Commonwealth Local Democracy Project

Project officer: Malaika Scott

Page updated September 12, 2005

The Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (CPSU) in association with the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) and the Commonwealth Foundation has completed a project on Local Democracy to examine strategies to deepen democracy at the local level.

The project came to an end in December 2004. The findings of the project have been released in the third Commonwealth Local Government Handbook, launched at the Local Government Conference, Aberdeen, Scotland, 15- 17 March 2005.

The report is now available on this website, and may be downloaded from the link below:

'Deepening Local Democracy' , report prepared by Malaika Scott
(this report forms part of the Commonwealth Local Government Handbook, and page numbering starts at 283)
More information on the Five Freedom Framework, shown on page 308 of this report, can be found below. Follow this link for the note.
Erratum: pg 316, the full reference to Khosla and Samuels (2004) work should be:
Khosla, Romi and Jane Samuels. (2004). Removing Unfreedoms, Citizens As Agents of Change in Urban Development, published by ITDG, ISBN 1-85339-606-0.

ACTIVITIES

The Future of Local Democracy in the Commonwealth

Meeting on the future of local democracy in the Commonwealth, Wednesday 16 February, 6pm, London University Senate House rooms 329/330
The CPSU, jointly with the Young Fabians and supported by the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, arranged a well-attended evening meeting on Wednesday 16 February at Senate House. The two speakers were Malaika Scott, Commonwealth Local Democracy Project Officer and Steve Bullock, the directly-elected Mayor of Lewisham, who has got active Commonwealth interests, particularly in southern Africa and the Caribbean.

Malaika’s presentation, which drew on her work, pinpointed the role of local democracy as a building-block for national democracy, and its significance at the delivery level for Millennium Development Goals. Steve Bullock is trying to breathe life into the sclerotic state of local democracy in an inner London borough, and to establish partnerships with local government elsewhere in the Commonwealth.

'Deepening Local Democracy in the Commonwealth', Seminar, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, 22nd September, 2004

BACKGROUND

Objective

The project was initiated to prepare a background paper to provide a survey of literature on the tangible benefits of democracy, with a special emphasis on local democracy, supported by case study reports from ten countries in the Commonwealth. The paper would be presented at the 3rd Commonwealth Local Government Conference on the theme of Deepening Local Democracy in Aberdeen, Scotland in March 2005.

The Conference will explore a number of facets of local democracy and will seek to develop Commonwealth norms for many of these. The paper was to address a number of facets of local democracy and propose a thesis of what constitutes healthy local democracy, i.e. what elements must be present for local democracy to thrive. It should highlight the key questions leading in the debates over the value of each facet to the health of local democracy. The issues to be explored included:

• Local Government as a Partner to Central and Provincial Government: the value of decentralisation, especially devolution
• Local Government as a Partner to Central and Provincial Government: achieving a framework for inter-governmental relations
• Maximising voter turn-out and legitimating the democratic process
• Democratic checks and balances: internal scrutiny and the role of opposition
• Fiscal autonomy
• Ensuring accountability and transparency: the role of ministry supervision and the role of popular accountability
• Inclusiveness: representing all of the community
• Citizens’ consultation and participation: how local authorities actively involve community groups and individual citizens in decision-making process
• Modernising Local Government

Rationale

The following statement was made on this webpage at the start of the project:

"The CPSU and the CLGF believe that now is an opportune time for a deeper examination of local democracy, as it is a facet of governance that is often overlooked in current debate, which over-privileges national and global governance. The Commonwealth has been described as a unique microcosm of global, social and ethnic diversity, and of North and South. It is uniquely placed to maximize such advantage to the benefit of the increasing numbers of disenfranchised and marginalised citizens. It is becoming more recognized that for democracy to be effective at the national level it must place the citizen at the centre of a process that is inclusive at the local level."

Case Studies

Country-specific issues to be covered in each study were:

1. Would you consider local democracy in your country to be effective?
2. What constitutes effective local government in your country?
3. Does local democracy deliver for the poor?
4. What are the key obstacles to fuller local democracy in your country today?

• Canada
• Ghana
• India
• Jamaica
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• South Africa
• Trinidad & Tobago
• Uganda
• United Kingdom

The project commenced in April 2004 and ran until December 2004. Malaika Scott undertook research, in consultation with Local Government experts around the Commonwealth; Mr. Richard Bourne, Head, Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit; and Dr. Randal Smith, Research Officer, Commonwealth Local Government Forum.