(FEATURE)
Since the introduction of local governance in a bid to decentralize delivery to our people, things have not gone as intended. It was in 2004, during former president Tejan Kabba’s reign. Governance has been too centralized as everything has been held up in Freetown thereby depriving the vast majority of people living in the provinces. Services are hardly enjoyed by people living in remote villages.
Governance centralization is a colonial mentality and practice that must be dropped. Schools, health facilities, pipe-borne water, electricity and good roads are still distant dreams for people living in areas far removed from city centres across the country. And eighteen years since local governance was introduced to people in remote areas for whom the system was brought up are yet to have a feel of it.
Finance, personnel and other resources are still held up by the central government and mayors/ chairpersons are not helping matters either. So the people continue to unduly suffer.
Bureaucracy in the local governance structure on the one hand has dangerously slowed down operations of local councils across the country. Mayors/ Chairpersons handle their respective offices as if they are personal property. When it comes to signing official documents, they pussyfoot as long as it is not in their personal or selfish interests.
These are political heads manning these offices and their respective political parties must know that due to this time wasting, services are either not delivered or take time to get delivered. The Chief Administrators who are career civil servants always are left with a huge part of the blame as it is they who face auditors and not the mayors/ chairpersons.
The people need services and are suffering from a lack of them so government and donor partners must rethink the position of mayors/ chairpersons. Theirs is a five-year mandate which is subject to political party scrutiny or electorate deciding otherwise but the C. As’. jobs are constantly there. So it is suggested that when it comes to signing very important documents, CAs should not wait until mayors/ chairpersons are around. They have hands-on experience and are already au- fait with what obtain.