LE 260: ELEMENTS OF CENTRAL & LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Flashcards covering vocabulary, legal frameworks, and historical developments of central and local government systems based on LE 260 lecture notes.

Decentralisation

The formal act of a central government ceding powers to actors and institutions at lower levels in a political administrative and territorial hierarchy, or the transfer of power, resources, and functions to sub-national units.

Political Decentralisation

A process seeking to give citizens and elected representatives more power in public decision-making, supporting democratization through the formulation and implementation of policies.

Administrative Decentralisation

The transfer of responsibility for planning, financing, and management of public functions from the central government to local units, subordinate units, or semi-autonomous public authorities.

Devolution

A form of administrative decentralization where constitutional or legal power is given to local units to rule, with or without central government control; common in federal states.

Deconcentration

The delegation of administrative functions to local units under considerable central government supervision, common in unitary states like Ghana with bodies such as the GES, MOFA, and MOH.

Delegation

The assignment of powers to sub-governmental bodies or public corporations that remain accountable to the central authority.

Fiscal Decentralisation

The transfer of financial resources and responsibilities to local levels, which may involve self-financing, property taxes, government transfers, or borrowing.

Economic or Market Decentralisation

A shift in responsibility for economic functions from the public sector to the private sector, primary occurring through privatization and deregulation.

Privatization

Leaving the provision of goods and services to the free operation of the market or public-private partnerships.

Deregulation

The reduction or removal of legal constraints on private participation to allow competition for services previously supplied by the government.

Native Authority System

The indirect rule system utilized for local governance during the colonial era in the Gold Coast.

Municipal Ordinance of $1859$

Legislation that established municipalities in the coastal towns of the then Gold Coast.

Local Government Ordinance of $1951$ (No. $20$)

An ordinance commissioned following the recommendations of the Coussey Committee in $1949$ that established urban and local councils in medium towns.

$1957$ Independence Constitution

A framework that divided the country into five administrative regions: Eastern, Western, Ashanti, Northern, and Trans-Volta Togoland Regions.

Local Government Act, $1961$, (Act $54$)

Legislation that divided Ghana into cities, Municipal, and Local Area Councils and introduced elections into the local government system.

Local Administration Act, $1971$ (Act $359$)

A law implemented in $1974$ that abolished the dual hierarchy system in favor of a 'Single Hierarchy Model' featuring a four-tier system.

Local Government Law $1988$ (PNDCL $207$)

The legal backing for reforms that changed nomenclature from district council to district assembly and established Regional Co-ordinating Councils ($RCCs$).

Local Governance Act, $2016$ (Act $936$)

The current legislative framework for local government in Ghana, which repealed Act $462$ and provides for $70$% elected and $30$% appointed membership in MMDAs.

Mayor-Councillor System

A management style where councillors are directly elected and the council is headed by a chairman or mayor who can be indirectly elected, directly elected, or appointed.

City Manager System

A style practiced in the USA where councillors are elected directly on a non-partisan basis and the council is headed by a manager elected for a fixed term based on professional qualifications.

Ultra Vires

A legal doctrine meaning 'beyond one's powers,' used to regulate the conduct of local authorities to ensure they act only within their express or implied legal authority.

Mandatory Duties

Legal tasks imposed on an authority by the word 'shall,' where failure to perform gives rise to a cause of action by a citizen.

Permissive Duties

Also known as obligatory duties, these are powers characterized by the word 'may' that allow a local authority to perform an action if it wishes.

Nemo judex causa sua

A principle of natural justice meaning 'No man may be a judge in his own cause,' also known as the rule against bias.

Audi alteram partem

A principle of natural justice meaning 'No man should be condemned unheard' or 'Hear the other party.'

Doctrine of Necessity

An exception to the rule of natural justice where a person must perform a function they are legally enjoined to do even if it appears to violate principles of natural justice.