Importance of Local Government

The existence of local government has always been defended on the basis that it is a crucial aspect of the process of democratization and intensification of mass participation in the decision-making process. No political system is considered complete and democratic if it does not have a system of local government

Local governments should be seen as the cornerstones in the structure of a democratic political system since local government serves as a vehicle for intelligent and responsible citizenship on this particular level. Marshall's (1965: 1) definition seems to come closer to the real features of local government and identifies three distinct characteristics: "operation in a restricted geographical area within a nation or state; local election or selection; and the enjoyment of a measure of autonomy... "

A local authority, sometimes also referred to as a municipal authority, is a term that refers to a rural and urban political subdivision below the national level which is constituted by law and has substantial control of local affairs, and which includes authorities in counties, municipalities, cities, villages and others. The term excludes district or regional subdivisions of the national government that are set up solely for national administrative purposes (United Nations, 1997: vi).

Local authorities are created to render services in defined geographical areas, primarily because of the inability of the central government to attend in detail to all the requirements of society that have to be satisfied by a government institution. The range of urban services provided by local authorities in developing countries, more particularly in Africa, are, inter alia, parks, street cleaning, sanitation, refuse collection, road construction and maintenance, housing, water and sewerage, primary education, clinics, residential and industrial estates, planning and zoning, fire and ambulance services, camping sites and recreational services (Meyer, 1978: 12).

A local authority is thus a public institution functioning under the direction and control of an elected council but subject to the directives of the national and

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provincial legislative and political executive institutions. A local authority is a corporate body which is a legal person and exists separately from and independently of the persons who head it. Local authorities are created to give residents of their area a say in the government and administration of local affairs and are vested with specific powers to enable them to make by-laws, which are not inconsistent with the legislation passed by Parliament and provincial legislatures. Local authorities are usually headed by councils consisting of elected members. In other words local authorities are intended to

be democratic institutions which are responsive to real needs and the justifiable expectations of people. They are thus subject to public accountability and therefore, it is important to focus on local government democracy.

3.3. LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEMOCRACY

Local government is the third level of government deliberately created to bring government to the grass-roots population and gives the grass-roots population a sense of involvement in the political processes that control their daily lives. Democracy denotes a political system in which the eligible people participate actively not only in determining who governs them, but also in shaping the policy output of their government. The composition of a government is usually determined in free and fair elections supervised by an impartial body. Gildenhuys et al (1991: 124) are of the opinion that there are specific democratic values that can serve as guiding principles for local government management and development. These democratic values will, therefore, be analyzed.

3.3.1. LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND DEMOCRATIC VALUES

The reconciliation of conflict through local policy and decision-making identifies common collective needs and the equitable allocation and

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application of scarce public resources amongst competing needs . As indicated in Gildenhuys et a/ (1991: 124), these values are as follows:

(a)the application of resources must satisfy the collective needs of individuals. The object of local government is to serve individuals in communities. In democratic theory, local government exists for the sake of the individual and the individual does not exist to support the local government financially or otherwise;

(b) direct participation in decision-making by citizens. This could be achieved through town meetings in small communities and through ratepayer associations, vigilante groups and social/political associations in larger communities. Direct or indirect public participation and decision making is an imperative for democratic local government;

(c) valuing responsibility and accountability arising from the tenets of democracy. Councillors must be sensitive to public problems and needs, feel responsible for satisfying those needs and problems and realize their accountability to the public. This calls for frequent interaction between councillors and the electorate;

(d) taking responsibility for management of programme effectiveness in order to ensure that needs are satisfied efficiently and effectively; and

(e) social equity emanating from the tenets of democracy. The conventional and classical philosophy of local government and management revolves around the following: Do municipal services rendered by local authorities enhance social equity? One of the main principles of social equity is the maintenance of high ethical and moral standards.

The effective implementation of democratic values requires councillors and officials with integrity, which in turn demands fairness, reasonableness and honesty. Social equity may also demand that local government development should take place in such a manner that the rule of law will prevail.