A critique of the newly proposed model of decentralisation in Lesotho

The Government of Lesotho has drafted the Local Government Bill 2016. The Bill is supposed to be a reformist piece of legislation to transform not only the model of decentralisation established by the Local Government Act of 1997, but to also undo the colonial legacy of de-concentration. To this end...

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Main Author: Hoolo ‘Nyane
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: UTS ePRESS 2020-03-01
Series:Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance
Subjects:
Online Access:https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/cjlg/article/view/7074
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author Hoolo ‘Nyane
author_facet Hoolo ‘Nyane
author_sort Hoolo ‘Nyane
collection DOAJ
description The Government of Lesotho has drafted the Local Government Bill 2016. The Bill is supposed to be a reformist piece of legislation to transform not only the model of decentralisation established by the Local Government Act of 1997, but to also undo the colonial legacy of de-concentration. To this end, the government adopted a new decentralisation policy in 2014, which unequivocally provides that the model of decentralisation in Lesotho shall be ‘devolution’. Hence, the 2016 Bill is assessed in this light: whether it implements this policy decision. This paper contends that, while an attempt is made by the Bill to introduce some semblance of autonomy for local authorities, the model of devolution it introduces is in fact very weak and needs significant strengthening if decentralisation is to succeed.
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spelling doaj.art-105fad6b4a6a4a19b8b9ddc5b02076812022-12-22T01:09:59ZengUTS ePRESSCommonwealth Journal of Local Governance1836-03942020-03-012210.5130/cjlg.vi22.7074A critique of the newly proposed model of decentralisation in LesothoHoolo ‘Nyane0University of LimpopoThe Government of Lesotho has drafted the Local Government Bill 2016. The Bill is supposed to be a reformist piece of legislation to transform not only the model of decentralisation established by the Local Government Act of 1997, but to also undo the colonial legacy of de-concentration. To this end, the government adopted a new decentralisation policy in 2014, which unequivocally provides that the model of decentralisation in Lesotho shall be ‘devolution’. Hence, the 2016 Bill is assessed in this light: whether it implements this policy decision. This paper contends that, while an attempt is made by the Bill to introduce some semblance of autonomy for local authorities, the model of devolution it introduces is in fact very weak and needs significant strengthening if decentralisation is to succeed.https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/cjlg/article/view/7074Lesotholocal governmentdecentralisation
spellingShingle Hoolo ‘Nyane
A critique of the newly proposed model of decentralisation in Lesotho
Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance
Lesotho
local government
decentralisation
title A critique of the newly proposed model of decentralisation in Lesotho
title_full A critique of the newly proposed model of decentralisation in Lesotho
title_fullStr A critique of the newly proposed model of decentralisation in Lesotho
title_full_unstemmed A critique of the newly proposed model of decentralisation in Lesotho
title_short A critique of the newly proposed model of decentralisation in Lesotho
title_sort critique of the newly proposed model of decentralisation in lesotho
topic Lesotho
local government
decentralisation
url https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/cjlg/article/view/7074
work_keys_str_mv AT hoolonyane acritiqueofthenewlyproposedmodelofdecentralisationinlesotho
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