Governance And Urban Poverty In Anglophone West Africa

This study of African cities examines how the urban systems and the people within them are coping with the pressures of urban growth. Twenty African countries are covered, and the concluding chapter discusses the impending challenges in the governance of African urban development.

Poverty and governance are both issues high on the agenda of international agencies and governments in the South. With urban areas accounting for a steadily growing share of the world's poor people, an international team of researchers focused their attention on the hitherto little-studied relationship between urban governance and urban poverty.In their timely and in-depth examination of ten cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, they demonstrate that in many countries the global trends towards decentralization and democratization offer new opportunities for the poor to have an influence on the decisions that affect them. They also show how that influence depends on the nature of those democratic arrangements and decision-making processes at the local level, as well as on the ability of the poor to organize.The study involved interviews with key actors within and outside city governments, discussions with poverty groups, community organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as analyses of data on poverty, services and finance. This book presents insights, conclusions and practical examples that are of relevance for other cities. It outlines policy implications for national and local governments, NGOs and donor agencies, and highlights ways in which poor people can use their voice to influence the various institutions of city governance.

本书详述了西非地区公共治理的历史与现状, 剖析了当前西非地区公共治理过程中面临的问题与挑战, 如政治腐败, 政局动荡, 行政官僚化, 产业结构不合理, 人力资源流失, 自然灾害频发等; 选取加纳为研究对象, 针对行政部门官僚化问题, 详细论证了加纳解决这一公共治理问题所采取的具体措施;通过分析以中国和加纳为例的西非地区间合作, 为西非地区公共治理的发展提供中国的经验与借鉴, 以期为非洲研究学者提供参考

This title was first published in 2003. Based on a blend of knowledge and perspectives from a variety of disciplines this volume examines the human-environment interaction in Africa, with a focus on the economic, social and political processes that generate environmental change and problems in this region. Currently there are controversies over and challenges to such concepts and issues as environment-human relationships, ecological resilience, decertification, sustainable development, globalization and North-South dialogue. This book draws upon past and present research findings to discuss these issues. It features: an examination of the characteristics, processes and patterns of environmental crises; an analysis of the principal issues and challenges facing policy makers and implementers; and the promotion of awareness of theoretical, empirical and comparative research. The volume not only seeks to answer some of the old questions, but also open up new ones for further discussion.

This volume examines the persistence of poverty - both rural and urban - in developing countries, and the response of local governments to the problem, exploring the roles of governments, NGOs, and CSOs in national and sub-national agenda-setting, policy-making, and poverty-reduction strategies. It brings together a rich variety of in-depth country and international studies, based on a combination of original data-collection and extensive research experience in developing countries. Taking a bottom-up and multi-dimensional perspective of poverty and well-being as the starting point, the authors develop a convincing set of arguments for putting the priorities of poor people first on any development agenda, thus carving out an undisputable role for local governance in interplay with higher-up governance actors and institutions.

This is a study of the ‘terrain of urban governance’, using areas of Zimbabwe’s biggest city Harare as case studies. It presents and discusses sets of perceptions of poverty and the poor which influence policy development and decisionmaking among urban ‘governors’. Kamete shows the effects of positive as well as negative perceptions of the poor. He also problematizes more conventional understandings of poverty and includes into his own conceptual understanding dimensions of deficient access to participation and citizenship. He shows that the relationship between power and powerlessness among the poor is much more complex than is sometimes assumed.

Poverty and governance are both issues high on the agenda of international agencies and governments in the South. With urban areas accounting for a steadily growing share of the world's poor people, an international team of researchers focused their attention on the hitherto little-studied relationship between urban governance and urban poverty. In their timely and in-depth examination of ten cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, they demonstrate that in many countries the global trends towards decentralization and democratization offer new opportunities for the poor to have an influence on the decisions that affect them. They also show how that influence depends on the nature of those democratic arrangements and decision-making processes at the local level, as well as on the ability of the poor to organize. The study involved interviews with key actors within and outside city governments, discussions with poverty groups, community organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as analyses of data on poverty, services and finance. This book presents insights, conclusions and practical examples that are of relevance for other cities. It outlines policy implications for national and local governments, NGOs and donor agencies, and highlights ways in which poor people can use their voice to influence the various institutions of city governance.