By Prof. Bah
1. Lead and Manage from Bottom, Up: Make City Council More Powerful
The more State House cedes effective administrative authority to city councils nationwide, the more powerful State House becomes; and the quicker our turnaround to good governance and sustainable development for all. Give city councils full authority to regulate local commerce, transportation, housing and development. Permit them to collect all derivative forms of revenue and then require them to provide their own local services including power, water, sanitation, health, education, parks and recreations: All from their own healthy and ever-replenishing funds!
2. Make Government Smaller and Stronger: Less Means More
Since independence, central government has amassed too much power and assumed too many responsibilities. The bigger it grows, the weaker it becomes. Right-size MDAs to be trim and fit for purpose. Get staff fully capacitated to ensure effective, ethical and legally compliant service delivery. Have MDAs partner productively with the private sector to foster an (eco)system that is optimally conducive to civic engagement, entrepreneurship and sustainable development. Subtract politics from the civil service and law enforcement, and bolster democracy. Co-equal partnership with the other branches of government is good governance.
3. Engender an Ownership Society: Manage Makers that Produce More & Reproduce Less
Citizens must grow with the belief and expectation that they are drivers of their own destiny. Institutions of all sizes and at all stages, from the family to the state levels, should be seen and understood as facilitators of the individual’s maximal self-empowerment, not enablers of chronic dependency and de-motivation. Revamp and energize Civics Education curriculum to drive home citizens’ rights and responsibilities. Make the course mandatory from pre-school to post-graduate levels.
© 2019 Politico Online
