executive committee, comprising of not more than one-third of all assembly members. The executive committee normally has a number of sub- committees – development planning, social services, works, justice and security, finance and administration – which make recommendations to the executive committee. Seventy percent of the assembly members are elected by universal adult suffrage, whilst thirty percent are appointed by the president, on the basis of their experience and specialized expertise. On the district-level, it is the national parliament that prescribes the functions of the DA with respect to the formulation and execution of plans, programmes and strategies for the effective mobilization of the resources necessary for the overall development of the district; as well as the levying and collection of taxes, rates, duties and fees. For the purposes of funding, the DAs have access to the District Assemblies Common Fund that comprises of quarterly instalments made by the National Parliament for the purposes of development. A complete outline of these local assemblies can be found in Appendix 2.
Town and Area Councils Municipal and District Assemblies are further divided into Town and Area Councils, depending on the population and land area of the district. A compact settlement or town with a population of 5,000 or more qualifies to have a Town Council status. An
Area Council is made up of 2 or more towns with a combined population of 5,000 or more inhabitants. Town and Area Councils are the main actors on the local level and are supported by Unit Committees. These Units normally exist in rural areas for a settlement or a group of settlements with a population of between 500–1000 inhabitants. They serve as consultative bodies at the grassroots and are in close contact with and organize the people for communal labour, revenue mobilization, maintenance of environmental sanitation and implementation and monitoring of selfhelp projects.
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