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| Tunapuna Administrative Complex and Tunapuna Public Library, Tunapuna |
The
Ayes have it! In every post, a very common thread has been the authorities and
the provisioning of services to the urban area. All is as a result of urban planning; the present urban
form that exist, those that are
yet to
come and those that might
not become existent but might
even be thought of. From my perspective of and being engaged in the study of
state and local public finance and urban development in Tunapuna, this post
presents a review of the factors that have driven and will continue to drive
local governance and the ultimate look, shape, and desirability of its urban
area.
Devolution,
one of the leading Washington buzzwords these days, is at the heart of the new
federalism. Devolution entails passing policy responsibilities from the state
level to the local governments. This process may include any combination of grants
to communities, reduced grants-in-aid from the government, and increased
flexibility for local community in complying with state requirements. The
intent of devolution is to enhance the responsiveness and efficiency of the
federal system, based on the theory that state and local governments can do a
better job of providing services for citizens.
Little
progress has been made since 1994 to alter the fragmented structure of South
African cities and to create more liveable, functional and sustainable places.
Indeed the segmented form of urban development seems to have become further
entrenched with recent patterns of settlement growth on the periphery. The
paper presents new evidence for the inefficient and inequitable spatial layout
of cities and examines some of the main reasons for the lack of substantial
change. These include inertia, economic forces and weak spatial management. In
the light of this, it proceeds to assess the prospects for current attempts to
devolve additional responsibilities to city governments for planning and
managing the built environment. It argues that there is potential for more
integrated city-level decision-making to bring about a shift in approach,
provided municipal leadership and technical capabilities are also reinforced,
and national government works in partnership to provide appropriate support.
For
example, the Zuma Government of South Africa recalls,”human settlements is not
just about building houses. We have to change apartheid spatial patterns and
ensure that low income households in rural or urban areas have easy access to
economic centres … social amenities and key services.”
The
reality is, there is multiplicity of authority and which stronger leans toward
the national government. Thus, I am convinced that in such a community as
Trinidad, they are not altogether very accountable to the population.
Transparency is therefore the major issue. Many who are in authority rule
though opaque glasses and those who they claim to represent cannot see them eye
to eye (Wilkinson, 2008).
Tunapuna
is a perfect example of where this happens and where improvements can be made
through a balance between those who hold the power to make decisions on taxes
and subsidies, housing plans; the local and national government. This to
me questions the targeting type
that is usually beneficial but not necessarily
universal. The Administrative Complex in Tunapuna had a striking effect
and in was forcefully helped me to relate it to the Devolution well needed in
the area. The complex has 2 floors, the first where common transactions were
done and on the second, more substantial. I clearly noticed that the bottom of
the building had long pillars and I likened it to the
basic rules in society, those that the
local governments can go
about making sure they are in place. However, the top floor had a very
low roof and I likened it to the national government. Although the national
governments depend on the basic laws of society to be up kept in order to
perform a daily function, it is them who take charge of the more prominent issues.
Many a times, whatever is negotiated is not even explained to those at the
bottom. A top down approach in governing is therefore established.
The
authorities fight tooth and nail to resist devolution , the root cause being
political relevance or the lack thereof.
It
is only through incremental community and capacity building that the :effective and cost-efficient delivery services by focusing on results/ perfromance mangemnt principles;
fiscal responsibility,
by building own-resource capacity, operating within budget constraints, and
managing own finances; and
accountability to
citizens, by reflecting their priorities for services and development projects,
involving citizens and civic groups in monitoring and oversight, and increasing
public participation in decision making can take fruition. The public library
in the photo is already one step towards capacity building. But, the question
remains, how will it take for these
objectives to be achieved?
Reference
Wilkinson, P. 2008.
“Reframing Urban Passenger Transport as a Strategic Priority for Developmental
Local Government”. In Consolidating Developmental Local Government,
Edited by: Van Donk, M., Swilling, M., Pieterse, E. and Parnell, S. 203–221. Cape Town: UCT Press.
Zuma, J. 2010. “Address to the
special President's Coordinating Council on Human Settlements.” Pretoria, May
18. Accessed February 18, 2013. http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/pebble.asp?relid=294
Internet sources, m'dear -- you need to cite properly, otherwise people will think that a good chunk of this was deliberately plagiarised. Please reference clearly your internet sources with proper formatting.
ReplyDeletetsk.