Working towards an ideal
By Bongani Qwabe

With the recent wave of democratisation in southern Africa the emphasis is now on how to improve the system of local government. Democratisation in the region marked the development of municipal legislation which requires not only that policies, structures and processes change, but that the very culture of local government becomes more responsive and democratic in pursuit of the developmental challenges envisaged in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) declaration.

The MDGs are emphatic that local governments should work towards realisation of the basic socio-economic rights that contribute to human development. In a major shift in developmental thinking, improving the human condition and placing it at the centre of progress, is now the focus of achieving the MDGs.

Consequently, local governments have explicit objectives, such as fighting extreme poverty and addressing unemployment and HIV/AIDS. Therefore, local governments have to make considerable efforts to integrate MDGs into their local development plans, including adopting local policies and programmess to facilitate the achievement of MDGs.

Furthermore, it is mandatory that local governments promote participatory governance as this will improve the effectiveness of people in various functions and roles. Local governments should continue to strive toward quality in governance and development at local level by encouraging citizen engagement and participation in decision-making processes. Good governance must actively be promoted.

The advancement of good governance should be based on the following key pillars:

• citizen awareness and capacity building for government officials and civil society to address governance issues;
• participation from the bottom up in the deliberation of policy decisions;
• sound policy framework for improving governance at local level and quality of life for disadvantaged communities.

It is important to note that good governance is not just about providing a range of local services, it is also about creating space for democratic participation and civil dialogue; about environmentally sustainable local development, and facilitating outcomes that enrich the quality of life of citizens.

Unqualified and total good governance is an ideal which few countries and societies have come even close to achieving. But, if we want to ensure sustainable human development, action must be taken to work towards this ideal.

In this first edition of Local Governance Barometer, you can read about the exciting work of the Local Governance Unit (LGU) of the African Democracy Institute (Idasa) in its attempts to strengthen democracy and good governance through its local government capacity development projects in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Malawi.

Since its inception in 1995 the LGU has been engaged and instrumental in helping local governments in Africa build and shape democratic institutions for effective local governance systems.

Bongani Qwabe is the Manager of the Local Governance Unit at Idasa