The main motive behind the decentralization is keeping a stern check on the central government and providing other levels of government with appropriate rights. Decentralization and local governance are increasingly recognized as fundamental components of democratic governance, since they provide an enabling environment in which decision making and service delivery can be brought closer to the people, especially to the poor.
Decentralization requires coordination between levels of government and more regulation -not less- to ensure essential transparency, accountability, and representation. The state also has to raise adequate financial resources to support decentralization.
Decentralization increases effectiveness in service delivery, like reducing absenteeism among government employees, for example, in local schools and health clinics because elected officials receive complaints from their constituents and can improve discipline. While there are several positive points associated with decentralization, we do have various constraints as well.
To ensure that the local elites do not hijack the decentralization effort, and there is broad-based participation, both a healthy state and a mobilized civil society are required. However, politicians have more often than not used the slogan of decentralization as rhetoric to strengthen their power base rather than improve governance. In practice, the lack of willingness of the centre to relinquish or share power has been a significant impediment to effective decentralization.
The inability to make the transition to people-centred governance, with its commensurate implications for participation and empowerment is perhaps a more significant bottleneck in the process of decentralization than legislative changes, which in their own right are also crucial.
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