Local government leaders need training in conflict management

Political immaturity is another source of conflicts. Local governments face the challenge of power struggle both between members of varying political affiliations, as well as among members of the same political party.

Internal conflicts among leaders have flawed many local governments across the country and negatively impacted on the overall leadership and service delivery.
Evidence from previous score-card assessments on the performance of local government councils conducted in 26 districts by the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) points to apparent internal conflicts as one of the problems stifling development in local governments. Conflict here refers to “a state of opposition or incompatibility of ideas or interests”.
The fact that local governments are constituted of organs composed of individuals with varying expertise, abilities and interests is a source of conflict. While the technical staff for example are appointed based on their academic qualifications and expertise, the political representatives are elected against no minimum academic margins. Failure to reach a point of compromise to meet these varying skills, levels of knowledge and interests therefore has been fundamental in escalating conflicts.
Political immaturity is another source of conflicts. Local governments face the challenge of power struggle both between members of varying political affiliations, as well as among members of the same political party.
Attempts to deal with such conflict have been underway by the Ministry of Local Government. However, beyond these measures, ACODE has tabled supplementary policy proposals based on evidence from the research work in the 26 local governments. These proposals largely point to long-term interventions to promote more cooperative governance systems for more constructive management of existing and imminent conflicts in order to avoid economic stagnation or relapse in local governments. The need to promote team work and effective communication skills is crucial given that the roles of the different organs of local governments are complementary.
In essence, as a long term development strategy and in addition to the existing strategies, the government should adopt mandatory training for all local government leaders in conflict management, strategic leadership and problem solving.

The Ministry of Local Government should also establish a platform that brings together district leaders in regular peer learning sessions.
Effective leadership is critical for the progress and stability of any unit of governance or administration as it should stimulate social accomplishments, of course with participation from all key actors.

Ms Asimo is a researcher at ACODE