More Power to Councils

Government has developed a Draft National Decentralisation Policy, which is yet to be presented before the relevant structures for consideration, The Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Ketlhalefile Motshegwa has revealed.

The draft Policy seeks to transition Local Authorities from the existing hybrid deconcentrated local governance system to a fully devolved system with enhanced service delivery. It is underpinned by the goal to promote equitable and sustainable development and enhance citizens’ participation by transferring decision-making powers and resources to local governments and empowering citizens to actively participate in the planning, financing, implementation and evaluation of all local development and service delivery activities while holding their leaders accountable, Motshegwa said.

He explained that the policy recognises that Local Authorities face hindrances in generating self-sustaining income largely because of ineffective and inefficient fiscal and public financial management regime. “Some of the elements of the challenges that emerge include generally low-yielding nature of revenue sources assigned to the local level and the dependence on Intergovernmental fiscal transfers (revenue support grant)-which contributes close to 90% of local funding,” he said.

He added that to address such challenges and empower Local Authorities to generate income for self-sustenance, a draft Fiscal Decentralisation Strategy was developed subsequent to the development of the Draft National Decentralisation Policy. The overarching policy objective of the draft Fiscal Decentralisation Strategy is to support the mobilisation, predictable flow and efficient, equitable and cost-effective use of resources by decentralising national institutions and line Ministries, Local Authorities and other institutions at national and local levels in performing their assigned functions.

“Fiscal decentralisation is anchored on the following pillars: assignment of expenditure responsibilities; allocating revenue sources; designing intergovernmental transfers, and; structuring sub-national borrowing or debt,” said Motshegwa.

On the 2nd December 2024, the Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, KetlhaleFile F. C. Motshegwa held a press conference to introduce the new leadership of the ministry and outline its goals for the next five years. With a focus on local governance, sustainable development and community empowerment, the Minister emphasized the need for a comprehensive turnaround strategy to address challenges within Botswana’s local government system.

Key issues include inefficiency, corruption, lack of accountability and inadequate decentralization.

Motshegwa revealed plans to implement a Decentralization by Devolution model, reform local governance structures and introduce strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing service delivery, economic empowerment and community engagement. These reforms are aligned with the new government’s commitment to Vision 2036 and the goal of transforming local governments into agile, responsive, and accountable entities.

The Minister also highlighted a focus on infrastructure development, social protection and improving governance through the creation of new funding mechanisms and digital transformation.

Motshegwa was responding to a question asked by MP for Bobirwa, Taolo Lucas in Parliament. He had asked the Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs to state how the Government intends to transform and reform District Councils to ensure that they have relative autonomy and are able to generate income for self-sustenance.