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Administrative Decentralisation and Economic Development: the Sudan's Experiment with Devolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2008

Dennis A. Rondinelli
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In his classic study of decentralisation and development, Henry Maddick argued that economic growth and social modernisation depend in part on the ability of Third-World govenments to diffuse responsibility for development planning and administration, to expand participation in economic activities, and to promote new centres of creativity within society. Over-concentration of administrative authority stifles development, Maddick insisted; it leads to waste and corruption, delays action, and creates irrational and inefficient management practices, the costs of which developing countries cannot afford.1 To illustrate his point, Maddick cited the effects of the centralised supply system in the Sudan in the late 1950s, through which ‘shoes made in Fasher were sent 400 miles by rail to Khartoum where the whole shoe supply was concentrated. When Fasher wanted shoes for school children and government personnel it had to send to Khartoum for them.’ He also noted that school desks and equipment for the provincial city of Juba had to be ordered from Khartoum, which was 900 miles away and connected only by inefficient river transport, even though the wood from which the furniture was made originally came from Juba.2

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Articles
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , December 1981 , pp. 595 - 624
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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References

page 595 note 1 Maddick, Henry, Democracy, Decentralization and Development (London, 1963).Google Scholar

page 595 note 2 Ibid. p. 36.

page 596 note 1 See Rondinelli, Dennis A., ‘National Investment Planning and Equity Policy in Developing Countries: the challenge of decentralized administration’, in Policy Sciences (New York), 10, 1 08 1978, pp. 45–74.Google Scholar

page 597 note 1 The concept of political ‘penetration’ is discussed in detail in Cliffe, Lionel, Coleman, James S., and Doornbos, Martin R. (eds.), Government and Rural Development in East Africa: essays on political penetration (The Hague, 1977), passim.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

page 597 note 2 Montgomery, John, ‘Allocation of Authority in Land Reform Programs: a comparative study of administrative processes and outputs’, in Administrative Science Qyarterly (Ithaca, N.Y.), 17, 1972, p. 73.Google Scholar

page 598 note 1 U.S. Agency for International Development, Office of Rural Development, ‘Managing Decentralization’ (Washington, 1979), mimeographed, p. 25.Google Scholar

page 599 note 1 See Rondinelli, Dennis A. and Ruddle, Kenneth, ‘Political Commitment and Administrative Support: preconditions for growth with equity policy,’ in Journal of Administration Overseas (London), XVII, 1, 01 1978, pp. 43–60Google Scholar; and Rondinelli, Dennis A., ‘Administration of Integrated Rural Development: the politics of agrarian reform in developing countries’, in World Politics (Princeton), XXXI, 3, 04 1979, pp. 389–416.Google Scholar

page 600 note 1 See El-Nil, Musa Mahgoub Hamad, ‘The New System of Local Government,’ in The People's Local Government Journal (Khartoum), 4, 3, 12 1979, pp. 1–26.Google Scholar

page 601 note 1 Musa, Omar el-Haq, ‘Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Development Efforts in Southern Sudan’, in Middle East Journal (Washington), 27, Winter 1973, pp. 1–6.Google Scholar

page 601 note 2 Sudan Socialist Union, Charter for National Action, p. 13; quoted in ibid. p. 22.

page 601 note 3 Quoted in Democratic Republic of the Sudan, The People's Assembly, Final Report of the Select Committee for Study and Revision of People's Local Government (Khartoum, 1976),Google Scholar translation, mimeographed, p. 12. Referred to hereinafter as Final Report.

page 602 note 1 Democratic Republic of the Sudan, The People's Local Government Act, 1971 (Khartoum, 1971), ch. III, sec. 6(1).

page 602 note 2 Ibid. ch. III, sec. 6(6).

page 602 note 3 Ibid.

page 603 note 1 Ibid. ch. v, secs. 19–26.

page 604 note 1 See Zein, K. M., ‘The Practice of Public Administration in the Sudan: a study of a district center,’ Ph.D. dissertation, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, 1978, ch. 7.Google Scholar

page 605 note 1 A detailed discussion of these problems in one province is provided in Davey, K. J., Glentworth, G. W., Khalifa, Mohamed Osman, and Idris, Makdi Sheikh (eds.), Local Goverment and Development in the Sudan: the experience in Southern Darfur Province (Khartoum. 1976),Google Scholar passim.

page 606 note 1 The People's Assembly, Final Report, p. 27.

page 606 note 2 Howell, John, ‘Administration and Rural Development Planning: a Sudanese case’, in Agricultural Administration (London), 4, 1977, pp. 99–120.Google Scholar

page 606 note 3 Howell, John, ‘Introduction: local government and politics,’ in Howell, (ed.), Local Government and Politics in the Sudan (Khartoum, 1974), p. 8.Google Scholar

page 607 note 1 The People's Assembly, Final Report, pp. 16–18.

page 607 note 2 Ibid. p. 19.

page 607 note 3 Ibid. p. 24.

page 607 note 4 Daily Bulletin (Khartoum), 12 12 1977, p. 9.Google Scholar

page 608 note 1 Ibid. 16 January 1979 pp. 14–15.

page 608 note 2 Ibid. 2 February 1979, pp. 4–6.

page 609 note 1 Ibid. 17 June 1979, p. 18.

page 609 note 2 Democratic Republic of the Sudan, ‘Decentralization of Functions Connected with Abolition of Some Central Ministries,’ Presidential Decree, No. 52 (Khartoum, 1979), translation, mimeographed.

page 610 note 1 Quoted in Rayah, Abdel Moniem Awad El, ‘SSU Central Committee Meeting: an uncompromising speech,’ in Sudanow (Khartoum), 4, 4, 04 1979, p. 9.Google Scholar

page 610 note 2 Daily Bulletin, 17 June 1979, p. 14.

page 611 note 1 A concise summary of the Tanzanian experiments can be found in Blue, Richard N. and Weaver, James H., ‘A Critical Assessment of the Tanzanian Model of Development’, in Agricultural Development Council Reprints, 30, 07 1977, pp. 1–30.Google Scholar See also Collins, Paul, ‘Decentralization and Local Administration for Development in Tanzania’, in Africa Today (Denver), 21, 3, Summer 1974, pp. 15–25Google Scholar; and Fesler, James W., ‘Centralization and Decentralization’, in Sills, David L. (ed), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (New York, 1968). pp. 372–74.Google Scholar The Asian experience is described in Uphoff, Norman and Esman, Milton, Local Organization for Rural Development: analysis of Asian experience (Ithaca, 1974),Google Scholar and in various studies by the Asian Centre for Development Administration, Approaches to Rural Development in Asia: the South Asian experience (Kuala Lumpur, 1975),Google Scholar passim.

page 611 note 2 Sherwood, Frank P., ‘Devolution as a Problem of Organization Strategy’, in Daland, R. T. (ed), Comparative Urban Research (Beverly Hills, 1969), p. 75.Google Scholar

page 612 note 1 See Rayah, Abdel Moneim al and Taban, Alfred Logune, ‘Decentralization: power to the provinces ’, in Sudanow, 03 1979, p. 14.Google Scholar

page 613 note 1 Howell, loc.cit. p. 109.

page 613 note 2 Davey et al. (eds.), op.cit. p. 4.

page 614 note 1 Howell, loc. cit. p. 109.

page 615 note 1 Davey et al. (eds.), op.cit. p. 28.

page 616 note 1 Leonard, David K., Reaching the Peasant Farmer: organization theory and practice in Kenya (Chicago and London, 1977), p. 213.Google Scholar

page 616 note 2 Aguda, Oluwadare, ‘The Sudan Civil Service, 1964–1971, in Qyarterty Journal of Administration (Ibadan), 6, 04 1972, pp. 333–47Google Scholar; see also Terafi, Al-Agab A. Al, ‘Localization Policies and Programming in the Sudan, 1945–1970’, in Journal of Administration Overseas, 12, 04, 1973, pp. 125–35Google Scholar; and Bashir, M. El, ‘Bureaucracy and Development: general impressions from the Sudanese experience’, in African Administrative Studies (Tangiers), 16, 1976, pp. 21–5.Google Scholar

page 617 note 1 See Zain, op.cit. pp. 39–47.

page 618 note 1 Quoted in Akol, Jakob J., ‘Old Attitudes Die Hard: five ministerial views’, in Sudanow, 2, 12, 12 1977, p. 15.Google Scholar

page 619 note 1 Democratic Republic of the Sudan, Southern Regional Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Southern Regional Six Year Plan of Economic and Social Development, 1977/78–1982/83 (Juba, 1977), pp. 27–8.Google Scholar

page 619 note 2 Davey et al. (eds.), op.cit. p. 19.

page 620 note 1 U.S. Agency for International Development, Country Development Strategy Statement, Fy 1981 Sudan (Washington, 1979), p. 18.Google Scholar

page 620 note 2 International Monetary Fund, Sudan: recent economic developments (Washington, 1979), pp. 18–23.Google Scholar

page 620 note 3 The figures are cited in U.S. Agency for International Development, ‘Project Identification Document: health sector support’ (Khartoum, 1979), p. 22.Google Scholar

page 620 note 4 The People's Assembly, Final Report, p. 38.

page 621 note 1 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Sudan: agricultural sector survey (Washington, 1979), Vol. III, Annex 8.Google Scholar

page 622 note 1 U.S. A.I.D., Country Development Strategy Statement, p. 31.Google Scholar

page 622 note 2 Ibid. p. 3.

page 622 note 3 The argument is made in greater detail in Rondinelli, Dennis A. and Ruddle, Kenneth, Urbanization and Rural Development: a spatial policy for equitable growth (New York, 1978).Google Scholar

page 623 note 1 U.S. Agency for International Development, ‘Blue Nile Rural Development Project Paper’ (Khartoum, 1978), p. 83.Google Scholar

page 623 note 2 Ibid. p. 86.

page 624 note 1 Cf. Rondinelli, Dennis A., ‘Government Decentralization in Comparative Perspective: theory and practice in developing countries’, in International Review of Administrative Sciences (Brussels), 47, 2, 03 1981, pp. 133–45Google Scholar; and Rondinelli, Dennis A. and Ingle, Marcus D., ‘Improving the Implementation of Development Programmes: beyond administrative reform’, in Cheema, G. Shabbir (ed.), Institutional Dimensions of Regional Development (Singapore, 1981).Google Scholar