Posted by Chester Morton / Friday 23 December 2016 / No comments
The demerits of a centralized system of government
Definition of centralization
Centralization can be defined as the type of government in
which powers of government are concentrated at the centre and exercised by a
central authority. One of the countries that practice a centralized system of government is France.
DEMERITS OF
CENTRALIZATION
May give rise to tyranny
In a centralized system, there is too much concentration of
power at the centre and therefore there is the tendency on the part of the ruling
government to become dictatorial. If this happens, the rights of the citizens
may be unduly trampled upon.
Work load is higher than in decentralized system
Another disadvantage of a centralized system of government is
that there is too much work load on the central government. This is due to the fact that
it does not share its functions with any other level of power in order to lighten work at the centre, so all the work
is done only at the centre.
Its government is remote
The government of the centralized system of government seems
to too far removed from the people. The citizens in the remote villages and
hinterlands do not normally feel that they have any government since the
distance between them and the officials at the centre makes them feel isolated.
Does not allow for taking initiatives
The government officials at the local level are not allowed
to vary programmes coming from the central government. Even when it is noticed
that the policy would not work under certain conditions, permission must be
sought from the centre before changes could be made. Such a situation does not
allow those at the local level to take initiatives.
Encourages local apathy
The local people do not usually feel they are part of the
government. In some cases, it is only once in a long time before a government
official passes by their locality. They therefore sometimes lose interest in
what goes on in government.
Difficult to identify local needs
The central government assumes certain conditions and draws
programmes to take care of those situations. However, there may be pertinent
local needs that may never be apparent at the central government level because
they are too far away from the reality on the grounds. Once these are not
recognized, they would not be addressed.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. a. What is centralization?
b. Highlight five
disadvantages of centralization.
