Responsive Local Government Takes Root in Iraq

Conferences Encourage Citizen-Government Dialogue

"A major breakthrough."

That is how one mayor in Iraq described the outcome of the Provincial Partnership Conference he attended this spring. The conference was one of two that ACDI/VOCA organized in April and May, with the support of local governors and other officials, to foster cooperation between citizens and local government and boost the process of decentralization in Iraq.

The conferences, which were part of the USAID-funded Iraq Community Action Program (ICAP), provided a forum for citizen groups to meet with governors, line ministry officials and provincial council members to discuss communities' most urgent service needs.

"We had great discussions," said a local government official. "Even though there were sometimes raised voices, it was very healthy.”

Through ICAP, ACDI/VOCA is helping to make this dialogue possible and to strengthen local and provincial government capacity.

The Hard Work of Decentralization

Iraq is in the process of transitioning from a unitary to a federalist state. In 2006 it established a constitutionally based government, and in 2008 the Provincial Powers Law set broad parameters for decentralized governance. Accordingly, the government of Iraq has worked to decentralize authority to provincial and local governments and address local service delivery needs.

But while provincial governments have gained relatively broad powers to manage local affairs, they still lack the authority, capacity and resources to provide basic municipal services such as electricity, water and infrastructure. Public discontent has dramatically increased: Surveys carried out by ACDI/VOCA staff in partner communities show that 68 percent of Iraqis are dissatisfied with service delivery, and there have been large demonstrations against the government with occasional outbreaks of violence.

Clarifying the roles and responsibilities of provincial governments and the overall division of labor between national and subnational governing units is a major challenge. Another challenge is capacity: once these roles have been clarified, it will be critical to Iraq’s stability to strengthen the ability of local and provincial government bodies to meet citizens’ needs.

The idea behind the conferences is that dialogue can lead to lasting partnerships by 1) strengthening cooperation between multisector stakeholders, 2) clarifying procedures for citizen-local government engagement, especially in provincial budget planning, and 3) embedding democratic governance practices for more-responsive, transparent and accountable government. As a result of last year’s conferences, provincial council representatives became more personally involved in securing proper approvals for projects and provided better guidance to local councils through the project review process.

This year's Provincial Partnership Conferences focused on two key objectives:

• Building partnerships between government counterparts in disputed territories (areas in Iraq where Kurdish and Arab officials each claim ownership) in order to improve services; and
• Introducing a resolution for formal citizen participation in local development.

The conferences provided an opportunity for officials from disputed territories to meet and exchange contact information, often for the first time since 1991. Government counterparts are now taking concrete actions on service delivery issues and holding regular follow-up meetings. And communities located in the disputed border regions between Kurdish and Arab administrations now have clear and open channels of communication with provincial officials.

Momentum has been building for the citizen participation resolution as well. The goal is to institute formal and funded community input in the provincial-level annual budget planning process so that public meetings can be held with local government to discuss and address community needs, issues and ideas.

At the conferences, many government officials were enthusiastic about these changes, and they have continued to advocate for their adoption. For example, recently the Diyala Provincial Council provisionally agreed to the citizen participation resolution. Many partner government officials are realizing the value of civic engagement, respect for human rights, decentralization, and transparency and accountability in the provision of small-scale infrastructure and services.

Said one conference participant, “To us this is still new, bringing up our issues in a democratic way and being heard. If there are problems, all we have to do is start talking about them."

Through ICAP, ACDI/VOCA is currently working with 80 community groups and 70 local councils in four non-Kurdish provinces. Learn more about ICAP and our work in Iraq.