Devolution and the case for a local economy

Devolution and arguments for a local economy
Previously we discussed foreign aid as it is currently and how we can conditionally accept it, if we have to at all.
In this article, we will further stress our position that government should not be engaged in enterprise but should instead focus on delivery of essential services.
Devolution is the government’s idea of stimulating the economy at the grass roots level. What exactly is devolution? Simply put, devolution is the decentralization of development projects to the District and Constituency level. Its intention is to equitably distribute national resources throughout the country from the Treasury without bias. Several funds have been set up for this purpose. They are mentioned in this informative article HERE!
The one fund that politicians are incessantly yapping about is the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) they extol its virtues to bewildered masses as a panacea for all the ills burdening our every day existence. The government website touts it as a wealth building program at the grass roots level but in our opinion, it has not been a success due to it being plagued by problems some of which we have highlighted.
• Awareness. Many people are only vaguely familiar with the CDF and its operating structure and were not consulted in its implementation.
• Membership. The ordinary citizen is not represented in the myriad of committees that manages the fund. It is up to the discretion of the local MP to appoint the committee which will invariably be filled with conniving cronies of dubious extraction.
• Evaluation. There is no open avenue for idea presentation, project monitoring, and evaluation of completed projects. There are also no applicable consequences for shoddy, mismanaged, delayed or even non starter projects.
We thus reinforce our position that government programs aimed at resource reallocation only end up augmenting the illegitimately acquired coffers of those proposing them.
The way forward
How then do we work towards vibrant, healthy self sustaining local economies?
Our solution is in the exploratory stage so far but these are the areas we need to focus on if our communities are going to flourish.
• Local food sufficiency
• Locally owned financial systems (community banks)
• Businesses rooted in the community /community supported enterprises
• Locally based energy generation
• Local production for local needs
• Protection of open spaces and establishment of public parks
• Rezoning so that business and government buildings are centrally located in a down town area.
• Civic education awareness and citizen participation in the governing process
• Promotion of vibrant social outlets
• Local barter exchanges and volunteer programs
• Others
In a series of future articles, we will tackle the above issues. We will afford each area a posting of its own and we will give examples of sustainable projects that have been successfully implemented both at home and in other developing nations.
As usual reader feedback and suggestions are entertained.