Research opens door to assessing effects of decentralisation in The Gambia

Research has been conducted by the Commonwealth Secretariat to characterise – for the first time ever - councillors working in the Gambia.

The analysis, which details everything from the number of elected female councillors to the number of hours officials work each week, may be used whenever a new batch of councillors are elected in order to assess trends and whether the introduction of decentralisation in the country is working.

The research was conducted at a national training workshop held in February last year, which was organised by the Secretariat in collaboration with the Government of Gambia.

It focused on helping local councillors develop effective relationships with their communities and central government and also looked at internal relationships between elected representatives and administrative staff.

Almost all councillors from The Gambia participated at this training workshop, and all of those who attended responded to the Secretariat’s questions.

The results can be found in the ‘Report of Survey of Councillors,’ which was recently produced by the Secretariat and undertaken in collaboration with the Department of State for Local Government and Lands, in The Gambia.

It finds that a statistically ‘typical,’ ‘average’ councillor in The Gambia in 2009 can be characterised as a 41 year old male who completed secondary level education, works over 38 hours per week as a full time councillor, lives off his allowance only without any other income, serves his first term in office and represents 16,000 people.

This survey is part of ongoing projects designed to promote effective decentralisation, which the Secretariat has conducted since 2005.

Previous workshops held over the last few years in the country’s capital, Banjul, have addressed the roles and responsibilities of Council members with regard to the Government, the electorate, financial institutions and governments in other countries. Experiences of local governments throughout the country have also been shared in order to improve the performances of councillors.

For more information about this publication please contact Dr Munawwar Alam on +44 207 747 6340 or m.alam@commonwealth.int

Secretariat Links:

• Public Sector Development
• Country Profile: The Gambia