OPS 18. NGOs and Decentralised Government in Africa

Public sector reform in Africa through decentralising central government authority from the centre to the local level has been a major policy direction of both donors and national governments in recent years. The purpose of this report is to explore the implications of this for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in promoting development in Africa. Given the current trend for decentralisation it is vital that NGOs develop appropriate strategies for working with decentralised government in supporting greater democracy in local governance. And while there has been much discussion of the concept of  ‘good governance’ in aid policy, this has focused on national rather than local levels of government.