Effective decentralised systems of governance should be used to achieve inclusive development and social transformations at national and sub-regional levels.

That’s the main point being made at an on-going conference in Nairobi, Kenya; the 20th Intergovernmental Committee of Experts (ICE) of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in the Eastern Africa region.

UNECA’s Eastern Africa region covers 14 countries, including Burundi, Comoros, DR Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

The annual ICE meeting discusses key issues and challenges about economic and social development of the sub-region and makes recommendations on how to address them.

The four-day meeting, which opened yesterday is taking place under the theme of "Institutions, Decentralisation and Structural Transformation in Eastern Africa”.

With a focus on decentralisation, the meeting will examine the role of institutions in promoting equitable growth in the Eastern Africa region.

Discussions being held include a review of mechanisms that ensure the formulation of shared visions, promote good governance, strengthen public participation in decision-making and build social capital and cohesive pacts for transformational change.

Experts at UNECA say that a sound institutional set-up is needed to help realise Africa’s Vision 2063, which should be citizens.

"We need to discuss the extent to which our existing institutional set-up, including decentralisation, is helping the continent to promote structural transformation,” said Antonio Pedro, UNECA’s Director for the Eastern Africa Region.

About 250 participants from 14 countries in the region are gathered here, including senior government officials and experts from Regional Economic Communities and Intergovernmental Organisations.

Other stakeholders such as development partners, research centres, media practitioners, private sector and civil society organisations are also represented.

Prof. Anastase Shyaka, the chief executive of Rwanda Governance Board, told participants at the meeting that decentralisation should first be about empowering people instead of looking at it as a means to create institutional differences based on national regions.

"We look at decentralisation as being more about empowering people,” Prof. Shyaka said.

Pedro agrees with Shyaka on empowering people, saying that: "we must use decentralisation not just as a power transfer means but also to empower citizens to drive their development”.

Decentralisation is a process for transferring powers and resources from the central government to lower levels of government.

It affects regional development by empowering local actors and protecting the local population from being exploited by the elite.

But, according to experts, fiscal decentralisation has not kept pace with political decentralisation in most African countries, which has limited local communities’ ability to mobilise their economic potential.

The 2015 African Economic Outlook—a joint report by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)— shows that lack of local capacity and transparency are the main obstacles to effective, decentralised governance.

"Owing to their limited fiscal clout, most local governments depend heavily on central government transfers, which have generally been criticised for not being spatially progressive and for limiting the ability of local governments to invest efficiently,” the report notes.

UNECA officials say that decentralisation can help reduce socio-economic inequalities and lower regional disparities by increasing higher investments in infrastructure and public services such as health and education.

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