Doctoral Degrees (DPMPS)
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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (DPMPS) by Subject "Local authorities"
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Item Intergovernmental relations between central government and selected local authorities in Namibia with special reference to the decentralisation process(University of Namibia, 2004) Mutumba, Boniface S.Although decentralisation is a basic tenet of local democracy in local government operations, the central government and local authorities do not seem to adhere to basic principles that the concept seeks to promote, particularly in policy and legislation formulation on matters pertaining to local authority affairs. This negates the values of local self-government, democracy or participation, liberty and autonomy. which are powerful ideological elements in the establishment of local government institutions in Namibia. This study was undertaken to test this proposition. so as to incline policy and legislation formulation by the central government and local authorities into partnership, in line with provisions of Article 1 {2) and chapter 12 (3) of the constitution for the Republic of Namibia. In order to carry out this research, the study adopted an evaluative method that utilised questionnaire, literature review, and documentary search techniques. Focus was mainly on local authority consultation, participation, centre local relationship, division of decision-making powers between the central government and local authorities; councilior-community relationship and councillors' contact with local development committees. The study revealed that very little consultation takes place in issues of national policy and legislation formulation, particularly on matters that pertain to local authority affairs between the two levels of policy namely, central government and local authorities. Legislation and national policies pertaining to local authority affairs are initiated, conceived and formulated by the central government. fn most cases, local authorities merely implement centrally planned policies and legislation. Another interesting finding is that councillors usually determine what their local clients (community members) want without their involvement. This scenario negates the ve1y basis of local government, interdependency and centralises political decision-making power to the centre. Thus, the central government regards local authorities as mere extensions of the state through which the power of the state filters, and that. they are subordinate bodies upon which policies can be imposed. Similar£v, local authority councillors regard community members as ordinary people on whom any decision can be imposed. This whole policy and legislation formulation scenario is typical of a top-down approach that does not augur well with the dernocratic principles upon which the Republic of Namibia was established. This study advocates that, participation in national policy and legislation formulation between the central government and local authorities on matters pertaining to local authority affairs should be encouraged. Furthermore, community members should be vigorously pursued ro take part in policy making on matters pertaining to their lives at local level. The MRLGH and local authorities should form a partnership in policy initiation. formulation and implementation. Instead of political decision-making power to vest in the central government, such power should be shared with local authorities composed of elected represematives of the people at grass roots level.Item Local authorities and the implementation of sustainable development in Namibia(University of Namibia, 2005) Wienecke, Martin A.Sustainable development has in the last three decades become a widely debated notion. Nevertheless the objective of achieving a state of sustainability has so far not been attained. The study examines reasons for this condition by investigating activities on the global, national and local levels, and examining various philosophies and approaches, to determine what constitutes sustainable development and sustainability. In the first chapter, the research problem, the objectives of the study, the hypothesis and the methodology are described. Chapter 2 conceptualises the concept sustainable development by evaluating theoretical and philosophical perspectives, the meaning and understanding of the concept. A variety of philosophies and discussions are associated with the concept sustainability, such as autopoiesis, ethics, utilitarianism, eco-philosophies, and an empirical literature review. Chapter 3 investigates the relationship between sustainable development and human settlements. Empirical and normative issues, as well as international agendas are explored as they incorporate various aspects which are related to the achievement of sustainable development. The role of local authorities in the implementation of sustainable development details the contributions of good governance and the generic administrative functions. In Chapter 4 the hypothesis is tested. The latter is based on the premise that the concept sustainable development is not understood. The hypothesis is divided into four sub-hypotheses in order to examine the components necessary for the implementation of sustainable development, the generic administrative functions, good governance, and practical factors in the implementation such as local agendas 21 in Windhoek and Walvis Bay. In this way a more holistic picture of the objectives of sustainable development is obtained. Chapter 5 describes a framework for the implementation of sustainable development. This includes normative as well as empirical issues, the role of local authorities, preconditions for the implementation of a conceptual framework, for example, political will, ethics, carrying capacity and dematerialisation. In addition three scenarios are presented to show different outcomes of such a transformation process from non-sustainability to sustainability. The final chapter concludes with the findings of the study. They underline that local authorities in general and in Namibia in particular have not been able to implement sustainable development on the local level by means of a Local Agenda 21. This agenda lacks one of the main requirements of sustainability, namely a holistic approach. Instead, sectoral approaches and attempts to manage crises have become the hallmark of these initiatives. An ethic and the political will, to support genuine attempts to achieve sustainable development, is absent.