Local Government Systems

PA 130 LRGA
1st Sem 2017-2018

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Classification of Local Government Systems
by Harold F. Alderfer
French Hierarchical, centralized,
characterized by executive
domination and legislative
subordination
English Decentralized, characterized by
legislative dominance
Soviet Hierarchical but decentralized and is
led by one party
Traditional Many powers exercised by a
headman and a council of elders

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 Classification of Local Government Systems
(in terms of geography and culture)
by the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA)
Anglo-Saxon Group United Kingdom, Australia, Union
of South Africa, Canada, and the
United States
Central and Northwest Europe Germany, Austria, Switzerland, The
Group Netherlands, Belgium, and
Luxembourg
East Europe Group Soviet Union, Poland, Bulgaria and
Yugoslavia
South Europe Group France, Italy, Greece, Spain, and
Portugal
West Asia and North Africa Group All Islamic countries, mostly Arab or
Arab-influenced)
South Asia and East Africa Group India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and
Burma
East Asia Group Thailand, Philippines and Japan

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 Local Autonomy
and Decentralization

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 Local Autonomy
• the degree of self-determination exercised by
a local government unit vis-à-vis the central
government. Decentralization is a necessary
prerequisite to local autonomy.
• the ability of the different tiers of local
governments for self-government (Brillantes)
• enhanced freedom of the peripheral units of
an organization or system.

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Requirements for Local Autonomy
1. A set of locally elected officials, at least at the legislative level,
through which local government unit can make its decisions and
promulgate laws relevant to the needs of the community;
2. A well-defined area of responsibility, i.e., they must know
exactly is expected of them, if they are to take charge of
delivering basic services;
3. A clear delineation of the nature of national-local government
relations specifying the decision making power of local
government units and defining what have to be reviewed by
higher authorities; and
4. The ability to generate local resources that it can utilize to
finance programs which it will undertake on its own.

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 Measure of Autonomy
1. Self-determining in terms of goals and
functions;
2. Inclined to exercise initiative, leadership, and
discretion in decision making and action;
3. Self-reliant in resources and strategies;
4. Open to local participants; and
5. Responsive and accountable to local
constituents (Ocampo, 1993: 198)
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Decentralization
is an ideological principle, associated
with objectives of self-reliance,
democratic decision-making, popular
participation in government and
accountability of public officials to
citizens. (Rondinelli, Nellis and Cheema
1983, p. 23)
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Decentralization
It is the transfer of planning, decision-
making, or administrative authority from
the central government to field
organizations, local administrative units,
semi-autonomous and parastatal
organizations, local governments or non-
governmental organizations. (Cheema and
Rondinelli 1983 p. 12)
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Decentralization
It is the sharing of part of the government
power by a central ruling group with other
groups, each having authority within a specific
area of the state…at the level of “collective and
roles”, it means units of local government in
which formal decision-amking is primarily
exercised by locally representative councilors or
officials. (Illy, p. 1 qouted from Mawhood 1983,
p. 4)
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 Decentralization vs. Centralization
Decentralization is a On the other hand,
state or condition in a centralization is the
governmental system condition where power
where there is and decision-making
dispersal of power or are concentrated in
authority from the the center (De Guzman
center. and Brillantes 1978)

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Centralization
is the authority, responsibility, and ability to
perform the basic functions of an organization are
concentrated in a central governing unit. These
functions include: to represent the organization, to
determine its goals, to make decisions and to take
actions in its behalf; to generate, allocate and use
resources to implement its choices; to evaluate the
organization’s performance; and to appropriate its
benefits and results. (Ocampo, 1991: 193)

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 Why organizations centralize?
To command and control the behavior of its field
units and local governance: 
 by dictating and limiting their goals,
 by directing and guiding their decisions and actions
substituting the Center’s judgment for them through
prior approval,
 by monitoring and evaluating their performance,
 by instituting corrective measures, and
 by imposing sanctions for local deviations (Ocampo,
1993: 193)
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 Reasons for Decentralization
• It enables maximum participation of the
people concerned in the decision making
processes on issues that concern them
directly. Decisions are also more responsive to
the needs of the people;
• Lower levels of government are encouraged
and trained, to be more self-reliant through
decentralization;

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 Reasons for Decentralization
• It hastens the decision making processes, doing away
with traditional red tape of having to go all the way up to
the central authorities for action or authority to perform
appropriate actions, and then downwards. There is
decentralization where decisions are made at the lower
levels, with minimum participation (some prefer to use
the term “interference”) by the central authorities; and
• Decentralization decongests the central government of
certain functions that could well be done at the lower
levels.

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 Historical Perspectives
of Decentralization
Mid-1950s Attributed to the establishing
to the early and strengthening of local
1960s governments, which are
characterized by a highly
centralized from of government
Early 1970s Renewed interest in
to the early decentralization and has
1980s displayed a much wider variety
of decentralized systems

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(taken from Rondinelli, Nellis & Cheema)

FORMS OF DECENTRALIZATION

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1. Deconcentration or Administrative
Decentralization
• is the handling over some amount of administrative authority or
responsibility to lower levels within central government ministries
and agencies. It is the shifting of the workload from centrally
located officials to staff or offices outside of the national capital. It
gives some discretion to field agents to plan and implement
programs and projects, or to adjust central directives to local
conditions, within guidelines set by the central ministry or agency
headquarters. 
• Administrative in Nature (Administrative Decentralization)
• It involves the transfer of functions from the national office to the
regional and local offices.
• Redistribution of administrative responsibilities only within the
central government agency (Sieddentopf 1990: 16)
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2. Devolution or Political Decentralization
• is the creation or strengthening – financially or legally – of subnational units
of government, the activities of which are substantially outside the direct
control of the central government. Under devolution, local government units
are autonomous and independent, and their legal status makes them
separate or distinct from the central government. Devolution establishes
reciprocal and mutually benefitting relationships between central and local
governments.
• Connotes political decentralization
• The transfer of powers from the central government to the local government
units.
• The strengthening or creation of independent levels and units of government
• LGs are perceived to be separate levels over which central authorities
exercise less or no direct control (Sieddentopf 1990: 16)

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3. Delegation
• is a transfer of managerial responsibility for
specifically defined functions to organizations that
are outside the regular bureaucratic structure and
that are only indirectly controlled by the central
government. In developing countries,
responsibilities have been delegated to public
corporations, regional development agencies,
semi-autonomous project implementation units
and a variety of parastatal organizations.

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4. Privatization
• is the divestment of responsibility for
functions and have wither transferred them to
voluntary organizations or allowed them to be
performed by private enterprises. For
example, to farmer’s cooperatives, credit
associations, mutual aid societies, village
development organizations, trade unions and
others.

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Goals of Decentralization
1. Decentralization mobilizes support from the
national development policies by making
them better know at the local level;
2. It reduces overload and congestion in the
channels of administration and
communication and will improve government
responsiveness to the public;

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Goals of Decentralization
3. It gives local authorities a sense of
participation in the formulation and
execution of national development programs,
which eventually can increase political
stability and national unity;
4. It also allows greater representation for
various political, religious, ethnic, tribal
groups in development decision-making;

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Goals of Decentralization
5. It could lead to the development of greater
administrative capability among local
governments and other institutions, thus
expanding their capabilities or capacitiesto
take over functionsthat are not usually
performed by the center.

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