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Abstract
Sierra Leone is widely cited as a positive example of the contribution that decentralisation can play in post-conflict reconstruction. This article critically examines this viewpoint from a political economy perspective as applied to an understanding of donor-driven institutional reform as well as the nature of hybridity and its impact on the sustainability of decentralisation processes. It examines the devolution of functions, finance, political and administrative powers, as well as its impact on three aspects of human development – primary health, basic education and rural water supply. The article concludes that external pressure can indeed ‘lock-in’ reforms but that a more nuanced, iterative and locally contextualised approach based on sound political economy analysis is needed in order to foster and sustain reform gains.
Notes
1. Rodríguez-Pose and Gill, “The Global Trend Towards Devolution and its Implications.”
2. UCLG, Decentralisation and Local Democracy in the World, 9.
3. Kaiser, “Roles and Expenditures Across Levels of Government.”
4. Brancati, Peace by Design; and Jackson and Scott, “Local Government in Post-Conflict Environments.”
5. Unsworth, Signposts to More Effective States; and Booth, “Aid, Institutions and Governance.”
6. Eaton et al., The Political Economy of Decentralization Reforms.
7. Khan Mohmand, Informal Local Governance Institutions.
8. Boege et al., “Hybrid Political Orders, Not Fragile States”; and Cleaver, Development Through Bricolage.
9. Goodfellow and Lindemann, “The Clash of Institutions.”
10. Casey et al., Healing the Wounds; and Zhou, Decentralization, Democracy and Development.
11. Tangri, “Central-local Politics in Contemporary Sierra Leone.”
12. Clapham, Sierra Leone: The Political Economy of Internal Conflict; and Richards, The Political Economy of Internal Conflict in Sierra Leone.
13. Kaldor and Vincent, Evaluation of UNDP Assistance; and NRC and Global IDP Project, Profile of Internal Displacement.
14. Fanthorpe and Gabelle, Political Economy of Extractives Governance in Sierra Leone.
15. Personal communications from head of the Local Governance Finance Department, DFID Social Development Advisor and World Bank decentralised finance advisor, November 2003–February 2004.
16. Jackson and Scott, “Local Government in Post-conflict Environments.”
17. Rao et al., Decentralisation and Local Government.
18. Barna et al., Institutions Taking Root.
19. Workman, Success versus Failure in Public Goods Provision.
20. Grindle, “Good Enough Governance”; and Kelsall, “Going with the Grain in African Development?”
21. Denney, Justice and Security Reform.
22. Larizza and Glynn, “Sierra Leone Case Study.”
23. Srivastava and Larizza, “Decentralization in Postconflict Sierra Leone.”
24. Edwards et al., “Decentralization as a Post-conflict Strategy.”
25. Kelsall, “Going with the Grain in African Development?”
26. Brown et al., Sierra Leone Drivers of Change; Corruption and State Politics in Sierra Leone; Hanlon, Is the International Community Helping to Recreate; and Jackson, “Reshuffling an Old Deck of Cards?”
27. Jackson, “Chiefs, Money and Politicians”; Fanthorpe, “On the Limits of Liberal Peace”; and Sawyer, “Remove or Reform?”
28. Personal communication from Garth Glentworth, May 2003.
29. Jackson, “Chiefs, Money and Politicians.”
30. Koroma, “Decentralisation and Peacebuilding in Sierra Leone.”
31. Commonwealth Local Government Forum, Local Government Handbook, 191.
32. Sidi Bah, Sierra Leone Report.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid., 34–5.
35. Ibid., 35.
36. Fanthorpe and Sesay, Reform is Not against Tradition.
37. LGFD, Local Government Equitable Grants Distribution Formulae.
38. Commonwealth Secretariat, Sierra Leone Local Government Elections; NDI, NDI Final Report; and Commonwealth Secretariat, Sierra Leone National and Local Council Elections.
39. Personal communication from staff of several local councils and the Public Service Commission, which has notional oversight over the LGSC, April 2015.
40. Personal communication from Dr. Juliana Kamanda, public health advisor to MHS, February 2016.
41. LGFD, Comprehensive Local Government Performance Assessment System.
42. UNDP, User’s Guide to Measuring Local Governance.
43. Foster and Glennester, “Impact of Decentralization on Public Services.”
44. Sacks and Larizza, Why Quality Matters.
45. Pieterse and Lodge, “When Free Healthcare is Not Free,” 400.
46. UNESCO, Sierra Leone Education Country Status Report; and Zulu and Wilson, “Whose Minerals, Whose Development?”
47. Personal communication from the former head of the Human Resource Management Office, April 2016.
48. Guma Valley Water Company, Study on Ability and Willingness to Pay; and Harris et al., The Political Economy of the Urban Water-pricing Regime.
49. Personal communication from decentralisation advisor to Sierra Leone WASH Programme, and Project Completion Report, Sierra Leone WASH Programme, March 2016.
50. Personal communications from advisor to the National Ebola Response Centre (NERC), FOCUS 1000 NGO, British High Commission Head of International Security Assistance Team (ISAT), Sierra Leone WASH Programme national consultant, UNICEF national consultant to WASH Humanitarian Coordination and Concern Worldwide Humanitarian Advisor, during October–November 2015.
51. Larizza and Glynn, “Sierra Leone Case Study.”
52. Barna et al., Institutions Taking Root.
53. Larizza and Glynn, “Sierra Leone Case Study.”
54. Zulu and Wilson, “Whose Minerals, Whose Development?”
55. Fanthorpe et al., Decentralization in Sierra Leone.
56. Workman, Success versus Failure in Public Goods Provision.
57. Barna et al., Institutions Taking Root, 2.
58. Srivastava and Larizza, “Decentralization in Postconflict Sierra Leone.”