Local Government Finance and Local Government Development
Chapter One
Objectives of the Study
- To determine the general level of revenue generation in Surulere Local government area;
- To examine the relationship between revenue generation and social economic development in Surulere Local government area;
- To determine the extent to which revenue affects social economic development in Surulere Local government area;
- To identify the challenges of revenue generation and social economic development in Surulere Local Government
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Conceptual Framework of Local Government
The concept of local governance is as old as the history of humanity, only recently has it entered the broad discourse in the academic and practical literature (Shah, 2006). This concept has created excitement within the scholarship and practicing world of administration. It has attracted the attention of many scholars within the academia who have seriously analyzed and dug deep into the meaning, genesis and the need for its existence within all political arrangement of the world (Akindele. et al. 1997). Therefore, there is no unanimous acceptable definition among the scholars on the definition of local Government.
The term local government has been defined variously by different scholars. In the view of a scholar like Wraith, local government refers to locally elected councils whose main purpose is to provide or administer services with as great degree of independence as modern circumstance allow (Wraith, 1964. For Golding, local government is the management of their own affairs by the people of their locality (Golding, 1959).
Some other scholars have attempted to expand on and perhaps give greater expression to the definitions given above. For Sorka, local government connotes the decentralisation or dispersion of authoritative decision making where by the authority to make decision is displaced downwards from remote points near the top administration or outward from geographical locations, thus bringing authority closer to the people affected by it (Sorka, 1978). In the same vein, Oyediran sees local government as the diffusion of political process on area basis, i.e. local self administration and inclusion of noble ideals of impartiality, protection of minority rights and integrity, all of which are considered essential to the evolution of a liberal democratic society (Oyediran, 1979).
Whatever else that may be said, it is clear from the above definitions that a local government in any system is assumed to possess the following characteristics.
A given territory and population
An institutional structure for legislative purpose
A separate legal entity, a range of power and functions authorised by delegation from the appropriate central or intermediate legislation
Within the Anglo-America tradition, autonomy is limited to common law such as the test of reasonableness (Williams, 1978).
However, Appadorai (2004) defines local government as government by popularly elected bodies charges with administration and executive duties in matters concerning the inhabitants of a particular district or place. According to Shah (2006) local government can be defined as thus:
A specific institutions or entities created by national constitutions (Brazil, Denmark. France. India, Italy, Japan. Sweden), by state constitutions (Australia, the United States), by ordinary legislation of a higher level of central government (New Zealand, the United Kingdom, most countries), or by executive order (China) to deliver a range of specific services to a relatively small geo-graphically delineated area. Local governance is a broader concept and is defined as the formulation and execution of collective action at the local level. Thus, it encompasses the direct and indirect roles of formal institutions of local government and government hierarchies, as well as the roles of informal norms, networks, community organizations, and neighborhood associations in pursuing collective action by defining the framework for citizen-citizen and citizen-state interactions, collective decision making, and delivery of local public services. Local governance, therefore, includes the diverse objectives of vibrant, living, working, and environmentally preserved self- governing communities.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The research employed the use of both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Quantitatively, survey research method is used; on the other hand content analysis of the estimates of the Local Government s has been made.
Population and Sample Size
Based on the 2006 population census figures, Surulere Local Government Area has a total population figure of 91,358. Twenty percent (20%) of the finance staff of Surulere would be used as the sample size of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSES
Introduction
Under this chapter, the various primary and secondary data collected will be presented and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical tools. Tables and percentages would be used to present the data while spearman‘s correlation and chi-square statistical test will be adopted to test the hypotheses already formulated in chapter one. In the process of testing, the study has employed Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 16.0 and the results are summarized in the subsequent sections of this chapter.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SUMMARY
This research is conducted to examine the role of local government revenue generation on social economic development. The research is divided into five main chapters. Chapter one is apparently introductory in nature which provides the basis upon which the whole research is carried out. The chapter includes, among others, the background to the study, statement of the problem, hypotheses, research question, objectives of the study and significant of the study. Chapter two reviews the various literature relevant to the study in terms of conceptual issues, theoretical issues and empirical studies and the theoretical framework of fiscal decentralization was adopted as the foundation upon which the study was based. Chapter three deals with the methodology of the study whereby the various research design and methods of data collection were discussed. Not only that, the methods of data analysis and population, sample size and sampling techniques were also highlighted. Chapter four presented the historical background, development and the economies of the Local Government s under our case studies. However, the organisational structure and operational pattern of the Local Government s question were also discussed. Chapter five was on data presentation and analyses whereby all the data collected from the survey and that obtained from the secondary sources were summarised, organised, presented and analysed using both descriptive and statistical tools. All the hypotheses formulated were tested under this chapter. Chapter five which was the concluding chapter dealt with summary, conclusion and recommendations. The chapter summarised the whole work and conclusions were drawn while recommendations were made on how to improve revenue generation generation in order to provide more services.
CONCLUSION
Based on the data collected, presented and analysed and the result of statistical tests, the following conclusions are discernable:
That service provisions by local government is the product of the ability to generate revenue. Therefore, based on this, the higher the revenue the higher the number/quantity of services provided and vice versa;
That commercial/economic activities are great determinants of revenue generation and subsequently service provision.
That effective management of generated revenue is also a fundamental issue in the provision of services to the local populace. Therefore, revenue generation is not an end in itself in determining service provision, but proper utilisation is also a great determinant.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Having summarised and concluded the work, the following recommendations among others would serve as ways through which revenue generation generation should be boosted in order to improve the level of social economic development to the local citizenry.
- Having established that the more the revenue generated the more services are provided to the citizenry, more revenue sources should be identified and adopted in order to increase and improve the revenue base of the local governments. The present revenue sources should also be fully tapped to improve the revenue base of the local government. Here, it is strongly recommended that the local government should adequately be involved in commercial transportation. By this, it means that commercial vehicles (cars, buses and trailers) should be purchased and operate, not on a subsidised bases but purely on commercial bases i.e. profit maximisation. However, this commercial vehicle should not be managed by any official or any department of the local government council, but a management consult be given to manage. For example, Afribank, and other transport consults on contract management basis. This will undoubtedly improve the revenues of the Local Government Area under
- Diversification of income sources should be made in the Local Government under study.
- In order to ensure that taxpayers pay their taxes as at when due, a public enlightenment campaign should regularly be organised explaining the importance of paying tax not only for revenue generation but also for social economic development. There has always been reciprocity between tax payers and the government (Local Government). Tax payers refusal to pay local taxes was as a result of poor services or lack of services rendered by local governments. The higher the services, the higher the taxes and vice
- Efforts should be enhanced by the local government towards generation of internal revenue so as to meet the yearnings and aspiration of the people at grassroot
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