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Decentralization, Democracy, and Development : Recent Experience from Sierra Leone

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  • Yongmei Zhou

Abstract

In 2004, the government of Sierra Leone opted for a rethink of its national governance arrangement by embarking on the resuscitation of democratically elected local government after 32 years experimenting with central government appointed district and municipal governments. The decision by the government and the people of Sierra Leone was driven by a primary consideration to address the country's seeming nonperformance in the areas of citizens' participation in governance and responding to the needs of citizens as it relates to attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as ensuring poverty reduction in the country. This book is a retrospective of the decentralization reform process in Sierra Leone from 2003-07. During this period, the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) reestablished elected district and urban councils across the country, transferred certain responsibilities for primary services and local investment and some financial resources to the new councils, and invested heavily in building the administrative infrastructure and capacity of the local councils. The author is partners who were intimately involved in the reform. Through recording various aspects of the process and reflecting on the observations and learning during that time, the author hope to contribute to the debates on the merits and risks of decentralization in general and its desirability and viability in post-conflict countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Yongmei Zhou, 2009. "Decentralization, Democracy, and Development : Recent Experience from Sierra Leone," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2672.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbpubs:2672
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dilip Mookherjee & Pranab K. Bardhan, 2000. "Capture and Governance at Local and National Levels," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(2), pages 135-139, May.
    2. Pranab Bardhan, 2002. "Decentralization of Governance and Development," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 185-205, Fall.
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    Cited by:

    1. World Bank, 2013. "Sierra Leone : Social Protection Assessment," World Bank Publications - Reports 16755, The World Bank Group.
    2. Clayton,Amanda & Noveck,Jennifer Lynn & Levi,Margaret, 2015. "When elites meet : decentralization, power-sharing, and public goods provision in post-conflict Sierra Leone," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7335, The World Bank.
    3. Sacks, Audrey & Larizza, Marco, 2012. "Why quality matters : rebuilding trustworthy local government in post-conflict Sierra Leone," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6021, The World Bank.
    4. Changwony, Frederick Kibon & Paterson, Audrey S., 2019. "Accounting practice, fiscal decentralization and corruption," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(5).
    5. Mikami, Satoru & Furukawa, Mitsuaki, 2016. "Outsourced Technical Cooperation Reconsidered: Agency Problems in the Support of Decentralized Public Service Delivery in Sierra Leone," Working Papers 119, JICA Research Institute.

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