0w2010 01 RESUM EJECUTIVO 03 DEFcarta ang
26/10/10
19:49
Página 34
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 34
United Cities and Local Governments
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That ‘finance follows function’ in any future reallocation of responsibilities between spheres of government.
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That consultative mechanisms be established to ensure that all spheres of government work together to coordinate development, infrastructure planning, renewal, and budgeting, and that local government has an increased role in determining national service delivery objectives.
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That other spheres of government review and amend their policies and procedures to remove unnecessary restrictions on local government fiscal autonomy.
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That where not already done, standard accounting and financial management practices be introduced for local government; that there be clear procedural instructions for practitioners implementing these standards and that both elected officials and local government staff be trained in their application.
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That national constitutions be amended where necessary to give local government appropriate status, that all sectoral legislation be examined to ensure its consistency with local government legal requirements and that local government revenue management be firmly based in the law.
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That Local Government Associations be recognized by other spheres of government as the appropriate bodies to represent local government in intergovernmental discussions on policy and fiscal arrangements.
For its part, local government will work with other spheres of government to achieve these objectives, will re-examine its own policies, by-laws, regulations, procedures and practices to see that they best meet the overall objectives of government in providing services to the people in an efficient manner. Local government will also take steps to improve the transparency of its operations, involve the people more in its planning, budgeting and other activities, and will introduce programs to encourage the payment of local taxes and charges.