Cultivating the grass roots: Why local government matters. Hubert J. B. Allen. International Union of Local Authorities, The Hague, 1990, 156 pp.
| Date | 01 May 1993 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.4230130210 |
| Published date | 01 May 1993 |
| Author | Andrew Shepherd |
114
Book
Reviews
Mutahaba’s book. Nor is there any substantive discussion
of
any aspect
of
public adminis-
tration
-
tax administration and reform, rural development, decentralization-in the context
of ‘economic restructuring’. There is little discussion of ‘accountability’ either; and where
there is, only a very summary treatment. The relationship between efficient and fair adminis-
tration and democratic forms is ignored and yet, as the ECA recognizes, it is hard to see
how any programme of adjustment or transformation can succeed in Africa without
a
support-
ing political system. Recently, green shoots of ‘multipartyism’ and democratic forms have
become perceptible in Africa and the donors’ addition of ‘good governance’ to the list of
conditionalities may hurry this along. Balogun and Mutahaba’s book is the proceedings of
the Ninth Roundtable of the African Association for Public Administration and Management
held in Gabarone in 1987, when at any rate, the participants seemed unaware of the relevance
of the political dimension of their tasks.
EDWARD
HORESH
University
of
Bath
CULTIVATING THE GRASS ROOTS:
WHY
LOCAL GOVERNMENT MATTERS
Hubert
J.
B.
Allen
International Union of Local Authorities, The Hague, 1990, 156 pp.
This is a small book which puts the case for local government across the world and paints
an image of what ‘good’ local government is. It is packed with detailed comparative information
and full of good sense.
To
some extent, it is aimed at the developing country reader who
may be involved in making choices about models to follow, but it would also be
of
interest
to anyone schooled in the British and British colonial moulds of local government prepared
to have assumptions challenged. It will be a textbook for postgraduate and in-service courses
on local government. It covers the rationale for local government, its status and roles, issues
of size and structure, electoral systems and accountability, financial and personnel resources,
and planning and management.
The heart of the book lies in its presentation of good local government. Good local authori-
ties have general competence (can undertake any actions provided that they believe them
to be in the best interests
of
their citizens); share in revenues by right (perhaps enshrined
constitutionally), whatever the source of revenue; are generally small (‘human-scale’) and
based on local political identities; co-operate with neighbouring authorities; have independent
control over their budgets; have a stable and non-partisan staff, possibly organized in a unified
local government service; and have the freedom to decide their own management structures
and systems. Above all else, it should be clear to the public what local authorities d-onfusion
is often found and is most unhelpful. This is particularly
so
when citizens are confronted
with a plethora of bodies-different tiers, and even ‘modern’ and ‘traditional’ local authorities
coexisting side by side.
Correspondingly, it is the role of a good central government to ‘set local authorities free’
(p.
1
Ol),
and to offer support where needed. In particular, central ministries of local government
should not
inspect
local authorities, though they have to be concerned with the legality of
local authority actions and to ensure that local people know and can exercise their rights.
The main role
of
central ministries of local government is to ‘be a trusting guide, philosopher
and friend, promoting stimulating and protecting especially from other ministries’.
The book is rightly sceptical about the fashion in local government circles in recent decades
for efficiency and economies of scale. This has often been encouraged by central governments
through reorganizations creating bigger authorities and requiring or otherwise stimulating
the use of particular management systems. The need for efficiency itself is not denied, though
effectiveness and legitimacy are greater concerns, but the introduction of American private
sector management techniques
to
achieve efficiency is particularly irrelevant to small urban
or rural authorities (pp. 95-96).
Economies of scale should be questioned-local authorities are not businesses (and of course
such economies of scale are not always present in business either). Bigger authorities have
more specialized personnel and provide a more uniform and higher standard of service, which
may be less flexible in terms of local needs with increased managerial overheads (pp. 46
and 103).
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