Module A

Decentralization
Policies and Practices
Case Study Senegal
Participants Manual
June 2003

Module A: Decentralisation Policies and Practices

Table of Contents Module A Case Study Senegal

Table of Contents Module A Case Study Senegal....................................................... i
Context to decentralization.......................................................................................... 1
Central government decentralization objectives........................................................ 1
Legal and Institutional Framework.............................................................................. 2
The region................................................................................................................... 2
The Department .......................................................................................................... 2
The Town .................................................................................................................... 2
The Arrondissement.................................................................................................... 3
The Village.................................................................................................................. 3
National policies and programs on decentralization ................................................. 3
The Reforms before 1972 ........................................................................................... 3
The Reforms between 1972 and 1996 ........................................................................ 3
The 1996 Reform Known as Regionalization............................................................... 4
The institutional stake.................................................................................................. 4
The legal stake.............................................................................................................. 5
Financing Sub-National Governments (SNG) ............................................................. 6
Table 1: The composition of SNG revenue in Senegal .................................. 6

Financial autonomy and budget management of local authorities ............................... 6

SNGs overall resource base ....................................................................................... 7
SNG involvement in infrastructure and service provision (ISP)................................ 7
Table 2: The involvement of SNGs in ISP in Senegal (and five other
countries): .................................................................................................... 8

Local government accountability ................................................................................ 8

Citizen participation ..................................................................................................... 9
Main issues and challenges to be addressed............................................................. 9
National Requests for Long-Term Planning of ISP ...................................................... 9
Autonomy vis--vis the Ministry of Finance ............................................................... 10
Autonomy in Decision-Making as regards Capital Expenditure ................................. 10
Operational Contraints in relation to the Sharing of Responsibilities between the
Towns and the Communes of Arrondissement.......................................................... 11

Participants Manual

Case Study Senegal

Module A: Decentralisation Policies and Practices

Module A
Decentralization Policies and Practices. Case Study Senegal1
Participants manual
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Context to decentralization
The implementation of decentralization in Senegal officially started before the country
gained independence. Indeed, the practice of decentralization was granted to all the
former French, English, Spanish and Portuguese speaking black African colonies
whereas, in Senegal, it was actually conquered by the populations of Saint Louis. On the
initiative of 177 mulattos and 150 blacks, these populations had, well before the 1789
French Revolution, sent a petition to the King of France through the then governor of
Saint-Louis, Blanchot DE VERLY, demanding that Saint-Louis be upgraded to a municipal status.
This petition only received a favourable response through the decree of August 10, 1872
signed by the President of the French Republic, Mr Adolphe THIERS, establishing the
communes of Saint Louis and Gore. This decree marks the beginning of the first
stage of decentralization known as COMMUNALISATION. The second stage, which
started in 1972, is known as RURALISATION because, for the first time in Senegal,
citizens of rural areas were involved in the implementation of decentralization through
their representatives elected by universal suffrage. As to the third stage, which was
achieved in 1996, it is known as REGIONALIZATION as it marks the birth of the region
as a territorial community enjoying legal status and financial autonomy.
Thus, before the 1972 reform and for a transitional period of 100 years, the Senegalese
society was characterised by a duality with two completely different types of citizens.
On the one hand, the citizens of the communes participated in the political and
administrative life and enjoyed economic competitiveness;
On the other hand, the citizens of the rural areas were faced with a poor political and
social system, illiteracy, inadequate administration, a lack of equipment and small-scale
agriculture.

Central government decentralization objectives

The objectives of the central government are :
Decentralization, which is gradually to devolve more and more tasks and
functions to the SNGs ;
The principles of SNG are laid down in the Constitution, which says that:

This case study has made extensive use of the study carried out by J. Steffensen and S. Trollegaard on Fiscal
Decentralization and Sub-National Finance in Relation to Service Provision, Synthesis Report of six Sub-Saharan African
Country Studies/ Country Report of Uganda; the study was directed by the World Bank and financed by DANIDA,
Denmark with support from USAID; the web site for the for the full report and each of the six country reports is:
http://www.1.worldbank.org/ wbiep/ decentralization/africa/africa.htm. Other sources that have been consulted
are: Alain Rochegude (2000), Decentralization, foncier et acteurs locaux in: Politique de Decentralization en Afrique de
LOuest Rapport de Synthese & Fiches de Pays, Municipal Development Program, Cotonou; Bamidele Olowu (2001)
African Decentralization Policies and Practices from 1980s and Beyond, ISS working Paper 334, The Hague; Anders
Danielson (2001) Economic and Institutional Reforms in French-speaking West Africa, UNU/WIDER Discussion Paper No
2001/28, Helsinki; Ribot C. Jesse (2002) African Decentralization- Local Actors, Powers and Accountability;

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The local authorities of the Republic are: the region, the municipalities and the
rural authorities. In accordance with the laws and regulations, the local
authorities are freely administered by elected councillors.
The recent reform in l996 contained the third stage of this process and contained the
following main elements:
Establishment of 10 regional councils
Transfer of new functions to the local authorities
Increase the autonomy of the SNGs vis--vis the central government and change
the relationship from a process of an exante (prior) control to legal ex post
supervision
Establish a clear separation of power between central and local government
administration

Legal and Institutional Framework

The unitary State of Senegal is based on a deconcentrated and Decentralized
administrative and territorial organisation.
The territory of the Republic is divided into ten regions. Each region includes three
departments in which we have the communes (local authorities). The department is
divided into arrondissements, which are divided into rural communities. The rural
community is the level where populations may participate; and it includes a number of
villages. The village comprises several families and it is the basic administrative unit.

The region
A governor, who is appointed by decree, administers the region. He is a civil servant of
hierarchy A, belonging to the civil administrators body. He is compelled to live in the
regions capital. He is the delegate of the President of the Republic, and he represents
the Prime Minister and the ministers. Two deputies assist him in the exercise of his
duties; they are appointed under the same conditions. In the region, the governor
exercises the role entrusted to him by the laws and regulations.

The Department
A prefect who is appointed by decree administers the department. The prefect is also a
civil servant of hierarchy A, belonging to the civil administrators body. He is under the
hierarchical authority of the governor; he is the delegate of the President of the Republic
and he represents the Prime Minister and the Ministers. He conducts and co-ordinates
the actions of sub-prefects, and he also exercises, within the communes, the duties
entrusted to him by the texts on decentralization (laws and regulations).

The Town
The town is a commune (local authority) divided into arrondissement. The
arrondissement is a part of a town, and it enjoys a legal status and financial autonomy.

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The Arrondissement
A civil servant, appointed by decree and called sub-prefect, administers the
arrondissement. In his area, the sub-prefect is the delegate of the President of the
Republic and represents the Prime Minister and the other ministers. He exercises, within
the rural communities, the attributions entrusted to him by the texts in force.

The Village
In Senegal, the village is the basic human settlement and administrative unit. The chief
of the village has no power of his own; however, he is responsible for the enforcement of
laws and regulations, as well as the decisions taken by the administrative authority and
the rural council. He is appointed by a decision taken by the prefect upon the advice of
his entourage and upon the proposal of the sub-prefect. The Ministry of Interior should
approve the decision. To date, 13, 500 villages have been recorded in Senegal, and the
attributions devolved to their chiefs are defined by decree 72-636 of May 31st, 1972.
As a result of the regional, municipal and rural elections held on November 24th, 1996,
the composition of local authorities is as follows:

National policies and programs on decentralization

As from Senegals accession to independence, the countrys public authorities clearly
opted for a gradual and careful implementation of a decentralization policy.

The Reforms before 1972

When it gained independence, Senegal already had 34 full-fledged communes with
elected councils and mayors. Law 64 - 02 of January 19th, 1964 established a
municipal system for major communes. This was a departure from the common law, as
an administrator having the power to authorise expenditures was appointed by the
central government. This innovation resulted from a political willingness to further control
municipalities, as they had to be preserved from the adverse effects of political forces.

The Reforms between 1972 and 1996

Law 72- 25 of April 19th, 1972 established the rural communities. In spite of this
innovation, the central power continued to strengthen its control on local authorities.
Indeed, the sub-prefects of arrondissements appointed by the central government were
now in charge of the management of this new level of local authority, i.e. the rural
community.
Under this law, the sub-prefect authorises budget expenditures and is in charge of
implementing the rural councils deliberations, whereas the approval of decisions taken
by rural communities falls within the competence of the prefect or governor according to
their nature.
Subsequently, a new reform was implemented through law 90 35 of October 8th, 1990
abolishing the special status of the communes, which hitherto enjoyed a regime

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departing from the common law. From then onwards, communes were no longer
administered by an administrator but by a mayor elected by universal suffrage.
Law 90 37 of October 8th, 1990 transfers the management of rural communities from
the Sub- prefect to the President of the Rural Council.
These reforms are a step forward, insofar as they bestowed more responsibilities upon
the councillors for the management of their communities. However, the principle of prior
control has always been in force; but, with the passing of time, the system proved to be
inefficient and too heavily centralised. This situation resulted in longer procedures and
delayed implementation of decisions. The fact that prior control had to be exercised on
the opportunities of decisions taken by councillors discouraged initiatives from these
councillors and the populations themselves.

The 1996 Reform Known as Regionalization

The 1996 reform originates from the public authorities' willingness to enable local
authorities to plan and enhance economic and social development at the local level by
granting them more autonomy vis--vis the central government. This new stage of the
decentralization policy known as Regionalization, which focuses on an institutional
reform of the region, should be regarded as a political willingness of the public
authorities to reduce the States control of the nations political and administrative life.
It aims, among other objectives, at:
Fostering local democracy
Ensuring a free administration of local authorities
Promoting local development
Promoting good local governance
In order to reach these objectives, Regionalization should change the relations between
the State and the local authorities by carrying out the following three main actions:
To establish a clear distinction between State administration and local
administration through the creation of real local public services
To set up a new a posterior control on legality by the administration and the
courts in lieu of the traditional system of tutorship and a priori control on
opportuneness
To transfer to local authorities the competencies they are in a better position to
exercise at each level and to support the process of power sharing between the
State and the local authorities, through a real transfer of decision-making and
management powers as well as of financial, human and material resources
In the context of these guidelines, the institutional, thematic and instrumental
approaches and the system for the financing of local authorities are the main stakes of
Regionalization that should be reviewed.

The institutional stake

Decentralization proceeds from the fact that the State recognises the existence of
specific local collective interests that are different from national interests (local affairs)
and that develop into autonomous decision-making centres distinct from the State itself.
The State also recognises, therefore, the necessity to establish public legal entities (local

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authorities) as the legal impersonation of these local collective interests, in the same
way as the State is the legal impersonation of the Nation.
That is indeed the institutional stake. It is specified in the legal provisions pertaining to
decentralization, through law 96 - 06 of March 22nd, 1996, establishing the renovation
and revitalisation of communes and rural communities, on the one hand, and the
creation of a new intermediate structure that is the region, on the other hand. This new
structure is intended to serve as a framework for the planning of local development and
for the co-ordination of State actions with those of local authorities.
In Senegal, the decentralization process is perceived as a democratic requirement and a
necessity to ensure economic efficiency. It is also viewed as a means to achieve institutional and territorial balance. Therefore, the key issue in setting up the region was,
notably, the determination of a minimum capacity to administer the regions economy.
This is always a difficult task, as it is linked to historical, geographical, economic,
sociological and cultural parameters. The creation of the region results from the issue of
setting up an essential component of the democratic State likely to serve as a focal point
of local development plans.
Senegals present institutional landscape which, combines all these social and economic
parameters, is as follows:
10 regions
60 communes governed by common law, including 4 towns
43 communes of arrondissement
320 rural communities
This represents a total of 433 local authorities
After the commune and the rural community, the region is the third level of local
authority. However, there is no hierarchy among these three levels. The institutional
approach is aimed at enhancing the importance of local power, and this led to a new
political and institutional logic: one of proximity, solidarity and neighbourhood. This spirit
of proximity was behind law 96-09 of March 22nd, 1996, which specified the
administrative and financial organisation of the commune of arrondissement and its
relations with the town. By virtue of this law, the towns of Dakar, Pikine, Gudiawaye
and Rufisque were divided into, respectively, 19, 16, 5 and 3 communes of
arrondissement in order to promote the proximity management of local affairs.

The legal stake

The principle of free administration of local authorities is a constitutional norm that was
introduced in the legal provisions pertaining to Regionalization from the provisions of
article 90 of the Constitution. This principle was first briefly mentioned in article 39 of the
Constitution of August 29th, 1960, before being removed from the texts with the
constitutional law 63 22 of March 7th, 1963. It was reintroduced in article 90 of the
fundamental law through law 94 55 of June 13th, 1994, which reads as follows:
The Local Authorities of the Republic shall be: the region, the commune and the
rural community. In observance of the laws and regulations, Local Authorities
shall be freely administered by elected councillors.
This principle of free administration of local authorities is of paramount importance in the
decentralization system. In addition to the autonomy conferred to local authorities, it

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gives them the constitutional guarantee, which cannot be questioned even by the State,
in regard to their rights to exist or in regard to their freedom of action. This principle
originates from the public authorities willingness to promote local authorities by granting
them the status of major institutions, thus restricting the omnipresence of the State. For
such an ambitious reform, it was essential to ensure its coherence and to strengthen its
legal scope by asserting the existence of local authorities in the fundamental law of the
country.
The free administration of local authorities is materialised by the exercise of a posterior
control on most usual decisions; a priori control being maintained only for decisions that
strongly and durably commit the States authority. A posteriori legal control is based on
three principles:
The decisions of local authorities are enforceable
The control focuses on the legality, not on the appropriateness, of decisions
The control involves the representative of the central State at local level: that is to
say, The governor for the region, the prerfect for the commune, the sub-prefect
for the rural community or the administrative judge (Council of State)

Financing Sub-National Governments (SNG)

The composition of SNG revenue in Senegal is shown in table 1
Table 1: The composition of SNG revenue in Senegal
Own
taxes

Shared
taxes

User
fees
/
charges

Single
source
revenues

Transfers
from
central
governm.

Donor
contributions

Other
non-tax
revenues

Borrowing

Total

43

23

22

11

100

Based on the above figures, the following observations can be made:

SNGs rely very strongly on their own sources of revenue, which in its quasi
totality come from local (non) tax sources and user fees/charges; this is way
above the average of 32 percent for the six countries covered by the World Bank
study
A relatively low dependency rate on transfers from central government
None or hardly any other sources of revenue such as borrowing

Financial autonomy and budget management of local authorities

The authority exercised by the central government on the budgets (procedure and
approval) varies between the period before and after 1996. Before the 1996 reform, the
authority above the local authorities (Ministry of the Interior) exercised an appropriate
control on the budget expenditures of local authorities. This authority according to its
own management criteria approved the project revenues and expenditures.
As from 1997, the control over the elaboration of the local authorities budget has been
transferred to the States representative at local level (the governor for the region, the
prefect for the commune and the sub-prefect for the rural community). However, it
should be noted that a significant change took place: the control exercised on the local
authoritys budget is no longer appropriate control but a legal control only on the balance
of the budget and the listing of compulsory expenditures.

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The local budget is divided in two parts: the investment budget and the operating
budget. The investment budget comprises the extraordinary revenues and expenditures.
The operating budget comprises the ordinary revenues and expenditures. These parts
are divided into sections and items according to the nature of the expenditures or
revenues.
The classification of expenditures and revenues by chapters and articles results from a
general nomenclature common to all the local authorities (article 243 to 254 of the Code
of Local Authorities, law 96-06 of 22/03/96). Thus, the budget nomenclature is the same
as the accounting nomenclature derived from the accounting plan of local authorities.

SNGs overall resource base

o
o

o
o

o
o
o
o

In general, the resource base is inadequate to carry out the mandates as provided by
law;
The main sources of income are as shown above, which are own revenue, user
fees/ charges and central government transfers; the ratio between current and
capital expenditure is in the order of 78 and 22 percent whereby the latter is growing
more rapidly than the former;
Local tax revenue vary greatly from year to year and among SNG hence a decrease
compared to central government funds; this is explained by a weak tax
administration in terms of the tax base, control of payments and sanctions on nonpayment (unaccounted expenditure due to unpaid bills); potential tax revenue is
much higher than the present collected resources;
SNG do not receive full compensation for the cost of new tasks (unfunded
mandates);
The principle of distribution of state transfers is very general and not sufficiently
related to the SNGs specific expenditure needs. Administration seems to be lengthy,
the volumes are not adjusted for inflation and transfers are not made on a regular
basis;
A number of taxes is collected by one authority (central government), but revenues
are assigned 100% to another authority. This may reduce the incentive to efficiently
collect taxes. Involvement of the SNGs in the tax administration is very limited;
There are difficulties in defining appropriate user fees and lack of a clear
methodology;
Many tax exemptions are awarded without the proper involvement of the SNGs;
SNGs do not administer their own surplus, as this must be forwarded to the State
Treasury. However, a draft law has been prepared granting local authorities the
freedom to manage their own surplus funds, and future innovations in this area are
anticipated.

SNG involvement in infrastructure and service provision (ISP)

Senegal has decided to fully devolve and decentralise ISP, but to do so in two stages.
The first stage is limited (e.g. not comprising water supply and sewerage) and the
intention is gradually to build competence and operational capacity at the local level
before entering into the second stage, where additional responsibilities will be
transferred, e.g. education, environmental protection and regional planning.
Table 2 shows the involvement of SNGs in ISP in Senegal (and five other countries):

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Table 2: The involvement of SNGs in ISP in Senegal (and five other countries):

The field of town planning has been entirely transferred to SNGs. Before the reform,
elaboration of master town plans was the task of town planning services of the central
government. These tasks also include handling of the town planning master plans,
development plans, operational town planning on parcels of land and other renewal
projects and, finally, the town planning acts (building permits, certificates of conformity,
town planning certificates and demolition certificates).
In Senegal, a very interesting and convincing new organisational set-up for ISP is in
operation. The central government supports the SNGs through specialised agencies
such as AGETIP (agency for the execution of public works) through various borrowing
arrangements. Reference is made to Module D for a more detailed description of these
development agencies.

Local government accountability

In Senegal, councilors and mayors are elected; in many instances councilors are also
members of the parliament. This provides the basis for a dual loyalty (upward and
downward accountability). Like in most countries, the central government (often the
minister of local government) has the power to investigate and even dismiss a council in
situations where irregularities have appeared. In a number of areas, SNG tasks are not
clearly defined in terms of responsibility and financial accountability is in a moderate
stage (e.g. audit is still weak). Yet, central government control is still strong, but more
stable, transparent and regulated. In the field of land development and planning SNG
have no control or ownership rights.
In this context, the following observations are relevant:

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o
o
o
o

Nationally registered political parties present a slate of candidates for rural council
elections;
The slate fills three fourths of the rural council, while one fourth of the
representatives are chosen by a general council of produces and marketing cooperatives and associations (such as youth and women);
Independent candidates cannot run for rural councils;
A sizeable proportion of council presidents live in the capital; quite often they
combine their council function with other political functions (deputy to the National
Assembly or a high government function such as Minister);

These points indicate a strong politicization of the rural councils, which will have an
effect on the direction and level of accountability of the elected councils members and on
the way they serve the interests of the community.

Citizen participation
Several formal mechanisms allow citizens to participate in the democratic process and
development policies and programmes, such as:
- the right to vote;
- coordinating bodies for the input into development plans;
- associations of citizens (at neighborhood and village level)
In addition, there is the presence of NGO that often focus on special areas of ISP such
as education and cultur with programmes and initiatives at the local level. However,
studies have shown that the links and co-operation between NGOs and the SNGs are
generally weak and that the NGOs have stronger ties to the external donor community in
serving the interests of the communities where they operate.
Citizens access to and possibilities for control of SNG budget and accounts is generally
limited to the budget preparatory stage, when meetings to discuss budgets are open for
the public. It becomes more difficult to have control over decisions that are finally made,
the budgets voted for specific purposes and how the money has been spent. (financial
control and audit). Based on the observations made in the previous section, it is obvious
that party politics is undermining popular participation.

Main issues and challenges to be addressed

National Requests for Long-Term Planning of ISP
National planning is not a constraint in relation to the implementation of local plans. The
development of the national economic and social development plan is the responsibility
of the Direction of Planning (Ministry of Economy, Finance and Planning). The national
plan should reflect the basis preoccupations and, therefore, should include the
comprehensive regional development plans (for the regions), the communal investment
plans (for the communes) and the local development plans (for the rural communities).
A better co-ordination between the various levels will be achieved through the regional
planning services and the rural promotion centres that assist the local authorities in
drafting their plan. Within the framework of the 1996 reform, a Regional Development
Agency placed under the authority of the Regional Council was set up to ensure the
cohesion of the various plans at regional level. The trend observed is the implementation

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of local plans supported and financed by development partners (through AGETIP, ADM
and NGOs).

Autonomy vis--vis the Ministry of Finance

The local authorities relations with the Ministry of Finances are strictly of a financial and
accounting nature. In terms of accounting relations, procedures for receiving and
disbursing funds follow public accounting rules. In terms of financial relations, the
resources of the local authorities are placed in the accounts of the public Treasury
(except for municipal tax collection). This practice makes the Treasury the local
authorities banker who manages their funds and, if need be, grants them advances.
In terms of fiscal decentralization, the following the following are among the key issues :
Expenditures are very much directed towards general public services/
administration
The SNGs have limited financial capacity, e.g. they constitute a very small
proportion of the total public expenditure and of GDP
The revenue sources are unstable and vary greatly from year to year; this is a
serious constraint on their creditworthiness
The SNGs have not received full compensation for the costs of new tasks (a
number of unfunded mandates have been transferred)
Transfers from central government have increased during the period but not
sufficiently compared to the extra costs imposed by the new functions (partly
unfunded mandates). The transfers from the central government and the shared
taxes, i.e. comparable small, especially the shared taxes;
The principle of distribution of state transfers is very general and not sufficiently
related to the SNGs specific expenditure needs; administration seems to be
lengthy, the volumes are not adjusted for inflation and transfers are not made on
a regular basis;
A number of taxes are collected by one authority (central government), but
revenues are assigned 100% to another authority. This may reduce the incentive
to efficiently collect taxes. Involvement of the SNGs in the tax administration is
very limited
There are difficulties in defining appropriate user fees and lack of a clear
methodology
The tax administration is generally weak in terms of setting the tax base,
assessing the revenue, collecting revenue and sanctioning tax defaulters; the
potential revenue increase from strengthening the tax administration (with the
same tax level) is approx. 50%
Many tax exemptions are awarded without the proper involvement of the SNGs
There is a lack of co-operation between the officials involved in tax assessment
and collection

Autonomy in Decision-Making as regards Capital Expenditure

The approval of investment budgets by the State's representative does not concern the
opportuneness of the capital expenditures but rather concerns the legality of the
expenditures. These expenditures should be provided for by the law and, therefore,
should be listed in the budget and be the subject matter of a deliberation by the
municipal, regional or rural council.

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The States representative may only reject the budget in the following cases:
When the budget is not actually balanced (when he deems that the resources
corresponding to the expenditures do not exist)
The revenues or expenditures are illegal as they are not provided for by the law
Compulsory expenditures provided for by the law are not listed in the budget
Operational Constraints in relation to the Sharing of Responsibilities between the
Towns and the Communes of Arrondissement

Operational Contraints in relation to the Sharing of Responsibilities

between the Towns and the Communes of Arrondissement
In order to ensure a proximity management, the towns of the region of Dakar - namely
Dakar, Pikine, Gudiawaye and Rufisque - were respectively divided, on a trial basis,
into 19, 16, 5 and 3 communes of arrondissement. This subdivision was in accordance
with the provisions of law 96-09 of March 22nd, 1996, pending the possible application of
such a division to the town of the other regions. This is a highly political approach,
because it meets the aspirations of the citizens and contributes to enhancing local
democracy.
However, it must be recognised that in the region of Dakar, the sharing of markets
between the towns and the communes of arrondissement, as regards the allocation of
fiscal revenues, resulted in conflicts between the mayors of towns and those of
communes of arrondissement. These conflicts represent heavy constraints on the good
implementation of the 1996 reform.

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