From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

FROM POVERTY TO POWERcost incurred by central government, and says that the population’snew involvement and understanding of local administration haschanged the nature of local politics: ‘Candidates for mayor no longercome along and promise impossible marvels like in the old days –people know what is possible,’ he says. Mr Quilla also worries aboutresources being spent on status symbols such as the impressive butlargely empty sports stadia that dot Peru’s hinterland rather than theless glamorous business of water, sanitation, or street lighting.In a limited number of cases – most notably in parts of Bolivia,Brazil, and India – decentralisation has had a remarkable impact, settingin motion a process of citizen demand and government response thathas resulted in more effective and accountable states. Bolivia’s 1994Popular Participation Law devolved funds and responsibilities tomunicipalities and set up local oversight committees of representativesfrom local groups. The simple decision to allocate public spending ona per capita basis led to the share of funds being channelled to thecountry’s three largest and politically best-connected cities fallingfrom 86 per cent to 27 per cent, and allowed indigenous organisationsand others to acquire a far greater say in the workings of the state. 145Perhaps the best-known case of decentralised citizen participationis the Participatory Budget process in Brazil, which was developedinitially in the city of Porto Alegre but then spread to some 140Brazilian municipalities by 2000. Meetings that are open to everyonerank spending priorities and elect delegates. The results are impressive:after local communities across Porto Alegre gave top priority to waterand sanitation, the number of households with access to water servicesincreased from 80 per cent in 1989 to 98 per cent in 1996, while theproportion of the population served by the sewerage system increasedfrom 46 per cent to 85 per cent. 146In India, decentralisation combined with affirmative action hasled to an upsurge in women’s leadership. A 1992 constitutionalamendment required that at least one-third of seats in local councils(panchayat) be allocated to women. Around 40 per cent of the womenelected have come from families below the poverty line, triggeringshifts in public spending on water, community toilets, the promotionof school attendance for girls, and other essential services. 147100