The importance of local self-government has been emphasized by political thinkers and administrators of all ages. In order to strengthen the model of local self-government, local government capacity must be increased. To be effective, any capacity building initiatives need to begin by considering a series of questions. For example, what is capacity, how do we build it, toward what end do we need to build the capacity, why particular emphasis on municipal government, what has been the success rate of the major paradigms proposed in the past, and where do we want to go in the future?
Capacity building is a phrase used by development specialists, international donors, and foundations to describe myriads of efforts to assist developing and transitional countries that want to improve their governance process. Capacity building is fundamentally about human resource management – specifically, improving the skills and quality of government personnel. From this perspective capacity building should focus on the recruitment, training, and retention of skilled personnel for strategically placed government organizations if performance is to be improved. There seems to be a wide-spread agreement among development specialists that since local governments are “closer to the people,” they are more likely to be responsive to collective preferences rather than the central government.
Another compelling reason for municipal capacity building is the growing global trend towards increasing urbanization in developing countries in which more than half of the world’s population is living in cities and towns. For example, the urbanization pattern in India has been undergoing significant change, with the urban population of about 29 % in 2001 is expected increase to about 500 million by 2021. While urbanization phenomenon is widely accepted as being an inevitable by-product of development, there are many undesirable outcomes have also resulted from rapid urbanization. With increasing population and increasing demand for urban infrastructure services, the capacities of local governments in many developing countries are overburdened. The negative effects produced by this huge migration to the cities are clear. According to India’s Ministry of Urban development, 20 % of urban households do not have access to safe drinking water, 58 % do not have safe sanitation, and more than 40% of garbage generated is left uncollected for want of proper waste management (Sridhar & Reddy, 2010).
The solutions to these problems must be planned and implemented by municipal governments. Not only are they responsible for providing basic services, but also promoting economic growth and improving quality of life for people residing in their jurisdictions. The case for capacity building therefore is apparent and urgent. Capacity must be built in financial resource generation, human resource management, institutional reforms, reduction in corruption, generating private sector and NGO partnerships, education of elected officials in challenges of modern municipal government, and instituting good governance practices.