ABSTRACT
The literature on governance has tended to show a preponderance of emphasis on ways and means to best promote good governance more or less confined to the macro level. Governance, as construed at the macro or central level, incorporates two key elements: civil service reform, and policy-making and institutional capacity building. This chapter focuses on the issue of governance at the local level arguing that the conceptual framework used to study governance at the national (or macro) level is not necessarily entirely useful to view the same at the local (or micro) level. It argues that empowerment is meaningless unless the capacity of selected leaders, managers, and key participants of civic society is enhanced. Accountability is simply about being able to hold public officials responsible for their actions, and it is central to good governance. Good governance presupposes effective participation from all sectors of civil society.
