Who We Are and What We Do

Mission:
"The Ministry of Local Government is committed to facilitating, coordinating, monitoring and ensuring accountability of Municipal Corporations in the effective and efficient delivery of quality services through meaningful decentralized systems, structures, procedures, practices and provision of specialized support services."

Vision:
"The Ministry of Local Government is the foremost people-oriented organization empowering Local Government Bodies to become premier community institutions for executing holistic development, with emphasis on sustainable economic growth, poverty eradication, environmental management, equal opportunity and justice for all, in their respective regions, by allowing the widest citizen participation in local affairs thereby enhancing the quality of life."

The core strategic focal areas we have targeted are:

• Infrastructure Development-This entails  the provision  and maintenance of basic community infrastructure in an equitable and non discriminatory manner and in adherence to international engineering and safety standards as well as the rights of the physically challenged and vulnerable groups

• Participatory Democracy-The central focus here is to create mechanisms and systems at every level of the local governance structure  to encourage, enable and engage  all individuals, groups, organizations and institutions in the community  to participate meaningfully in the policy  formulation, decision making and priority setting

• Local Financial Autonomy-True local democracy and autonomy require a strong and robust revenue base. Therefore every avenue will be explored to enhance the Local revenue earning capacity without burdening the Local Community.

• Municipal/Regional Planning and development-People in the local communities determining their local development priorities within the broader national development framework is critical to promoting local democracy and good governance. It is also germane to balanced development and social equity.

• Municipal Management-Effective Municipal Management is required for operational efficiency and quality service delivery. Thus enlightened leadership and management support  and coordinated  efforts are required in the financial, human resource, technical, information technology and assets  management of the Municipal corporations in order to realize  economies of scale , maximize productive capacity and enhance quality service delivery coverage

• Social services-Local Government is by nature the first responder to the social needs of people in community. It must therefore be able to facilitate, promote and provide the cultural, community arts and festivities, civic initiatives, recreational, sporting   security and safety needs within communities. This is essential for creating a sense of inclusiveness, equal opportunity, identity within diversity, social cohesion and peaceful coexistence.

• Economic development. The focus here is to promote and develop vibrant local economies which can contribute to sustainable development, generating income and employment opportunities through commercially viable options in tourism, agriculture, agro processing, manufacturing, hospitality, arts and craft and service sectors.

• Environmental Management- The aim here is to promote and sustain a healthy, clean , sanitary, safe  and serene environment , encourage healthy life styles,   community well being and  enhance the quality of life generally

Resilient communities- All communities should and must be able to prepare for and respond to extreme events as well as develop creative and innovative ways of coping with sustainable developmental challenges. A robust disaster management system must therefore be established so that communities can militate against, prepare for and respond to extreme events as well as engage in recovery and reconstruction.