GOLD Report I - UCLG

ASIA-PACIFIC76United Cities and Local GovernmentsEven when majordecentralizationreforms have takenplace, the power ofcentral governmentmay still prevailover localgovernment5. Member states of theFederation(Translator’s note).6. Gathering togetherthe different levels oflocal representatives(Translator’s note).governments every year. When the centralgovernment disapproves of their decisions orpolicies, local governments can appeal to theDispute Settlement Commission; however,authorities almost always prefer further discussions.A similar situation exists in Korea,where, despite their significant size, localgovernments have far less autonomy in practicethan suggested by legislation. The lack ofclarity over the division of responsibilities withcentral and provincial governments –twothirdsof enacted local government responsibilitiesare exercised jointly with provincialgovernment– is especially true in the case ofeducation, where local governments deliverservices as agencies of central government.Provinces and metropolitan city governmentsenjoy considerable supervisory authority overlocal government (cities, rural districts andautonomous urban districts).Even when major decentralization reformshave taken place, the power of central governmentmay still prevail over local government.In India the state-level Local GovernmentMinister may dissolve elected bodies and governthem directly for up to six months. Howeverelections must be held within six monthsin order to reconstitute the municipality.By contrast, in the case of the Philippines thedissolution of local elected bodies is prohibited,even by the highest level of government. Sucha process can only be carried out ‘from below,’either through regular elections or through therecall process, whereby the voters themselvesdecide on the fate of the elected officials. Theprinciple here is that elected officials are solelyaccountable to the citizens who elected them.In Thailand, the Ministry of the Interior is perceivedas the strongest opponent of decentralization.By pointing to local weaknesses inadministrative capacity and personnel, theministry has attempted to stem the loss of itsauthority. The ministry argues that it needs toretain the extensive supervisory powers that itexercises over local governments through theprovincial administration under its control. Localgovernments are subjected to auditing bythe ministry once a year. The ministry can alsointervene to terminate or modify local policiesif it believes they contradict or threaten nationalpolicies or interests. As a result, provincialgovernors and district officers still retain considerableauthority over local government.III.6. Local Government AssociationsThe development of local governmentsundoubtedly depends to a large extent on the“local hands” that mind these communities.Yet there are situations when local governmentsneed to look beyond their parochialconcerns and be more forward-looking andpro-active in their orientation. Oftentimes,local governments would need some kind ofmechanism that can work for their mutualinterests and more significantly, to representtheir collective interest in dealing with higherlevels of government and external institutionssuch as donor agencies. In this respect, localgovernment associations have become theinstrument that local governments in theregion adopt to advance their mutual interests.These associations perform diversefunctions for local governments.One significant role that these associationsperform is to act as representative and advocateof local government interests in higherlevels of government. Australia has perhapsone of the longest existing national local governmentassociations in the region. Establishedin 1947, the Australian Local GovernmentAssociation (ALGA) sits as member in the PremiersConference 5 and Council of AustralianGovernment and various ministerial councils,intergovernmental committees 6 and specialistadvisory bodies. The association has helpedshape the reform agenda in 1990s such asNational Competition Policy and reviews ofintergovernmental relations. At the state levelare also found local government associationsthat link the councils in intergovernmentalforums, negotiations, and cooperative effortsin general and specific areas of activity. As inAustralia, local governments in New Zealandhave formed the Local Government Associationof New Zealand representing the interestsof 86 member local authorities. Since 2000when the central government-local governmentforum was initiated, the association has