For a number of scholars, decentralisation – ‘defined as the meaningful authority devolved to local units of governance that are accessible and accountable to the local citizenry’ (Blair 2000: 21) – provides space for people to participate in local development, ensure a more efficient allocation of resources, enhance local resource mobilisation and improve accountability. This in turn enhances the capacity of governments for more effective poverty reduction strategies.
However, ‘decentralisation is not a panacea and often contributes little to poverty reduction’ (Johnson 2001: 529). Furthermore, ‘the more pessimistic argument has been that decentralisation simply opens up spaces for the empowerment of local elites, not for considerations of the voices and interests of the more marginalised’ (Gaventa 2001: 6). In Latin America, few decentralisation processes have reached their alleged goals, and some have even produced unwanted outcomes (Llambí and Lindemann 2001).
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