THE SIERRA LEONE CHAPTER OF THEPUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAMME (CLASS OF 2013)

1. DUGBA NGOMBU 12024487 2. MUSA SAIDU 12024474 3. SAMUEL SESAY 12024513 4. GIBRILLA JUSU 12024494 5. ANTHONY DOMAWA 12024476 6. HENRY TALUVA 12024496 7. DOROTHY ADEOLA 12024486

INTRODUCTION
Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with unicameral parliamentary system (GoSL, 2009). The President is the Head of State, the supreme executive authority of the Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Sierra Leone. He is the Fountain of Honour and Justice and the symbol of national unity and sovereignty. The President is also the guardian of the Constitution and the guarantor of national independence and territorial integrity, and shall ensure respect for treaties and international agreements (GoSL, 1991). Under the constitution (1991), no person shall hold office as President for more than two terms of five years each whether or not the terms are consecutive.
The legislature of Sierra Leone, the Parliament consists of the President, the Speaker and Members of Parliament (GoSL, 1991). There are 124 Members of Parliament, 112 of whom are elected by a universal adult suffrage to represent their constituencies. The 12 are Paramount Chief Representatives to Parliament who are voted for by their fellow PCs and the chiefdom councilors, each PC representing a provincial district. The MPs (not as in the case of the president) can exceed more than two, three or four terms of five years each, once s/he is the popular choice of the people. The Members of Parliament (MPs) are not permitted to hold any other public office.

Sierra Leone is divided into three provinces (Eastern, Southern and Northern) and the Western Area (also divided into Western Rural and Western Urban). The three provinces are subdivided 149 chiefdoms. Sierra Leone has 394 wards.

Sierra Leone abolished the elective aspect of local government in 1972 which was a fundamental element of governance during the colonial era. The district councils ceased to operate, while the urban councils continued to operate as local councils under appointed committees of management (GoSL, 2010). Soon after the 2002 presidential and parliamentary elections, the government decided to reintroduce the local government system. This was preceded by the enactment of a local Government Act of 2004 which established the 19 local council. The main aim of the reintroduction of decentralisation in 2004 was to promote good governance and democracy, accountability and transparency, improve service delivery and develop the local economy
The present decentralisation process is principled on the concept that semi autonomous entities are better placed to address the immediate needs in their various localities than the central Government. Decentralisation has moved a long way since its introduction in May 2004. (GoSL, 2010)

LEGAL BASIS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone does not make provision for decentralization thus in March 2004, because the government wanted to reintroduce decentralization, the Local Government Act, 2004 (LGA 2004) was approved and enacted into law by Parliament to usher in local councils and decentralisation. “Specifically, the Act aims to consolidate and streamline the law on local government to give effect to decentralisation and devolution of powers, functions and resources. It provides for local elections, the political and administrative set-up of local councils, local council financing and decentralised decision making to ensure good governance, democratic participation and control of decision making by the people” (GoSL, 2010).
To give full effect to the provisions of the LGA 2004, statutory instruments were enacted, establishing 19 local councils in 19 localities, and, by the Local Government (Assumption of Functions) Regulations, 2004 (SI No 13 of 2004), providing for the devolution of functions.

The first local government elections were held in May 2004 after 32 years of abolition. The LGA 2004 specified the first four years as the transition period for implementing the new relationships between central and local governments. During this time, authority and corresponding resources for a defined set of functions were to be transferred to local councils.

POLITICAL DECENTRALISATION
As stated earlier, the Local Government Act of 2004 established 19 local councils in 19 clearly defined localities. In 2006, city/municipal statuses were granted to five towns (Bo, Kenema, Makeni and Koidu New Sembehun Cities and Bonthe Municipal), in addition to Freetown which already had city status and the remaining are district councils.

Province/Area | No. of Authorities | | District Council | City Council | Municipal Council | Chiefdoms | Ward | East | 3 | 2 | | 44 | | South | 4 | 1 | 1 | 52 | | North | 5 | 1 | | 53 | | West | 1 | 1 | | 0 | | Total | 13 | 5 | 1 | 149 | |
The necessary structures, especially the local councils, have been established and are now functioning, with functions devolved which ideally should have been in accordance with Local Government Regulations, 2004 (SI No. 13 of 2004). This regulation stipulates which functions to be devolved and the time when the functions are to be devolved.
The Ward Committees are regarded as the “backbone” of the councils if their roles and functions are not undermined. Section 95(1) of the LGA 2004 explains that local council shall establish a Ward Committee for each ward in the locality. The committee shall consist of the ward councilor(s), the Paramount Chief (in the case of localities within chiefdoms) and not more than 10 other persons, at least 5 of whom must be women. Their functions includes but not limited to mobilise residents of the ward for the implementation of self-help and development projects; participate in the review of the development plan; suppot the implementation and monitor the implementation of the development; provide a focal point for the discussion of local problems and needs and take remedial action where necessary or make recommendations to the local council accordingly; organise communal and voluntary work, especially with respect to sanitation; make proposals to the local council for the levying and collection of rates for special projects and programmes; and educate residents on their rights and obligations in relation to local government and decentralisation.
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development
The ministry of local government and rural development is charged with the responsibility for supervising and coordinating the implementation of the entire decentralisation process including fiscal decentralization The District Officer represents the Ministry in each locality of the three regions (excluding the Western Area) to enhance the undertaking of the above roles (GoSL, 2010).
The Provincial Coordinating Committee
The Provincial Coordinating Committee (a deconcentrated entity of the MLGRD) which is chaired by the Resident Minister (not a cabinet position as stated by earlier cohorts) comprise of the Provincial Secretary (secretary), the Chairperson of each local council in the Province; and the Local Council Chief Administrator of each local council in the Province (without the right to vote). The PCC coordinate the activities of the local councils in the Province; ensure that local councils collaborate for the effective execution of development programmes in which the councils are jointly interested; review and coordinate the provision of public services in the Province; and perform other functions as may be assigned by the Minister. This committee meets once every quarter (GoSL, 2004).
The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Decentralisation (IMC)
The IMC is also established in accordance with the LGA 2004. This committee consists of: i. the Vice President who shall be the chairman; ii. the Minister responsible for local government; iii. the Minister responsible for finance; iv. the Minister responsible for education; v. the Minister responsible for health and sanitation; vi. the Attorney-General; vii. the Minister responsible for agriculture; viii. the Minister responsible for works; and ix. four chairpersons of local councils, elected from among their number, to represent the interests of all local councils.
According to the LGA of 2004, the IMC oversees the proper implementation of this Act; oversee the further development and implementation of local government and decentralization; protect and promote local democracy and participatory government; and arbitrate disputes between Ministries, departments and agencies of Government, provincial administrations and local councils. Furthermore, the IMC may appoint subcommittees to assist it in performing its functions. The MLGRD serves as the secretariat for the IMC and the Permanent Secretary acts as Secretary to the Committee.

The Local Councils
19 local councils have been established by the local government act of 2004 in 19 well defined localities that existed before. The councils are headed by Mayors (in the case of city or municipal council) or chairmen (in the case of district councils). In 2006, 4 town councils attained the city status and 1 a municipal status. A local council consists of a Chairperson/Mayor; such number of elected Councillors from the locality, elected by universal adult suffrage in accordance with the Electoral Laws of Sierra Leone; the number of Paramount Chiefs in a locality as specified in the LGA 2004, selected by the Paramount Chiefs in the locality to represent their interests (in localities where chiefdoms exists). Every local council shall consist of not less than twelve members (GoSL, 2004).
The LGA of 2004 further mandated the LCs to establish a Local Technical Planning Committee, Budget and Finance Committee and a Development Planning Committee. Other committees as and when it pleases a LC will be established. The local council is a corporate body with perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued in its own name.
The Local Councils are semi autonomous entities that are better placed to address the immediate needs in their various localities than the central Government. A local council is the highest political authority in the locality and has both legislative and executive powers, exercised in accordance with the LGA 2004 or any other enactment, and will be responsible, generally for promoting the development of the locality and the welfare of the people in the locality with the resources at its disposal and with such resources and capacity as it can mobilize from the central government and its agencies, national and international organisations, and the private sector. They also execute the functions devolved to them for effective and efficient service delivery at the local level.

Traditional Leader
The paramount chieftaincy is provided for in the national constitution (1991), established by customary law and usage and its non-abolition by legislation is guaranteed and preserved. The paramount chieftaincy is an important institution in the local governance system of Sierra Leone. The PCs are elected by the chiefdom councilors and their tenure in lifetime. A candidate for paramount chieftaincy must be from a ruling house that existed at independence in 1961. In amalgamated chiefdoms (that is chiefdoms merged during the colonial period) crowning is rotational between the parts of the amalgamated chiefdom. They can be removed from office but only as specified in the constitution (1991). The functions of a paramount chief, including the supervising, collection of local taxes, and assisting in collection of other lawful taxes; maintaining order and good government; preserving, promoting and, as appropriate, serving as guardian of customs and traditions; serving as an agent of development in the chiefdom; and supervising the election of sub-chiefs in the chiefdom (GoSL, 2009). The Local Government Act 2004 requires chiefdom councils to cooperate with local councils with regard to their traditional functions of preventing the commission of offences in their area, prohibiting or restricting illegal gambling, making and enforcing by-laws and holding land in trust for the people of the chiefdom.
The basic political unit of the chiefdom is the ‘section’, made up of a number of towns or villages and headed by a section chief while the towns and villages are headed by town chiefs and village headmen respectively. The paramount chief has jurisdiction over the sections within the chiefdom. The paramount chief, chiefdom speaker (deputy) and section chiefs form the political hierarchy, together with town chiefs and village headmen. The administration of the chiefdom is undertaken by a chiefdom committee, presided over by the paramount chief, which serves as an executive body to the chiefdom council comprising all the sub-chiefs and the chiefdom councilors (GoSL, 2009). The paramount chiefs are represented in both the local council and the parliament. The national Council of Paramount Chiefs was established in 2003.
In the Western Area, tribal headmen are appointed by the president to advice on matters concerning the traditions of their ethnic group, and each village has a village headman elected by the electors.
The traditional authorities continue to play important development and governance roles in the local areas. There is an extensive interaction between the traditional authorities and the local councils for the benefit of the socio-economic development of their localities, where each entity shall play its important role. Traditional authorities shall continue to perform functions stipulated in the LGA 2004 and other related legislation.
Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)
“MDAs refer specifically to those that are required by law to devolve functions to local councils. The MDAs shall continue to be responsible for sectoral policy matters, provide technical guidance and monitor the performance of relevant functions devolved to the local councils” (GoSL, 2010).
The private sector
The private sector is a key partner in development and plays an active role in the economic development as producer of goods and services for local consumption. The local councils create an enabling environment that facilitates Local Economic Development (LED) for the private sector, outsourcing activities to the private sector (BMC, 2013).
Civil society organizations (CSOs) / Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
“NGOs cooperate with local councils to ensure integration of their activities within the council’s development plan and are encouraged to hold local leaders accountable with the view to build trust in the local councils. They may attend local council meetings and deliberations, and may be permitted to make statements on critical issues affecting their localities but shall have no voting rights. They can also report on Council’s activities to the people to enhance greater participation; and they have access to and are allowed to monitor and track Council’s activities such as bid openings, contract agreements, development plans, etc from the inception to the end” (GoSL, 2010).

ADMINISTRATIVE DECENTRALISATION
Under Administrative decentralization, transfer or recruitment of professionals and bureaucrats at the local level should be compatible with the services and functions decentralized to the local authority. That is to say, services and functions decentralized must have the requisite funds and personnel at the local level, if the decentralization is to be meaningful.
In Sierra Leone, the devolution of functions to the local councils started in 2004. By this time, the central government assigned staff to the local council to function as chief administrators (secretary to the council) and treasurers. In as much as the Local Government Act 2004 provided for the local councils to recruit her staff, the councils did not have the capacity to recruit staff by then, so the relied on the assigned staff from the central government, with the decentralization also assigning staff (Local Council Coaches) to give the councils technical backstopping. The era of the assigned staff soon passed and the local councils in accordance with the LGA 2004 recruited her staff. This is done in consultation with the Local Government Service Commission (established by the LGA 2004). The commission consists of the chairman, with wealth of knowledge and experience in public administration and local government; a representative of the MLGRD; a representative of the Public Service Commission; a representative of the Establishment Secretariat; and four other persons with considerable knowledge of local government matters, three of whom must be women. The members of the Commission, other than the ex-officio members hold office for three years and on the expiration of that term are eligible for re-appointment for another term (GoSL, 2004).
The LGA 2004 provided for a Local Council Chief Administrator for each local council who is appointed by the local council after consulting the Commission. The Local Council Chief Administrator shall be the secretary to the local council and the head of the administration of the local council. It functions include but not limited to: i. be responsible for the financial and other resource management and the day-to-day administration of the local council; ii. be responsible for the implementation of all lawful decisions of the local council; iii. assist and advise the Chairperson in the performance of his functions; supervise and coordinate the activities of the other staff and Departments of the local council; iv. have custody of all documents and records of the local council; v. ensure that staff performance standards are met.
A local council appoints such other staff, after consulting the Commission, as may be necessary for the proper and efficient performance of its functions. These core staff salaries are paid by central government. The exiting departments in Local Councils with existing core staff is shown in the table below:

Department | Staff | Administration | Chief Administrator | | Deputy Chief Administrator | | Human Resource Officer | | Valuator | | Environmental & Social Officer | | Admin Assistant* | Development Planning | Development Planning Officer | | Monitoring & Evaluation Officer | Finance | Finance Officer | | Accountant | | Procurement Officer | | Revenue clerk* | | Account Clerk* | Civil Works | Civil Works Engineer | Internal Audit | Internal Auditor | * Not all councils have | |

Committees
Dev. Planning
Local Council

Devolved functions
Technical Planning
Budget & Finance

Office of the Chairman/Mayor
Office of the Chairman/Mayor
2004
Human Resource Officer

Office of the Chief Administrator Deputy Chief Administrator

IT. Information

Valuator

Admin Assistant

Finance -Accountant -Procurement -Revenue
Dev. Planning -Economist -Statistician -M&E

Civil Works - surveyor - works clerk

Internal Audits

Ward Committees

Furthermore, the devolved MDAs have the requisite personnel at the local level to perform their respective functions and services. These staff are not staff of the local councils but their respective MDAs. For instance, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation has the District Medical Officer and his District Health Management Team (DHMT) to perform the primary health functions at the local level; the Medical Superintendent, the Matron and other Hospital staff for the secondary health functions; the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security led at the local level by the District Agriculture Officer and his team (crops officer, livestock office, Forestry officer, extension workers, etc); the Ministry of Education at the local level has the Deputy Director of Education and his team (Supervisors, Inspectors, Finance Officer, etc). These are just examples of the functions devolved and the technical and professional staff assigned to perform these functions. Other MDAs devolved include Fire Prevention, Rural Water Supply, Youth and Sports, Solid Waste, Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs, all of which have assigned staff at the local council level. In co-located councils (city and district councils within the same locality), the assigned staff work for both councils.
Challenges of Administrative Decentralisation in Sierra Leone 1. The local Councils don’t have the capacity to pay its core staff 2. The assigned staff performing the devolved functions on behalf of the local council own their allegiance to their respective MDAs.

FISCAL DECENTRALISATION:
Fiscal decentralization is the assignment of fiscal decision-making powers and management responsibilities to lower levels of government like the local councils. The objective of fiscal decentralization in Sierra Leone is to: * Ensure Local Councils are adequately funded to perform their functions in line with the national budget provision * Ensure decentralisation does not result in any rapid deterioration in the quality and quantity of any service * To ensure councils raise a substantial amount of their revenue from own/local sources * Improve efficiency by strengthening the links between the mix of services with the citizens’ demand and needs, being closer and more responsive to the local preference * Improve financial accountability by bringing the government and decisions closer to the people in terms of options for voice, influence, information exchange, control and monitoring etc.
Principles of Fiscal Decentralisation in Sierra Leone * Local councils’ financial resources shall be commensurate with the responsibilities provided for in the law - to ensure a balanced system without unfunded mandates and unrealistic demands * Part of the financial resources of local councils shall derive from local taxes and charges of which, within the limits of the statute, they have the power to determine the rate

The Pillars of Fiscal Decentralization
There are basically four pillars or building blocks of fiscal decentralisation in Sierra Leone.
Pillar 1: Expenditure Assignment: The distribution of functions among the different government levels. Expenditure assignments should be defined in a clear and unambiguous manner between the parties to ensure that everyone knows who is responsible and to ensure strong accountability in every chain of the service provision. Functions should be allocated based on the principle of “subsidiarity”.
According to the LGA 2004, a local council may incur all expenditure necessary for or incidental to the carrying out of any functions conferred on it under the Act or any other enactment, provided the expenditure is included in the approved budget of the local council.
Pillar 2: Revenue Assignment: the distribution of tax and non-tax revenue sources to local councils. The importance own source revenue mobilization includes * Ensures local autonomy * The more money raised, the better the services that can be provided. * Promotes ownership and local accountability * Supports realisation of decentralisation efficiency gains * Facilitates cash flow management
The LGA 2004 also made provisions for own revenue sources assigned to LCs. The sources are: precepts from local taxes; property rates; licenses; fees and charges; share of mining revenues; interests and dividends; and any other revenue due to the Government but assigned to council by the Minister responsible for finance by statutory instrument. It is important to note also that the Act give them the power to set their own rates, fees, charges, etc, in line with national policy.
Pillar 3: Intergovernmental Transfers: Refers to the transfer of finances from the central government to lower government levels for functions devolved or delegated or for developmental purposes. The transfers can take two major forms – Tied and Untied. The LGA also states that local councils shall be paid tied grant for the discharge of the devolved functions and towards their administrative costs and the total amount of these grants to be allocated to the local councils each year shall form part of the national budget.
Pillar 4: Local Council Borrowing: This refers to the capacity for sub-national governments to borrow money to cover their expenditure responsibilities. A local council may raise loans or obtain overdraft within Sierra Leone of such amounts, from such sources, in such manner, for such purposes and on such conditions as the Minister, after consulting the Minister responsible for finance, may approve; except that no approval is required where the loan or overdraft to be raised does not exceed such amount as the Minister may, after consultation with the Minister responsible for finance, by statutory instrument determine (GoSL, 2004).
The Fiscal Transfer made so far has been restricted to the non-salary expenses associated with devolved functions, and the Local Government Development Grants (LGDG). The salary components of these devolved functions are yet to be devolved. Meanwhile, the salary component of core staff of council is part of the administrative grants to the councils.
The Advantages of FD in Sierra Leone * Corrects for vertical and horizontal fiscal imbalances * Increases local revenue mobilisation, and ensure that local revenue contributes significantly and meaningfully to local development; * Increases local participation in decision making in order to enhance the efficiency in delivering better services towards the achievement of PRSP goals in line with local priorities; * Increases accountability and transparency of elected officials * Increases local willingness to pay for services. * Enhances local development. Local government may make development activities more sustainable by involving the people affected more directly in the implementation of projects

Managers of Fiscal Decentralisation in Sierra Leone
The need for fiscal discipline by sub national governments and coordination to ensure compliance with the guidelines of macroeconomic policy objectives calls for an appropriate institutional framework for fiscal intergovernmental relations
In Sierra Leone, such institutional framework has been developed by the establishment of the Local Government Finance Committee (LGFC) and the creation of the Local Government Finance Department (LGFD)

The Local Government Finance Committee (LGFC)
This committee is also established to recommend to the Minister responsible for finance the amount of grant allocations to each local council; and indicate the formulae used in arriving at the various amounts recommended. The committee consists of a senior representative of each of the Ministries responsible for finance, local government and development and economic planning; and four other persons nominated by the Chairpersons of all local councils, such persons having considerable knowledge of public finance but no allegiance to any local council. The Ministry responsible for finance shall provide the secretariat for the Local Government Finance Committee. This Secretariat is the Local Government Finance Department (LGFD). In addition to the functions above, the statutory functions of the LGFC are to recommend to the Government through the ministry responsible for finance the equitable distribution of both the vertical and horizontal transfers between the central and local governments and within the local governments, respectively.

Local Government Finance Department (LGFD)
Government, in March 2004, created the Local Government Finance Department (LGFD) as a new department within the Ministry responsible for Finance, charged with the responsibility for the design and management of the fiscal decentralization process, and as the secretariat for the LGFC.
LGFD constitutes the inter-phase between Local Councils and Central Government on all financial matters, including Budget preparation, Grant distribution and Revenue Mobilization. Specifically, LGFD is responsible for: * designing a fiscal decentralization strategy, including revenue assignment and the design of an inter-governmental transfer system, using a formula-based grants distribution system; * advise the Local Government Finance Committee, based on analyses of local revenue generation capacity and demand for services; * provide technical support to local councils to improve their local revenue generation capacity and budget preparation
Key Challenges to FD in Sierra Leone * Inadequate and untimely transfers to the LCs * Equal or less quarterly allocation of annual transfers – less resources transferred towards the peak season * The sector is not seen as an income generating sector – agricultural inputs are supplied free to farmers * Administrative costs are always embedded in service delivery estimates despite the 10% administrative cost taken to facilitate the implementation service delivery activities * No formal reports on monitoring of programs undertaken by the respective committees of council * Monies allocated for devolved functions are spent on functions delegated by central ministry – seed rice recovery.
Performance Grants: An incentive called the performance grant is normally paid to local councils on merit. This is achieved if the local council pass a Comprehensive Local Government Performance Assessment System (CLoGPAS) conducted by the monitoring unit of the decentralization secretariat. The councils that fail are giving grants in the form of capacity building in areas they did not perform well.
Local Council Capacity Development Grant: This is a demand-driven grant given to council to build the capacity of individual staff in both training and logistics. They do a capacity needs assessment of both the core staff of council and the “devolved” staff. The access these funds by completing a form and submitting it to the Decentralisation Secretariat ho in turn will assess the completed forms and make recommendations for the disbursement of the funds.
Donor: The decentralization programme is benefiting from donor fund. The LCs receives funds for DSDP and the RCHP. For the DSDP, the funds are additional support to the Ministries of Health, Education, Rural Water and Social Welfare. For RCHP, it is a support for only the health sector.
The Vertical and Horizontal Pools
The vertical pool at present is not determined by any objective criteria. Since 2005, the vertical pool has been determined based on the pre-devolution allocation for the various functions devolved. The pool has gradually been increased each year as more functions are devolved and based on the rate of increase of the national budget. Each year, LGFD, acting on behalf of the Councils, in consultation with the ministry, did what costing it could of expenditure levels on the functions to be devolved prior to their devolution. An agreement is reached between LGFD, the ministry and Budget Bureau on the transfer of the agreed amount from the ministry’s budget to account 701 - Grants to Local Councils.
The approach does not reflect the true cost of implementing the functions/activities devolved.
Idea situation * One of the steps to improving the fiscal decentralization process should be to develop an objective and realistic approach to determining the vertical pool. * Ideally, the vertical pool should be determined by analyzing the cost to deliver services at an “appropriate standard * Another approach is determining the vertical transfer pool as a predefined percentage share of a particular national revenue source(s) or the total domestic revenue source of the government

Determination of the horizontal allocations
The horizontal grants distribution formula is based on equity and fairness to an extent which was acceptable to all stakeholders. There still exist disparities across local councils with respect to service delivery. Local Councils have differing capacities for revenue mobilization and expenditure needs.

In conclusion, despite the increases in the amount of resources allocated to LCs to implement devolved functions, there still remain disparities accross LCs in terms of revenue capcity and service provision.

Bibliography
BMC. (2013). Bonthe Municipal Council Development Plan. Bonth Island: Kama Printing, Bo.
GoSL. (2004). Local Government Act. Freetown: Government Printing Department.
GoSL. (2010). National Decentralisation Policy. Freetown: Government Printing Press.
GoSL. (2009). The Chieftaincy Act. Freetown: Government Printing Department.
GoSL. (1991). The Constitution of Sierra Leone. Freetown: Government Printing Press.
GoSL. (2009). The Local Government System in Sierra Leone. Freetown: GoSL.