Seminar Brief Sessions'
brief Agenda
Seminar Brief
This Regional Workshop was organized by The Lebanese Center for Policy
Studies in preparation for the Fourth Mediterranean Development Forum
(MDF4) conference that is taking place in Amman, by the end of 2002.
The MDF is a partnership comprised of think tanks from the Middle
East and North Africa (of which the LCPS), the World Bank Institute
and the United Nations Development Programme as well as other international
institutions. Decentralization, as a policy orientation involving
political, administrative and fiscal structural changes, and leading
to a redistribution of power and responsibility between levels of
government, could affect significantly the institutional framework
and the critical determinants of development within a country.
The very contrasted nature of the socio-political legacies of the
MENA region ranges from some of the oldest and most entrenched state
centralist tradition (like in Egypt) to relatively weak centers with
strong regionalist and localist traditions (like in Lebanon, Jordan,
or Yemen). One of the potentially key institutions that could be reinforced
by an effective decentralization process is the local government structure.
Within six sessions, each dedicated to a specific aspect of decentralization,
this regional workshop brought together case studies, assessments
and comparative analysis of local governments in the MENA region.
On one hand, the workshop raised issues related to their ability to
understand and deal effectively with their legal, administrative and
fiscal frameworks, as well as with the procedures and control mechanisms
governing their relationship with the central state.
On the other hand, it discussed issues related to local governance
and democracy, by examining the willingness and the ability of local
government structures to share and inform their constituencies about
their activities, their projects and their decisions.
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Session 1: The Constitutional, Legal and
Administrative Framework in the Region: A Comparative Analysis
This session's focus was on the institutional framework and the critical
determinants of development within a country. The very contrasted
nature of the socio-political legacies of the MENA region ranges from
some of the oldest and most entrenched state centralist tradition
(like in Egypt) to relatively weak centers with strong regionalist
and localist traditions (like in Lebanon, Jordan, or Yemen). This
session brought together case studies, assessments and comparative
analysis of the institutional capabilities of local governments.
Session 2: Elected Local Councillors in the Region: A Preliminary
Social Profile
This session analyzed and discussed the state of the internal capacity
of local government: profiles and proficiency of local councilors,
state and issues of staffing, administrative and managerial capacities,
fiscal outreach, level and quality of routine service delivery and
capacity for project development and implementation. It also evaluated
their relational capacity concerning both the state's central and
local administrations, as well as their own local constituencies.
Session 3: The State of Fiscal Decentralization: The Limitations
of Local Government.
This session discussed the actual ability of local power structures
to deal effectively with the legal, administrative and fiscal frameworks,
procedures and the control mechanisms governing their relationship
with the central state. It focused on the crucial issue of fiscal
decentralization and explores the experiences of MENA countries in
tha field: What are the current programs dealing with local and inter-governmental
finance? What are the lessons that can be drawn from these experiences
with respect to both the substance and the process of fiscal decentralization?
Session 4: Local Authorities and their Constituencies: Building
Access and Participation
This session discussed the consolidation of the democratic basis of
local governance in the region. It examined how local power structures
inform their constituencies about activities, projects and decisions.
It analyzed their practices in consulting local constituencies in
the decision-making process concerning major issues of interest for
the locality. The session discussed the willingness and ability of
local governments to collaborate with groups of citizens, civil society
organizations and other voluntary groups to further the goals of local
development and community empowerment.
Session 5: Success Stories in Municipal Service Delivery and Local
Government Capacity Building
This session focused on some of the current attempts at promoting
and enhancing local government by discussing specific experiences
from different countries. This session highlighted few exemplary cases
and failed attempts of municipal innovations in the field of service
delivery (infrastructure, land management, real-estate) and capacity
building (training and exchange programs). This review led to a reflection
on issues of municipal governance facing the MENA region today: the
lessons to be learned, the replicability of institutional innovations,
and the importance of institution building, municipal leadership and
citizens participation.
Session 6: Decentralization and Reform Proposals: An Evaluation
of Initiatives for Change
It is widely believed that decentralization - as a policy orientation
involving political, administrative and fiscal structural changes,
and leading to a redistribution of power and responsibility between
levels of government, would significantly affect the institutional
framework and the critical determinants of development within a country.
Several institutional reform proposals are being developed within
MENA countries dealing with decentralization or deconcentration policies,
largely inspired from international funding agencies and UN bodies.
This session explored the challenges faced by some of these ungoing
initiatives in the MENA region.
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9:00 – 9:30 Registration
9:30 – 10:00 Workshop
Introduction
Dr. Salim
Nasr, General Director, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, Lebanon
10:00 –
11:30 Session 1: The
Constitutional, Legal and Administrative Frameworks in the MENA Region:
A Comparative Analysis
Moderator:
Dr. Gamal Hamid, Arab Urban Development Institute, Saudi Arabia
Presentations:
The Constitutional, Legal and Administrative Frameworks of Local
Government in Lebanon
Mr. Ghassan Moukheiber, Lebanon
The Constitutional, Legal and Administrative
Frameworks of Local Government in Morocco
Dr. Khalid Naciri, Institut Supérieur de l’Administration,
Morocco
Governors without Governance: The Constitutional,
Legal and Administrative Frameworks of Local Government in Egypt
Dr. Ali El-Sawi, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo
University, Egypt
Discussants:
Dr. Francesc Morata, Autonomous
University of Barcelona, Spain
Dr. Issam Suleiman, Lebanese University, Lebanon
11:30 – 12: 00 Coffee
Break
12:00 – 13:30
Session 2: Elected Local Councilors in
the MENA Region: A Preliminary Social Profile
Moderator:
Dr. Fuad Melkawi, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan
Presentation:
Lectures Diachroniques et Synchronique des Dernières Elections Locales
dans la Région MENA: vers l’Emergence de Nouveaux Gestionnaires
des Villes
Dr. Myriam Catusse, CNRS, IREMAM, France
Ms. Agnès Favier, CERMOC, Lebanon
Discussants:
Dr. Carlos Alba, University
of Madrid, Spain
Mr. Joe Bahout, Saint Joseph University, Lebanon
13:30 – 15:30 Lunch
15: 30 – 17:00 Session
3: The State of Fiscal Decentralization in the MENA Region:
The Limitations of Local Government
Moderator: Mr. Mounir
Tabet, UNDP
Presentations:
Reforming the Municipal Revenue System in Lebanon: Constraints
and Potentials
Mr. Sami Atallah, Ministry of Finance, Lebanon
Fiscal Decentralization and Local Government in
Egypt
Dr. El-Sayid Ghanem, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo
University, Egypt
La Decentralisation Fiscale: l’Experience
Marocaine
Dr. Mohamed Sbihi, Morocco
Discussants:
Dr. Randa Antoun, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Dr. Charbel Nahhas, Lebanon
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January
23, 2002
9:30 – 11:00
Session 4: Local
Authorities and their Constituencies in the MENA Region: Building Access
and Participation
Moderator:
Dr. Khalid Naciri, Institut Supérieur de l’Administration, Morocco
Presentation:
Localizing the Local: Reflections on the Experience of Local Authorities
in Sudan
Dr. Gamal Hamid, Arab Urban Development Institute, Saudi Arabia
International Assistance Programs and Participation
Practices in Lebanese Municipalities
Mrs. Mona Harb, LCPS, Lebanon
Assessing
the Relevance of "Social Capital" for Understanding Local
Government Performance and Participation: the Case of Iran
Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, New School University, NY, and College of Social
Sciences, Tehran University
Discussants:
Dr. Asef Bayat, American University
of Cairo, Egypt
Dr. Abdo Kahi, MASS Institute, Lebanon
11:00 – 11:30 Coffee
Break
11:30 – 13:00 Session
5: Success
Stories in Municipal Service Delivery and Local Government Capacity
Building in the MENA Region
Moderator:
Dr. El-Sayid Ghanem, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo
University, Egypt
Presentations:
An Overview of Best Municipal Practices in the MENA Region
Mrs. Mona Fawaz, MIT, Lebanon
Amalgamation
is a Solution in Jordan
Dr. Fuad Melkawi, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan
Municipal Development in Lebanon: Initiatives,
Limitations and Challenges
Ms. Dima Sader, LCPS, Lebanon
Discussants:
Ms. Roula Majdalani, ESCWA,
Lebanon
Dr. Melhem Chaoul, Lebanese University, Social Science Institute,
Lebanon
13:00 – 15:00
Lunch
15:00 – 16:30 Session
6: Decentralization and Reform Proposals in the MENA Region:
An Evaluation of Initiatives for Change
Moderator: Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, New School University,
NY, and College of Social Sciences, Tehran University
Presentations:
Decentralised Governance for Human Development
Mr. Mounir Tabet, UNDP
La décentralisation au Liban: entre la lege lata
et la lege fernanda
Mr. Ziad Baroud, Saint Joseph University, Lebanon
Decentralization and Administrative Reform in
Morocco: Opportunities and Limitations
Dr. Brahim Zyani, Institut Supérieur de l’Administration, Morocco
Discussants:
Mr. Ghassan Moukheiber, Lebanon
Mr. Yasser Sherif, Environics, Egypt
16:30 –
17: 00 Synthesis and Wrap-up
Dr. Salim
Nasr, General Director, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, Lebanon
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