Posted by Chester Morton / Saturday 24 December 2016 / No comments
The disadvantages of devolution
Definition of devolution
Devolution, as an aspect of decentralization can be defined
as the situation in which the government at the centre relinquishes part of its
power to other bodies such as local governments.
THE DEMERITS
Difficulty in getting qualified personnel
One of the disadvantages of devolution is that it is
difficult to get qualified personnel to accept posting to the remote places.
This is especially so in developing countries where not all the areas have
critical social amenities. Everybody highly qualified person wants to remain in
the big cities.
May lead to inefficiency
Where there is the absence of qualified personnel, the
government is compelled to hire anybody who is willing to accept posting to the
remote areas. The result is that such people are not as efficient as is
expected of them.
Stifles uniform development
Another disadvantage of devolution is that some districts
that are motivated tend to develop faster than others. Apart from that some
districts get highly qualified people to work there so they are able to come up
with policies that inure to the benefit of the locality and those with lowly
qualified personnel suffer. In the end, the pattern of development is not
uniform.
It is expensive
The institutions of state that help in the running of the
country need to be deployed in all parts of the country to render similar
services to the people at the grassroots. This calls for the building of
structures and the hiring of personnel to man them. These personnel have to be remunerated
appropriately. This makes the practice of devolution a very expensive
venture.
Divide loyalty
Though devolution brings government to the doorstep of the
people, what happens is that the people begin to see the government close to
them as the only government to relate to. For this reason, their loyalties are
to the government close to them and drop.
May lead to secession
Where there is too much devolution, the governments at the
regional and districts may feel too independent and may begin to think they
could stand on their own. This may lead to the tendency to break away from the
centre and if care is not taken, it may lead to an all out war.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. a. What is devolution?
b. Highlight five
disadvantages of devolution.
