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The United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA) commissioned this report in coordination with the National Association of Municipalities of Mozambique (ANAMM) to analyse the political economy of decentralisation of Mozambique. The report provides information in support of the ANAMM discussion and dialogue toward the new European Union (EU) programming process of cooperation with local authorities (LAs) for the 2021-2027 period. This report was developed in line with another called...

Since the start of the reform in the late 1990s, Indonesia has implemented an ambitious decentralization policy. One of its aims is to foster regional development from below by giving subnational governments a greater discretion in determining programmes that are more aspirational to the interests of the community and to local and regional development objectives. The decentralized government system has been implemented for almost two decades, yet limited studies have been conducted to...

This study was conducted as part of the Citizen Engagement Programme (Programa Cidadania e Participação (CEP)) in Mozambique – an empowerment and social accountability initiative to improve the quality of education and health services by increasing citizens’ influence on the management of schools and health units, the formulation of education and health policies, and the provision of education and health services. In education, CEP enabled citizen monitoring of services through the...

This case study is one of a series commissioned to support the Stabilisation Unit’s (SU) development of an evidence base relating to elite bargains and political deals. The project explores how national and international interventions have and have not been effective in fostering and sustaining political deals and elite bargains; and whether or not these political deals and elite bargains have helped reduce violence, increased local, regional and national stability and contributed to the...

Without much preparation, Indonesia, in 2000, at a stroke replaced the previous system of centralized government and development planning with a wide range of decentralization programs. The reforms gave greater authority, political power, and financial resources directly to regencies and municipalities, bypassing the provinces. The powers transferred include those of executing a wide range of responsibilities in the areas of health, primary and middle-level education, public works,...

Recommendations: 1. On planning and budgeting, greater coordination is recommended between planning (setting priorities) and budgeting (financial apportionment). Transformation of all District Health Services, Women and Social Action (SDSMAS) into Management Beneficiary Units (MBU) is necessary. 2. Stakeholders should bet more on application of national public financial management systems (PFM). The use of parallel financial systems instead of enabling the National Health System (NHS) to be...

This case study was commissioned by N’weti Comunicação para a Saúde to explore the changes emerging from the implementation of an adapted version of the Community Scorecard (CSC) tool in 11 health facilities catchment areas in Nampula. This case study discusses how N’weti has adapted the Community Scorecard (CSC) tool to better improve the quality of the participation and prospects of accountability for citizens. The case study presents evidence that the adapted CSC tool has resulted in an...

The Citizen Engagement Program (CEP) supports citizens to monitor the quality of health and education service delivery in 4 of the 11 provinces of Mozambique, as well as to advocate for the improvement of the quality of those services at the district, provincial and national levels. The CEP aims at contributing towards the increased availability of relevant information for citizens to better access and benefit from services delivered by the public sector; improving citizens' capacity to...

Decentralization has been underway in Indonesia for more than ten years, but recently many have challenged the how effectively decentralization – and even democratization – is being implemented. Deterioration in the quality of public services, the many corruption cases involving local governments, and low economic growth rates in some regions have prompted discourse about whether the country is making a reversal away from decentralization and democratization. We recognize that the move...

A 17a Sessão Ordinária do Conselho de Ministros realizada em 2007 tomou a corajosa decisão de descentralizar os fundos dos sectores de estradas, águas, agricultura, e infra-estruturas de educação e saúde para garantir a implementação efectiva da Lei 8/2003 sobre os Órgãos Locais do Estado e materializar os objectivos estratégicos definidos no PARPA II e no Plano Quinquenal do Governo. Tal decisão, em parte, reconhece que a pobreza absoluta que flagela muitos cidadãos está estreitamente...

The question of how to proceed with democratic decentralisation has been of political concern in Mozambique over the past decade. In accordance with post-war constitutional commitments to démocratisation after the country’s post-independence flirtation with socialism and a high degree of centralism, the process of decentralisation has taken two forms. First, a system of locally elected governments in the form of municipalities (municipios) for the urban and semi-urban areas was approved in...

State Recognition and Democractization in Sub-Saharan Africaآ explores the link between liberal-style democratization and state recognition of traditional authority in Sub-Saharan Africa. Being critical and empirically grounded, the book explores the complex, often counter-balancing consequences of the involvement of traditional authority in the wave of democratization and liberal-style state-building that has rolled over sub-Saharan Africa in the past decade. It scrutinizes how, in...

Indonesia was deeply affected by the 1997–1998 crisis, more so than its East Asian neighbors. Its economic contraction was deeper and more prolonged. It was the only one to experience a (temporary) loss of macroeconomic control. It also suffered “twin crises,” in the sense that its serious economic and financial problems were accompanied by regime collapse. Consequently, recovery was a slow and complex process, as new institutions had to be created, and old ones reformed under successive...

In 2001, Indonesia embarked on a decentralization process that has had a dramatic impact on the local political landscape, especially in relation to taxation and administrative processes. Rules and procedures that govern licensing, registration, some taxes and user charges have largely been devolved to local governments. A significant number of new licenses and charges have been created at the local level, and most licenses are issued through a complicated system of procedures and agencies....

Market-oriented policy agendas have enjoyed a remarkable influence in Indonesia for almost four decades. Yet, attempts to impose these agendas in any systematic fashion have proven uncertain and inconclusive. This is not simply a case of successful resistance to reform by entrenched interests. Rather, the deepening of market capitalism and global integration has, in many instances, appeared to consolidate authoritarian politics and predatory economic relationships. Even in the wake of...