Local governance refers to the public administration of towns, cities, constituencies, and districts with different types of authority and leadership. As citizens, we often have more contact and opportunities to participate in decision-making at our local government level than we do with the state government. Effective local governance can make a huge difference in the lives of residents, from improving housing and infrastructure facilities, enhancing relations between people and public institutions, to providing a platform for the voice of minority groups.
Conversely, poor transparency at the local level increases exclusion of poor and marginalised citizens, limits their access to resources and increases distrust between civil society and local government. Transparency and accountability are two key pillars to promote good local governance, boost citizen participation and enhance community resilience.
- Create platforms (e.g., forums) to provide equal opportunities to various groups of people to address their problems, needs and present suggested solutions to problems.
- Invite community members to participate in annual planning of community goals and activities (e.g., facilities to build or projects to finance for the next fiscal year). Such exercises could be a two-way commitment between government officers and villages, where officers make effort to meet demands, but residents are expected to be present and contribute in service to their communities, see Case Study 2.5a.
Annually before the end of the fiscal year, the local government in the Don Kaew subdistrict of Chiang Mai, Thailand organizes the Khuag Gum Gued or mindful thinking court. During the forum, representatives of all zones and villages will present their needs based on data, to support why their communities' needs should be addressed in the Subdistrict annual plan. The local government staff also shares available information and uses techniques of participatory rural appraisal, to help the group collectively agree on priorities for the next fiscal year. The goal is to promote transparency and accountability in the way that local government address local needs, but also local participation of residents. Village heads are expected to participate for their needs to be addressed.
- Release public information, such as local government budgets and areas of spending so that citizens can participate more effectively in decision-making.
- Streamline and simplify administrative procedures, as well as introduce innovations to promote transparency of local governments. For example, digital platforms where residents can provide ongoing feedback on municipalities issues and be updated on new information. see Case Study 2.5b for an example in Singapore. Such platforms can improve accessibility and efficiency of services and provide channels for communications with local governments.
The OneService App in Singapore is a one-stop platform that lets citizens feedback on municipal issues, book facilities, as well as access health-related advisories without having to figure out which Government agency or town council to contact. To submit feedback on municipal issues, citizens simply need to snap photo and post an entry using their mobile phones. Users can submit feedback on issues ranging from cleanliness and maintenance of public facilities, safety of neighborhoods, pest issues and many more.90% of cases involving more than one government agency are resolved within 11 days.
- Form watchdog groups that oversee the operations and activities of specific local government committees and project, from finance, health, education to construction of public projects. These committees can gather information on the functioning of departments and raise questions to ensure corrupt practices do not take place. Members selected should be independent and have a stake in ensuring achievements of the desired development goals, see Case Study 2.5c on how the local government recruits and train volunteers to oversee construction of projects and expenditures in Don Kaew, Thailand.
- Establish independent audit groups to execute check and balances on local projects and financial management.
- Encourage formation of citizen advisory boards comprised of community volunteers, who provide local authorities with information and recommendations pertaining to local issues and establish working relationship with government agencies and officials.
Ordinary citizens play a role in monitoring public projects such as construction projects commissioned by the local government in Don Kaew. To combat corruption and ensure transparency, the leaders recruited volunteers from different background to form the oversight committee, and trained in supervision, inspection, and control of infrastructure projects in the community. This initiative not only improves the overall governance and accountability within the community but also the capacity and confidence of community members.
Public projects initiated by cities world-wide, from social housing to basic infrastructure-building world-wide can be susceptible to corruption. Offering citizens practical tools and platforms can therefore enable them to monitor how public money is spent on such projects and combat corruption, see UNHABITAT and Transparency International guide for a wider list of tools.
Increasing access to information and involving citizens to participate in community planning, increases opportunities for all actors of the community to contribute meaningfully to local development, ultimately promoting a greater Sense of Community (CC4). Community resources can be more equitably distributed with practices put in place to ensure that local governments are accountable to the local development goals and prevent corruption. Corruption undermines many aspects of local development, from economic growth, poverty reduction efforts to even the safety, health, and sustainability of cities. In the long run, a strong culture of transparency and accountability at the local governance level not only fosters ethical leadership, but also builds trust between civil society and local government, strengthens Community Service and Support (CC14) towards a more resilient community.
- Local government typically have more power in more decentralized countries, including powers to collect taxes from residents to initiate local projects. This translates to a greater need for ensuring transparency and accountability, and systems for audits to prevent corruption.
- Changing the mindset of leader and staff within local government to increase their transparency and accountability requires patience, consistency, political will and support from the state government. Other than anti-corruption laws, the state government can also increase public awareness and integrity campaigns to promote transparency, as part of ethical leadership and promoting good governance. Refer to the UNHABITAT and Transparency International guide on how different stakeholders including the media and professional associations can play a role in promoting transparency.
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