Introduction
Local government finance is one of the aspect of public finance
.it deals with the generation of revenue, expenditure and utilization of financial
resource in the order to bring the
impact of government closer to the people at the grassroots
.put different
finance is essential in put different finance is essential in enabling local
government transform the lives of the rural drivellers through the provision of
social service and rural infrastructure like the construction and maintenance
of rural road, market, school heath center e.t.c despite the fact that the funding of local
government in Nigeria is an important aspect of fiscal federalism and inter government relation, it has suffered setback ,this circumventing
development of the grassroots .this ugly trend is usually associated with or
provoked by certain underlying factor like over dependence on statutory
allocations from the federation account
corruption tax evasion from citizen at the grassroots ,creation of non –viable local government comical. in term of the
capacity to generate finance internally and effective utilized it for development
purpose and lack of finance autonomy .this, the paper is an attempt to prefect some possible
ways of improving local government
finance base in Nigeria within the
purviews of fiscal federalism as enshrined in the 1999 constitution of the
federal republic of Nigeria as amended
2011
.financial viability backed up by effective management, public accountability, fiscal autonomy ,staff motivation
and servant leadership attitude among politicians are imperative in building
capacity at the grassroots for legitimacy of creation
and sustainable development local government administration in Nigeria have
been characterized by the bazaar mentality
poor accounting system unavailability of the reliable data required for planning
,over-revenue collection greed unnecessary government interference, lack of direction and corruption ,hence the
following strategies if employ will help
to improve the finance base of the various local government and they are as
follows
- 1 The issue of state joint local government account as contain in the 199 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria as amended 2011, which give room for the state to injack and starve local government in their jurisdiction the need funds for project implementation and rural development, should be check if possible stopped .in view of the above challenges it is the position of the RMAFE that local government should be granted fiscal allocations form the federation account directly to the local government
- 2 the financial base of local government can be improved through budgeting and budgeting control in the local government ,these can be achieve through establishment of an effective budgetary control mechanism to ensure the existence of a sound financial planning and control which is privately for suetanble growth and development especially at the grassroots .budgetary control involves periodic comparison of actually expenditure with planned expenditure and whether budgetary disbursement is in compliance with the provision of the financial regulation and other relevant financial authority in the country .this Nigeria local government must embark on aninual budget monitoring and evaluation to ascertain the level of local budget performance. the result of this aniual budget monitoring and evaluation exercise will provide the need statistical input for the preparation of a more functional budget in the subsequent or succeeding year.
- 3 in most local government in the country disbursement of funds is based on political need instead of appropriation .an appropriation is law passed by the legislature authorizing expenditure for a subsequent financial year or defined period .local government should ensure that funds allocated to various project under different sub head in the appropriation are utilized for their intended purpose
- 4 the revenue collecting sector of the local government should be overhauled .only qualified office with proven integrity should be responsible for collecting revenue and mum adequately remunerated and made to be incorruptible.
- 5 local government should invest on mass transit transportation businesses that will be well managed, coordinated and accounted for petrel filling station established commercial farms ,nursery school, housing estate and day –cake that has the potential of generating revenue
- 6 the central state government should allow the local government to to raise loan more easily form institution and public spirited financial
- 7 the local people should be enlightened to play their rates (tax) regularly
- 8 grant form central government and local rate should be increased
- 9 Regular auditing of the account of the local government should be carryout .
Conclusion
Financial, whether form internal or external source is important
in local government administration .there is no meaningful project that can be executed
without adequate financial .the external revenue generation is major source of
local government finance .in fact no local government can survived without
external revenue generation ,particularly from the
statutory allocations .it is therefore important for local government to be
more active in developing avenue for generating revenue
such as investment in capital project that are likely to appreciate and
capacity building animed at generating
returns on investment made. The ideal of local government being to tide to
monthly statutory allocation should be dropped. They must explore the innovative
approach of generating revenue internally there sources are mass transit
transportation that is well managed ,coordinate and accounted for petrel filling
station establishment of commercial farm ,nursery school and day care that has
the potential of generating revenue .establishment of endowment funds etc. under interference in the financial of local government council
by the federal and state government should be checked and final the situation
where state government control local government comical and direct them how to
spend their money through programmes. packaged and handed down to them should be stopped
- Reference
- 1 prof B.c nwankwo (phd)(1999)in government Nigeria and world politics in focus.Abbet book limited
- 2 Ajayi,k(2000)theory and practice of local government .Ado-Ekiti; university of ado Ekiti
- 3 Journal of good governance and subtaninable development in Africa ,vol2,no1,jan,2014 website http;www:rcmss.com issn 2346-725x(print)issn:2354-158x(online)
- 4 king .m.c.(1988)localism and nation building .ibadan spectrum books.
- 5 w.w.w.google.comlocal government and prognosis for action in democratic Era 1999-2013