Private Sector and Infrastructure                  21     1
gONAL 8                                                                   July 2002
Findings reports on ongoing operational, economic, and sector work carried out by the World
Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region. It is published penodically by the
WVOR L D BA N K                Knowledge and Leaming Center on behalf of the Region. The views expressed in Findings are
those of the author/s and should not be attnbuted to the World Bank Group.
http://www.worldbank.org/afr/findings
AND 0 eAfrica and Decentralization:
C'7IV A14D <Enter the Citizens
3   he local government transfor-  identity. Mamadou Dia argues that
H mation and decentralization  many African countries are char-
processes underway in Sub-  acterized by an institutional dis-
Saharan Africa have opened space  connect between formal modern
for civil society empowerment, giv-  institutions transplanted from out-
U       )               ing citizens opportunities to better  side and indigenous, informal in-
participate in decision-making pro-  stitutions rooted in local culture.
cesses and administration. The  Formal institutions include the
challenge facing decision-makers is  entire government machinery, from
to develop models of local gover-  ministries to local governments.
nance that can best facilitate the  Civil society organizations exist as
-   _           involvement of civil society. How  political organizations, trade
and how much civil society can con-  unions, human rights groups, com-
tribute to the establishment of good  munity-based organizations, and
governance in a sustainable fash-  others. As a rule, civil society or-
ion is the question at the core of ganizations adhere to the following
w                       the current debate on the subject.  principles: participation, transpar-
Writers have provided varied defi-  ency, accountability, equity, effec-
nitions of the concept of civil soci- tiveness and efficiency, strategic
W                       ety. In general, the term may refer  vision, and good management.
to the organizations through which  In theory, a vibrant civil society
w                           citizens participate and exert influ-  can contribute to effective institu-
ence over public life. James Manor  tional development and democratic
maintains that it can be under-  decentralization, enhance the re-
stood as "organized interests with  sponsiveness of government insti-
a significant degree of autonomy  tutions, increase the information
from the state." Mark Swilling of- flow between government and the
_               fers the view that it consists of lo-  people, make development projects
cally constituted voluntary associa-  more sustainable, enhance ac-
w                       tions, which have the capacity to  countability, transparency and in-
influence and even determine the  tegrity-all of which constitute good
structure of power and the alloca-  governance. However, considering
x               tion of material resources. These  the challenges that face local gov-
are institutions that exert pressure  ernments, it might be difficult for
and control as "watch-dogs" on  the governments to fully embrace
T  O  A                state institutions in the area of gov-  civil society as a pillar of democratic
ernance and development, and jeal-  decentralization.
ously guard their autonomy and



Civil society in the African context  Urbanization and the rise of civil  An interesting example...
society
The socio-political and economic                               The current local government in
crisis that engulfed Sub-Saharan  Africa's urban settlements are  Zimbabwe is a product of both the
Africa in the 1990s has persuaded  growing in both number and size  colonial era and the post-colonial
state and non-state actors to review  faster than in any other region of reconstruction of center-local rela-
policy and institutional mecha-  the world. Recent reviews of urban-  tionships. In 1980, Zimbabwe in-
nisms for delivering services and  ization trends show that the urban  herited a system of local govern-
foster development. Citizens de-  population of Africa is growing by  ment racially divided. The colonial
mand quality services, while city  6 percent per annum, twice as fast  system consisted of Rural Councils
managers lack the resources and  as that of Latin America or East  and Urban Councils for the white
morale to perform. One of the rea-  Asia. It is projected that at the cur-  settler population, and African
sons civil society groups sprung up  rent rate, the urban population is  Councils for the politically re-
in the 1990s was the incapability  likely to reach 500 million by the  pressed black population. The two
of local governments to deliver ser-  year 2025 due to increased mas-  types of local authority were placed
vices and fight against poverty and  sive migration from rural to urban  under different ministries, the Ru-
environmental destruction on their  centers, in addition to natural  ral and Urban Councils came un-
own.                            growth within the urban centers  der the Ministry of Local Govern-
It is unfortunate, as country ex-  themselves. The high rates of ur-  ment and Town Planning, while the
periences reveal, that the two par-  ban population growth raise the  African Councils came under the
ties have difficulties engaging in a  need for a corresponding increase  Ministry of Internal Affairs. In
productive relationship. Goran  in the provision of services. How-  1993, the Rural Councils and Dis-
Heyden had earlier observed that  ever, urban local authorities lack  trict Councils were amalgamated
in most African countries, govern-  adequate resources to meet the  into one single Rural District Coun-
mental staff tended to be quite ar-  demand for quality services, which  cil with the purpose of removing
bitrary in their approach to the  is on the rise as a consequence of racially based development and
people for whom they were design-  political emancipation, high literacy  strengthening the role of local gov-
ing or executing policies. If the  rates and increased global commu-  ernment in rural areas. In 1998,
people questioned or resisted arbi-  nication.                  the Government of Zimbabwe
trary tactics, the officials resorted  Various factors are cited as the  adopted the widely known Thirteen
to intimidation or other measures  cause of civil society's rapid growth.  Principles to Guide the Decentrali-
aimed at punishing the vocal citi-  Firstly, urban citizens are more  zation Process. The first principle
zens. This culture continues un-  enlightened and sophisticated than  relates to strengthening democracy
abated in spite of decentralization  their rural counterparts. As a re-  and citizen participation in plan
and democratization of governance.  sult, they are interested in estab-  formulation and implementation.
In Uganda public officials are wary  lishing independent space outside  Decentralization has the poten-
of civic associations, not least be-  the direct control of the state to  tial to contribute to the democrati-
cause of their role as vocal advo-  escape political and economic op-  zation of society, promotion of effi-
cates for the disadvantaged, and  pression and improve their living  cient delivery of public services,
are therefore reluctant to allow  conditions. Secondly, indigenous  and bridging the gap between the
them to play a more active role in  associations receive external assis-  state and civic groups. It is the ba-
public affairs. Councilors tend to  tance from international organiza-  sis for local self-government, which
believe that civil society thrives on  tions. Thirdly, the conditionalities  eventually leads to good gover-
sowing seeds of political discontent  imposed on governments to liber-  nance. In the context of Zimbabwe,
and on challenging the legitimacy  alize and democratize lead to state  civil society organizations play a
of the councils.                withdrawal from the provision of critical role in representing citizens
basic services.                 on social, political and economic
issues. One clear example of im-
proved governance due to citizen
involvement is the case of the City



of Harare Combined Residents As-      Civil society organizations in Zimbabwe, which play a critical role in
sociation (CHRA).                    representing citizens on social, political and economic issues.
Clientele                  Institution
The case of the City of Harare
Combined Residents Association        Trade Unions               Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU
(CHRA)                                Gender Based Organizations  Women's Action Group (WAG)
Consumer Organizations     Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ)
Residents And Ratepayers Associations  Combined Harare Residents Association
Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, is                              (CHRA)
located in the northeastern part of   Neighborhood Watch Committees  Highlands Neighborhood Watch Committee
Community Based Organizations  Zororai Old Peoples Home
the country. The city's population    Vendors Association        Green Market Vendor's Association
is estimated to be 1.5 million. The   Research And Training-     Ruwa Training Center?
growth rate of the city is approxi-   Religious Organizations-   Anglican Young Peoples Association (AYPA)
Non-Governmental Organizations  Plan International
Development Associations-   Mashonaland Development Association (MDA)
is a high rate in terms of providing  Human Rights Groups        ZimRights
basic services and accommodation.
Harare has attracted a large num-
ber of migrants from both rural ar-  in the management and conduct of  Actions by CHRA
eas and other urban centers. Sev-  Harare politics and administration.
eral satellite towns have grown  The main area of concern between  As a consequence of displeasure
around it-Ruwa, Chitungwiza,     residents and council is the man-  with respect to the handling of
and Norton-which are very much   agement of public fmance There is  council affairs, CHRA drafted a pe-
dependent on it for services. The  a general perception among urban  tition, which 11,950 Harare resi-
rapid population growth has re-  residents that they are being short-  dents signed and handed to the
sulted in pressure on the meager  changed and are not getting value  Ministry of Local Government and
services in the city, and has cre-  for money they pay in the form of  National Housing on December
ated problems of unemployment.   rates and other accompanying      1998. The said petition read: "We
These are challenges for both the  charges. Refuse is piling up in most  the undersigned Ratepayers, Resi-
central and the local governments  parts of the city, roads particularly  dents and Tenants of Greater
and the city council.            in high density areas have potholes,  Harare call on the Minister of Lo-
The City of Harare Combined     street-lighting is poor, traffic lights  cal Government and National
Residents Association works to help  are not working, grass cutting is  Housing to immediately remove
the government meet those chal-  sporadic. Residents feel that coun-    the eiC  ci    e for ail
lenges. CHRA has four major goals:  cils are not transparent and ac-  ure ensure good gvrane in the
* To provide unity, understanding  countable enough for their actions.  ure to ensure good govea ance in the
and friendship among residents.  As a result, cases of corruption are
'               ~~~~competence and mismanagement."
* To develop and enlighten resi-  not effectively investigated. For ex-                  g
To make sure that the petition
dents opinion on the affairs of the  ample, there are constant com-
city.                           plaints that prospective home seek-  was fully understood by the signa-
* To encourage the growth or de-  ers are conned out of thousands of  tories, the text was also in Shona
and Ndebele. Subsequent to the
velopment of constructive civic,  dollars through the bureaucratic  and Nebeton Subsequenttoth
economic, educational and social  machine where some city council  CHRA petitin  on 25 Ferur
'            ,        ,      , ,          ~~~~~~~~~~~1999, the Minister of Local Govern-
activities of the residents.    employees   demand    between
* To draw the attention of appro-  Z$3,000.00 to Z$7,000.00 to speed  ment and National Housing sus-
priate authorities to problems  up the processing of residential  pn  dadte City    he Council
and needs of residents.         stands. In general, residents are of Inecconce with the trms of
thevie tht cunclOr donotre-Section 1 14 ( 1) of the Urban Coun-
the view that councilors do not re-
Conflicts and tension            ally represent local interests, but  cils Act. In pursuit of its declared
vision-to be an effective watchdog
rather, they are using communities
and a vehicle of good governance
In recent times, the residents as-  to achieve selfish political and eco-
in Harare and a model for advo-
sociation has played a visible role  nomic gains.                   Hary-CHaAd ssigned thr adi-
cacy-CHRA assigned three indi-



viduals to sue the City Council in  Issues to consider         George WM. Matovu is executive
1999 for unlawful increasing rates.                          director of the Municipal Develop-
The case was filed with the High  To what extent does the leadership  ment Programme, Eastern and
Court, which finally judged in fa-  of civil society reflect the concerns  SouthernAfrica
vor of the ratepayers. Subse-  of the grass roots is difficult to es-  Visit: www.mdpesa.org
quently, CHRA challenged the   tablish. Jesse Ribot notes that
Commission currently running the  many groups whether unions, co-
affairs of the City of Harare not to  operatives, NGOs or association, do  References
make any decision on the fate of not necessarily reflect the concerns
the well publicized council-built  of a village as a whole. While they  Africa Community Publishing and
$80 million mayoral mansion situ-  are often treated as if they were  Development Trust (ACPD) 1987.
ated in Gunhill. They advanced the  representatives, they are not. They  Let us Build Zimbabwe Together
position that decisions on that represent their particular interests  (Harare: Ministry of Community
property should only be made by a  and their representatives or lead-  Development and Women's Affairs)
democratically elected council and  ers are accountable to their par-  Bossuyt, Jean. Involving Non-State
not by the Commission appointed  ticular constituencies-and often  Actors and Local Governmnents in
by the Ministry.               only to themselves.             ACP-EU Dialogue (European,
Over the past year, the primary  The Municipal Development Pro-  2000)
concern of HCRA was to hold may-  gram, with financial support from  Heyden, Goran. No Shortcuts to
oral and council elections. The as-  the Government of Finland, has  Progress: African Development
sociation describes the current City  over the last three years been sup-  Management in Perspective
Commission as "a central govern-  porting pilots for enhancing civic  (Heinemann Publishers, 1983)
ment agency, not a people's organ".  participation in municipal gover-  Lwanga-Ntale, Golooba-Mutebi and
At the time of writing, it was 30  nance in Eastern and Southern Af-  Awoori Taaka. Civic Participation
months after the elections were  rica. The thrust was to establish  in Municipal Governance: The
due, and the association argued  the capacity for both municipal  Case of Uganda, A Case Study
that the council affairs could not authorities and civil society to work  prepared for Municipal Develop-
continue to be managed by a com-  together more productively in the  ment Programme, 1999
mission whose "legality" was ques- interest of local communities. It is  Mamadou, Dia. Afrca's Manage-
tionable. As stated above, HCRA  clear from the experiences gained  ment in the 1990's and beyond-
has continuously challenged the le-  that while the inclusion of the civil  Reconciling Indigenous and Trans-
gality of the City Commission be-  society in local governance is ap-  planted Institutions (Washington:
cause it has outlived its constitu-  preciated and gaining acceptance,  IBRD/The World Bank, 1996)
tional timeframe. The association  it has been a dramatic turn around   JaTeWr Bak 1996)
argued that elections should have  for local officials who are used to  Mano mes. Te Politica
been held within nine months of hierarchical management struc-  (without date c
the dismissal of the last elected  tures. It is clear that local govern-  (itot  date)
, .  . .  r   Ribot, Jesse C. Local Actors, Pow-
mayor and council, as stipulated by  ments are weak m provision of ser-
has th po-...    ers and Accountability in African
the Urban Councils Act. HCRA took  vices while civil society asDecentralization: A Review of Is-
the matter to High Court where the  tential to provide services. That rep-  sues(2001)
Judge ruled in favor of the asso-  resents a missing link in bringing  Sues (2001)
ciation and ordered the Registrar  together the two parties. There is  Swilling, Mark. Socialism, Democ-
General to have elections held by  therefore a need to facilitate the  racy and Civil Society: The Case
December 28, 2001. While uphold-  forging of partnerships. As Jean  forAssociational Socialism (1992)
ing the ruling of the High Court,  Bossuyt rightly noted, opening up  Supreme Court to Set Dates for
the Supreme Court has advised the  governance to non-state actors is  Harare Polls," The Herald (Decem-
two parties-the association and  a learning process, requiring time,  ber 2001 p. 1), Harare
the government-to sit down to-  experimentation, stock taking of  United Development Report, The
gether and amicably agree on pos-  best practices, flexibility and insti-  HumnanDevelopment Report 2000,
sible dates on which elections  tutional innovation.           Zimbabwe
should be held.