Decentralisation Policy implementation starts
Civil society needs to work together more closely now than ever before and stand united on issues of national interest, Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA) Chairperson, Geoffrey Sibisibi has said.
Sibisibi was speaking at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO).
He said it is high time that civil society organisations stop working in silos and expect positive change and progress.
The MoU recognised that both CSOs and Local Authorities are critical stakeholders in ensuring strong watchdog role in the implementation of the national and global development.
Sibisibi said at the core of the MoU is the implementation of the Decentralisation Policy, which as local authorities they have been advocating for.
“We have realised that sometimes we are fighting for the same things, but civil society is on one corner and we are struggling in the other when we could be joining efforts for our voice to be heard,” Sibisibi said.
Sibisibi is convinced that as local authorities their input is critical in the development agenda, service delivery and decentralisation of services.
In an interview, BALA Executive Secretary Steve Pheko said local authorities have overtime engaged and partnered with government on projects that benefit citizens, such as the development of the Local Economic Development (LED) Framework for Botswana and advocating for decentralisation which government is keen on implementing as a tool that enables local level solutions for services and development initiatives.
He said the development of the LED Framework, the Decentralisation Policy and Gender Mainstreaming in council operations are some of the successes of the association.
“The association like most local government practitioners around the world is an advocate of ‘territorial approach to local development’ thus a decentralised approach is a welcome development as it will allow for local solutions for local development aspirations,” Pheko said.
He added that from inception BALA has been involved in the development of the Decentralisation Policy being part of the technical team and reference group.
The policy is now at a stage where government is consulting stakeholders, councils included on its implementation which government has committed to start in the 2021/22 financial year.
Responding to allegations of corruption that councils are often faced with, Pheko said the government has put in place institutions mandated to root out corrupt practices from within the nation as a whole and that councils are no exception to the existing legislative provisions.
“BALA however continues to use various platforms to educate members on the critical need to uproot corrupt practices within our local authorities as they compromise the mandate for which local authorities have been established,” he said.
Among the current challenges facing local authorities are the negative effects of Covid-19 pandemic on the informal sector. Pheko said they are engaging key stakeholders and the informal sector business to come up with solutions for sustainability going forward.
In Pheko’s view BALA is playing its role effectively.
“The work of BALA is for ever evolving with time and situations and in that manner, we continually position the organisation as a mouthpiece of councils to respond to the ever-fluid service delivery and developmental demands,” he said.
BALA’s primary mandate is to promote unity, solidarity, cohesion and cooperation among local authorities. Its overriding objective is to contribute towards a strong democratic developmental local government.