Decentralization

DECENTRALIZATION
Bikram Adhikari

DEFINITION
 Decentralization (decentralizing governance)
 refers to the restructuring or reorganization of authority
so that there is a system of co-responsibility between
institutions of governance at the central, regional and
local levels according to the principle of subsidiary, thus
increasing the overall quality and effectiveness of the
system of governance, while increasing the authority
and capacities of sub-national levels.(UNDP)

DEFINITION
 Decentralization is the process by which the
activities of an organization, particularly those
regarding planning and decision-making, are
distributed or delegated away from a central,
authoritative location or group.
 Part of overall Governance System

DEFINITION
 Decentralization:
 It is not An alternative to centralization.
 Both are needed
 The complementary roles of national and sub-national actors
should be determined by analyzing the most effective ways
and means of achieving a desired objective.
 Exclusively public sector reform
 Decentralization is much more than public sector, civil service
or administrative reform.
 It involves the roles and relationships of all

FORMS OF DECENTRALIZATION (FROM UNDP)
 Devolution
 The first type is autonomous lower-level units, such as
provincial, district, local authorities that are legally
constituted as separate governance bodies. The
transfer of authorities to such units is often referred to
as devolution.
 It is the most common understanding of genuine
decentralization.
 Devolution is an arrangement in which there are
reciprocal, mutually beneficial, and coordinate
relationships between central and local governments.

 Delegation
 The second type is semi-autonomous lower-level units,
such as urban or regional development corporations to
whom aspects of governance are delegated through
legislation or under contract.
 This is a fairly common variant of decentralization that
stops short of devolution, but involves significant
delegation of authorities and responsibilities.
 Delegation refers to the transfer of government
decision-making and administrative authority and/or
responsibility for carefully spelled out tasks to
institutions and organizations that are either under
government indirect control or semi-independent.

 Deconcentration
 The third type is sub-ordinate lower-level units or sub-
units, such as regional, district or local offices of the
central administration or service delivery organization
 It involves the transfer of authority for specific decision-
making, financial and management functions by
administrative means to different levels under the same
jurisdictional authority of the central government.
 This is the least extensive type of administrative
decentralization and the most common found in
developing countries.

 Divestment/Privatization
 The fourth type refers to units external to the formal
governmental structure (non-governmental or private),
such as NGOs, corporations and companies.
 While sometimes included in discussions of
decentralization, the nature of these transfers is not
level-specific, i.e., transfers could occur at the same
level, which is often the central one.
 These phenomena are best not treated as forms of
decentralization, but of divestment.
 Divestment occurs when planning and administrative
responsibility or other public functions are transferred
from government to voluntary, private, or non-
government institutions.

CHARACTERISTICS OF DECENTRALIZATION
 DECENTRALIZATION AS A TREND
 A large number of developing and transitional countries
have embarked on some form of decentralization
programmes.
 This trend is coupled with a growing interest in the role
of civil society and the private sector as partners to
governments in seeking new ways of service delivery.
 The practice of decentralization has so far produced
cases of both success and failure.

 DECENTRALIZATION AS A PROCESS
 Some believe it as process
 Decentralization should not be considered as a process,
but a way of life and a state of mind based on the
principles of freedom, respect and participation.

 DECENTRALIZATION AS A COUNTERPOINT TO
GLOBALIZATION
 Globalization often removes decisions from the local
and national stage to the global sphere of multi-national
or non-national interests.
 Decentralization on the other hand brings decision-
making back to the sub-national and local levels. In
designing decentralization strategies it is necessary to
view the interrelations of these various dimensions –
global, regional, national, sub-national, local.

 DECENTRALIZATION AS A MIX OF FOUR
DIMENSIONS
 the collective/exterior,
 the collective/interior,
 the individual/exterior and
 the individual/interior.

DECENTRALIZATION FOR RURAL
DEVELOPMENT
 POTENTIAL for Rural Development:
 Fiscal Decentralization and Pro-poor Budget
 Political Decentralization and Local Participation
 Administrative Decentralization and Institutional
Approach in Poverty Alleviation
 Challenges for Rural Development
 Inadequate Revenue and Culture of Budget Secrecy
 Insufficient Social Capital
 Low Capacity of Local Institutions

DECENTRALIZATION OF NEPAL (PAST TO PRESENT)

DECENTRALIZATION OF NEPAL
 Few Facts:
 The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal (1991) has
included decentralization as one of the guiding principle
of the state policy in Article 25 (4) which states
decentralization as "the means of ensuring optimum
participation of people in governance and hence enjoy
the benefits of democracy".
 The Ninth Plan has included decentralized governance
as its major policy thrust to promote rural and local
development towards alleviating poverty.

Decentralization

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to Decentralization

More from BPKIHS

Recently uploaded

In this document

Decentralization