Poverty has remained stubbornly high in Africa for decades. Top-down plans and donor driven investment programs have been less than successful. Past experience suggests that decentralization will not work without vibrant, participatory communities. And enhanced participation will at some point need a local government structure for sustainability. The two can evolve together dynamically, strengthening one another. The new vision seeks to put local governments and rural and urban communities in driver's seat, and give them a new set of powers, rights, and obligations. These include: the right to be treated as people with capabilities, not objects of pity
the power to plan, implement, and maintain projects to serve their felt needs
the right to hold politicians and officials accountable
the power to command local bureaucrats instead of being supplicants
the power to hire, pay, and discipline all who provide them with frontline local services like education, health, municipal, and agricultural services
the right to a share of central government revenue
the power to levy user charges and local taxes
the obligation to enable women, ethnic minorities, the poorest, and other long excluded groups to participate fully in economic development
and the obligation to be accountable to local people, not just central governments or donors. To embark on local empowerment, one need first to enunciate its key principles. One can then consider the main elements of a set of interventions to enhance participation and decentralization, tailored to the stage of development in each country.