Financing local government

Methods which aim to help local governments use their financial resources appropriately are addressed in a book published by the Commonwealth Secretariat.

‘Financing Local Government’ looks at the growing number of governments across the Commonwealth which are devolving responsibility to regional and local level. The book weighs up a number of options for local governments on how to manage their finances prudently after taking on new tasks.

“In order to meet the challenges of the 21st century, local governments need to be given power and resources that are commensurate with their changing responsibilities,” writes Dr Munawwar Alam, the Secretariat’s Adviser for Sub-National Government and Administration.

Devolving responsibilities

Since the 1980s there has been a growing trend in many countries for governments to devolve some responsibilities. When this happens, plans which are put in place to cope with this devolution have faced a number of challenges, especially in developing countries.

These plans include designing decentralised structures and sharing resources and power between different levels of sub-national government. The delivery of public services and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals have also been placed under increased pressure because of decentralisation.

Dr Alam explains that finance is an important way of measuring the effective performance of sub-national and local governments when they are faced with this increased responsibility.

Shared experiences

Consequently, a programme on finance for sub-national and local governments has been developed by the Secretariat in collaboration with the School of Public Policy at the University of Birmingham, UK, to train public sector in Commonwealth countries and to enable local government managers follow good practices in their own programmes of local government reform.

A number of recommendations are suggested in the book following an examination of current practices in local governments in a number of Commonwealth countries. Local government audit mechanisms, their ability to access capital markets for investment resources and their potential for improvements in revenue collection are all addressed.

The Commonwealth Secretariat expects to publish three books in a series on Local Government Reform by 2010, the first of which is ‘Financing Local Government’.

Written by Nick Devas, former Director of the International Development Department at the University of Birmingham, along with other contributors – Munawwar Alam, Simon Delay, Pritha Venkatachalam and Roger Koranteng - this book aims to help both policy-makers and managers who work with local government finances. It is also relevant to countries which have recently embarked upon the introduction of decentralising reforms.

HOW TO ORDER

This title can be bought through booksellers or online at http://publications.thecommonwealth.org/financing-local-government-472-p.aspx

A full catalogue of Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth Foundation publications can be viewed on the website, which provides a secure online buying facility. Orders can also be made through email or by post. Pre-payment is essential. Payment by sterling cheque drawn on a UK bank, international money order, postal order or bank draft must accompany your order. Cheques should be made out to York Publishing Services.

If you require the order form as an attachment in Word format please email the Publications Section (see address below). Post and packaging charges should be added to every order in the following way: UK orders: 15 per cent of order value (minimum charge £2.00). Non-UK orders: 25 per cent of order value (minimum charge £3.50).

Send orders to: Publications Section, Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HX, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 (0)20 7747 6534; Fax: +44 (0)20 7839 9081; Email: publications@commonwealth.int.

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