

For decentralization to be effective, it needs to be driven by common principles of good governance. One of the central pillars of good governance is decentralization. The achievement of good governance (transparency, accountability, collective responsibility, rule of law, legitimacy, minority rights, and absence of corruption—considered pillars of democracy) is a learning process. Good governance and sustainable human development are indivisible. Good governance and decentralization have to be pursued vigorously if the poverty reduction targets and the Millennium Development Goals are to be achieved, as they are dependent on the effective delivery of services at the local level, and it is primarily at the local level that citizens can meaningfully hold their leaders accountable for fulfilling these goals.