LLG elections

WITH the opening of the local level government (LLG) elections last week, 31 urban LLGs and 265 rural LLGs, in total 318 local governments are now going to the polls.
The road to power at the sub-national level was not only delayed for a long two and half years but it leads to nowhere.
As chairman of the DDA, the MP controls the budget – especially district services improvement programme – set priorities, selects members of the DDA and appoints a chief executive officer for the DDA and the district administration- apart from a few national functions like the district treasury, police, agriculture etc.
Further, the DDA board is limited to the LLG presidents, with a few nominated community representatives – youth, church, and women – and the district CEO.
Hence, the councillors do not have a place in the DDA whilst the LLG presidents become rubber stamps to the MP’s controlled DDA and if lucky they end up as some committee chairman at the provincial assembly.
The powers and functions of the councillors and LLG presidents were clipped and made completely redundant by the District Development Authorities replacing the Joint District Planning and Budget Priorities Committees (JDP & BPC) in the 2014 amendments of the Organic Law on Provincial Governments and Local-level Governments.
Like all reforms in PNG, the amendments to the OLPG&LLG in 2014 were solely for political convenience and expediency as opposed to effective service delivery through deeper engagement and participatory of the lower levels of government.
Community engagement and participative structures seen prior to the reforms are now missing.
The absence of strengthening community engagement in service delivery leaves no room and the necessary legal basis for bottom-up planning at the sub-national.
It is simply a one-way traffic for the local MP to bulldoze its agenda without meaningful consultation and input from the lower level of government.
In a way the modus operandi is; when MP says ‘jump,’ DDA simply says ‘where?’
To make changes to DDAs may be challenging as politicians will not agree to it.
As it stands, the politicians enjoy substantial powers within the existing framework.
The new government’s call for institutional change brings a sigh of relief for a change of direction.
The role of local-level governments as a public service delivery mechanism and agent of state functions in a decentralised state is of critical importance and must be re-enforced.
Through devolution of powers, functions and responsibilities, lower levels of government will become more efficient and responsive to local needs.
Empowering and enhancing local-level governments will help strengthen accountability and increasing participation of local communities in the decision-making process, as well as resulting in implementation of strategies best suited for their localities.

David Lepi,
NCD