ABSTRACT
Local
government is that level of government nearest to the people. It is said to be
corner stone of the government system in any country.
The
federal government believes that it is only through an effective local
government system that the human and material resources of the nation could be
mobilized for local government with its objectives is aimed at standard and
stabilizing the function and financial resources at the local government level
and to encourage initiatives and leadership potential.
The
basic procedure of local government is revenue mobilization and its effective
utilization especially more that there is no comprehensive study on sources and
uses of funds in the local government.
The
current trends of inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the local authorities
should be considered with the frame work of available resources.
If the
financial resources of the local of the local government are boughant and
viable than this will go a long way in communicating strength and solidity to
offer superstructure of government authorities.
There
are no discipline on the part of the leadership, management and staff of the
local government in collecting revenue efficiently and also try to put them
into effective use.
In the
tight of the above, the researcher major objectives as regards this research
work was to identity those source of finance available to local government,
their uses and problem associated with their finance in Nigeria using Ezeagu
central Local government development Council ad my case study.
The
problem associated with sources, uses of local government finance was
critically examine in this project.
In
handling the above research work primary and secondary data was used. The
sources of primary data was by the use of questionnaires and oral interviews,
while the secondary data sources are text books.
The
analysis of data was based on percentages. It is on the strength of the finding
that recommendation and conclusion was made.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
APPROVAL PAGE
DEDICAATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
1.1
BACK
GROUND OF THE STUDY
1.2
STATEMENT
OF PROBLEM
1.3
OBJECTIVE
OF THE STUDY
1.4
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
1.5
STATEMENT
OF HYPOTHESIS
1.6
SIGIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
1.7
DEFINITION
OF TERMS
CHAPTER
TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1
THE
MEANING OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
2.2
FUNCTIONS
OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
2.3
SOURCES
OF REVENUE AVALIABLE TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES
2.3.1
EXTERNAL
ATTRIBUTES OF LOCAL LGOVERNMENT FINANCE
2.4
THE
IMPORTANCE/USES OF REVENUE GENERATED BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT
2.5
PROBLEMS
OF LOCAL GOVRNMENT FINANCE APPROACHES OF THE IMPROVEMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
FINANCE.
CHAPTER
THREE
3
RESEARCH
SESIGN AND METHOD ----------------
3.1
SOURCE
OF DATA -------------------------------
3.1.1 PRIMARY
DATA
------------------------------------------------------------
3.1.2 SECONDARY
DATA --------------------------------------------------------
3.2 POPULATION
OF STUDY -------------------------------------------
3.2 INSTRUMENTATION
-------------------------------------------------------
3.4 SAMPLE
SIZE -----------------------------------------------------------------
3.5 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE MEAUSRING
INSRUMENT
-----------------------------------------------------------------
3.6 SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 PRESENTATION OF DATA
------------------------------------------------
41 INTERPRETATION AND ANYALYSIS OF DATA -------------------
4.2 TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS
-----------------------------------------------
CHAPTER FIVE
FINDINGS,
RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACK
GROUND OF THE STUDY
The
term Local government has been defined by many scholars with different view as
regards its development. W.A. Robinson (2000) states that ‘Local government’
involves the conception of territorial non-sovereign community processing the
legal right and the necessary organization to regulate right of its own
affairs. This I turn presupposed the control, Vis-à-vis participation in state
affairs.
According to U.N. Akpan (1999), out of
various possible conceptions of the local level development, two have been
particularly dominants in Nigeria since the colonial time. The first was
christened the indirect rule system and is infact no other than a field
administration model.
Gboyega Alex (1998), state that nation
wide ordinance establishing the model first in the Northern provinces and later
in the southern provinces was promulgated by the colonial government in 1916,
two year after the analyation of the Northern and Southern protectorates
Indirect rule was actually the rule by the British colonial officials through
local chiefs in terms of its philosophy and practice, the emphasis of their
model was the colonial regulation of conquered people and so did not encourage
popular participation and representation in the native authorities. It was
therefore, strictly different from the pre colonial structure of Government
which emphasis balance of power and popular participation. Indirect rule
distorted these pre-colonial institutions. The model was also not human
development although it led to the beginning of a net work of infrastructures
of roads, schools and dispensaries, through with the collaboration of native
authorities, the colonial central government and missionaries.
Local
Government has sources of revenue of their own such as community taxes and
rates, Licenses and fees, earnings and sales, Federal and state statutory
allocation etc. After the Second World War, the political development between
Nigeria and /Britain led to the abolition of the indirect rule system and its
replacement which emphasized full grown local government which was effuient
particularly and relatively autonomous. The eastern region was the fist to
embark on the experiment on 1950 while the other regions followed in 1952. A
few years after wards precisely in 1976, the federal military government
announced the reforms of the nations local announced the reforms of the nations
local government system. Essentially, the reform resuscitated the idea of
participatory and autonomous government which have access to resources both
internally and externally to improve the social the economic of the various
communities. The question as to why there was this sudden change of direction
from at the earlier emphasis on local rules through traditional rules and
bureaucrat was carefully examined. The request for autonomy becomes administration
particularly since 1970’s. The anticipation of the autonomy came through the
1976 reforms. Actually 1979 constitution made the anticipated a reality, thus
the period between 1976 to 1979 can be defined as the period when the idea of
local government in Nigeria came to include autonomy for the level of
government.
However,
the autonomy expectedly remained circumscribed because of control Viz;
financial, administration, judiciary, auditory and even miscellaneous which the
various state governments exericed in local governments exericed in local
government. The most prominent control is on rinace which affects local
government development.
The
term “finance” encompases personal finance, business finance, business finance
and public finance.
According
to mautia joy (2001) finance was defined as the art of providing the means of
payment or as a body of facts, principles and theories dealing with the raising
and using of finds by individual, business, firms and the government. Our
interest in this project lies in the problems of rising and using of funds by
the local government will emphasis of Ezeagu Central Local government
development council.
Thus,
a Uniform system of local government through the guidelines for the local
government went on to identify the executive functions of local government.
According
1999 constitution section 7 sub section 1 (b) (e) (j) (i) (vi) of Nigeria
constitution states various ways the local government can source its funds,
although these ways has remained grossly in adequate for maintaining capital and
recurrent council. Lack of adequate finance and subvention has been of the
defects responsible for the indecency.
Until
the revenue allocation act was biplated and received in 2002 by the revenue
allocation fiscal commission, at he federal government has operated a system of
block grants and subventions to local government througfh state government.
Since the money coming from the federal account to the joint state and Local
government did not directly.
3. Is there and financial authority of the
local government?
1.5 STATEMENT
OF HYPIOTHESIS
To guide research, the following
hypothesis was formulated.
1 Ho: The
available funds are able to meet the expectations and serve
of the local government.
H1: The
available fund are not able to meet the expectations and services of the
government.
2. Ho: the fund available to the local government
authorities are not
prudently
managed.
H1: The
fund available to the local government authorities are not prudently managed.
3. Ho: The Local government is under fundered
partly. From the
federation
account
H1: The Local government is under fundered
partly. From the
federation
account
4. Ho: There is financial autonomy of the local
government.
H1: There is no financial autonomy of local
government
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The
factors militating against a successful performance by the local government
authorities may be dual in native. They be managerial and financial in native.
They be managerial and financial in native. Finance is an important part of
most organizations decision, and a clear understanding of the way in which
decisions are made is essential if the role finance is to be seen in its true
perspectives.
Finance
is very crucial because if influences planning and achievement pf set
objectives.
Local
government being the level of government nearest to the people is the corner
stone of the government system in any country. If the financial resources of
the local goal area buoyant and viable then this will go a long way in
community strength and solidarity to other super structures or government
authorities.
The
important of local government in the nation must be recognized. It is not a
profit oriented organized. But a service oriented one and this will surely
affect its revenue. To respective local governments, federal presence level of
government.
It
has been notice that the allocation to the local government have not been
steady. The flunctuational of the statutory allocation always put the local
government of their budgets estimate for any given year. In most financial year
the realization on revenue is spent on recurrent expenditure for running the
council while little or noting is left for capital expenditure. This accounts
for the absence of development projects by various local government will be
elaborated in table in chapter four.
LOCATION AND AREA
Ezeagu
Central local Government Development area is one out of seventeen local
government area and thirty nine development centers of Enugu state, ie the
total of fifty six local government area in Enugu state. It occupies a
geographical western position in the state. It is located at Mgbagbuowa and
also surrounded by Ezeagu South, East and North West local Government area.
1.2 STATEMENT
OF PROBLEMS
The
basic problem of local government includes:
1.
The problem of revenue mobilization and its
effective utilization.
2.
Accountability of funds and properties of the
Local government.
3.
The problem of effective displine leadership in
the local government.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
a To
examine the problems in local government finance and establish the factors
responsible for poor revenue generation and ineffective execution of the local
government programs and project.
b. To
identify the problems especially as it affect finance with a view of making
adequate recommendation for improvement
1.4 REASEARCH QUESTIONS
1. Are
the availability of funds able to meet the expectation and services of the
local government?
2. Are
the funds available to the local government authority prudently managed?
The
Significance of this study is there, to find ways of improving local government
finance for effective channeling, implantation and executive of the program
with in Ezeagu Central local government Council as my area of concern.
LIMITATION
OF THE STUDY
1.6 There
are a lot of limitations that surrounded this study. The inanely fact ones was
time factors, non availability of funds at the time of this research, poor
response to question also bring some difficulties. Majority of the local
government staff are semi-illiterates.
Having
noticed that such people work in the Local government, measures were taken to
the question simply for easy answer.
However,
despite these limitation, there was progress in the research since other necessary information was gotten.
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Local Government/Authority:
The third tier system of government after the state federal government.
* Finance:
- A body of fact with the raising of fund by local government authorities it
encompass personal, business and public finance.
* Local
levies: - these include all the internal source of revenue collected within the
local government area.
* Local
Government Allocation: The percentage of funds, the Local authorities gets from
the national fund.
Click “DOWNLOAD NOW” below to get the complete Projects
FOR QUICK HELP CHAT WITH US NOW!
+(234) 0814 780 1594
Login To Comment