Why Good Governance is Local Governance

Integrating Participation thru Civil Society

by Edmund S. Tayao, LOGODEF

Politics as Business and Governance as Service

From purely political and security issues to economic and welfare issues
Education, Health, Labor, Natural Resources especially Water, Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Disaster Management and Mitigation, Traffic Management and other day to day issues

Representation, Transparency, Accountability and Responsiveness Government to Governance

Development Requires A Bigger Role for LGUs

Reinventing as Restructuring (Osborne and Gaebler 1992)
LGUs are at the frontlines of governance Governance as Division of Labor and Participation

Key Points are to Maximize, Organize and Optimize

Maximize Resources Organize Constituency Optimize Delivery of Services

The Farther the LGU from the national government the more significant role it plays

Increasing Role of LGUs

As Social and Economic Development becomes the focus of Government Local Governments have also come to play more important roles On Average subnational Governments spend between a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 19 percent of the total GDP.

Public Expenditure Areas Funded Wholly At the Sub-National Level Or Shared With the Central Government
SOCIAL SERVICES Housing Nutrition Programs Primary and Preschool Education Secondary Education Universities Public Health Hospitals Social Welfare TRANSPORTATION Urban Transportation Railroads Airports Ports & Navigable Waterways Urban Highways Inter-Urban Highways UTILITIES Telecommunications Electric Power Supply Waste Collection Drinking Water and Sewerage OTHER SERVICES Fire Protection Heating Irrigation Police Public Order and Safety Oil and gas Pipeline

Substantial Sharing of Functions and Expenses

80 to 85 percent of GDP still with Central Government considering key functions of national bureaucracy, foreign relations, national defense, monetary and fiscal policy Together with Expenditures shared between national and local governments, 40 % is spent on 4 service areas of social services, transportation, utility services and others

Growing Developmental Function of LGUs

Utility Services receive the most funding at the local level accounting for Telecommunications, Electric Power Supply, Waste Collection and Drinking Water and Sewerage

Nature of Local Governments

UN considers LGUs as political subdivisions of a nation or state

Concept of Governance require greater role for LGUs

Unique Conditions and Policy options

Need for and Significance of Civil Society

Enrich Policy or Program, anticipating whats acceptable to constituency;

Involvement will also translate to co-ownership of the initiative;

Transparency and Accountability is ensured

Challenges to Good Local Governance

Mixed result of decentralization
Central-local coordination or struggle Administrative and Fiscal Incapacity of Local Governments

Civil Society Participation in Policy formulation and implementation

Nature (character) of Civil Society Lack or even absence of Civil Society in some areas

Political Elasticity
1. Integrate/alternate soft and hard power 2. Rubber band/Balloon characteristics
i. decentralize without losing control ii. expand influence reliably with the objective of affecting behavior of citizens/constituency

3. Appropriate Political Hardware and Software

4. Software directly proportional to good practices

5. Balance 2 forms of struggle (i.e. competitive advantage and consensus)

Maximizing Civil Society

Institutionalize Participation by Institutionalizing channels of Participation; Identify key sectors in society as stakeholders of specific initiatives or programs; Promote or Popularize initiatives thru the key stakeholders identified.

>The Local Government is a proper government itself

>The idea is to continuously review and reinvent politics and governance