Administrative conflict and decentralization: The case of Sri Lanka
| Author | Robert Oberst |
| Date | 01 April 1986 |
| Published date | 01 April 1986 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.4230060205 |
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Vol.
6,
163-174
(1986)
Administrative conflict and decentralization: the case
of
Sri Lanka
ROBERT OBERST
Nebraska Wesleyan University
SUMMARY
Decentralization involves changes in administrative structures which induce conflict as vested
interests are affected. Such problems have occurred in Sri Lanka. The responses
of
the
different interests involved in development administration to decentralization are examined.
A
number
of
propositions concerning group conflict are applied to the implementation
of
decentralized development policies
in
Sri
Lanka. Decentralization has restructured power
among the Kachcheri officials, Members
of
Parliament and departmental officers.
Consequent conflicts
within
the administration have led to increased problems
in
the
completion
of
projects. Power struggles could have been avoided
by
synchronizing political
and administrative decentralization and by making the division
of
power
within
the
bureaucracy explicit.
DECENTRALIZATION AND BUREAUCRATIC INTERESTS
Decentralization has become
a
common theme
of
Third World development
administration. Many nations which have decentralized their development
administration have had difficulty in implementing their decentralized policies. This
paper will examine one factor affecting the implementation
of
decentralization in
the Third World democracy of Sri Lanka. This factor is the impact
of
‘interest
groups’ within the administrative structure on the implementation
of
decentralized
policies. It will argue that these ‘interest groups’ have led to conflict within the
administration as they have sought to promote their own interests within the
bureaucracy. This conflict has limited the effectiveness
of
the decentralized policies.
Despite
a
great deal
of
international and Third World interest in decentralization,
attempts by Third World nations to decentralize have not met with complete success
(Conyers,
1981, 1983;
Rondinelli,
1983).
Similarly, Sri Lanka has experienced
difficulty decentralizing development administration. Despite interest in
decentralization in the 1950s, Sri Lanka did not begin to implement effective
decentralized policies until the mid-1970s. Since that time the Decentralized Budget
(DCB),
as
it is known, has been marked by the inability
of
the development planners
to complete their projects within the fiscal year. These delays have been the result
of
supply and equipment shortages as well as natural disasters and inclement weather.
However, another factor involved in this failure has been the nature
of
the Sri
Lankan administrative structure.
Professor Oberst is in the Department
of
Political Science, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln,
Nebraska
68504,
USA.
0271-2075/86/020163-12$06.00
01986
by John Wiley
&
Sons,
Ltd.
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