Decentralisation and local governance: Experiences from Francophone West Africa

Abstract

Since the 1980s, decentralisation has become a key development theme in Francophone West Africa for various reasons. Perhaps most significant is the great dissatisfaction with centralised approaches of the past. Despite the heavy interest in decentralisation, however, progress of implementation has been rather slow and problematic. Except in Senegal, decentralisation is a relatively new phenomenon in Francophone West Africa and even there the decentralisation process is far from complete. Other more recently decentralising countries have taken very different paths. Burkina Faso, for example, is gradually phasing in decentralisation in the rural areas, while Mali created local governments across the entire country simultaneously. Such differences in approach can be a justifiable response to variations in the political and social climate across countries. One factor that has been uniformly given inadequate attention in decentralisation efforts is the role of traditional local institutions and how they respond to the introduction of new local institutions. This and other aspects of decentralisation in Francophone West Africa require further careful study if policymakers are to better understand how to design and implement more effective and sustainable decentralised systems. © 2003 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.