A Users' Guide to Measuring Local Governance

Table 33:
Tanzania – Calculation method for the size of the local government Capacity Building Grant
Performance “rating”
Acceptable performance (Complied with Minimum Conditions and
attained minimum score in all functional areas to receive basic
allocation)
Very good performance (Complied with Minimum Conditions and
attained scores in all functional areas above the stated minimum for
a bonus)
Poor Performance (Complied with Minimum Conditions but in one or
more functional area scored below the minimum to receive basic)
Non-compliance with Minimum Conditions for access to CDG
Compliance with Minimum Conditions to access CBG
Non – Compliance with Minimum Conditions to access CBG
Reward/Sanction
Receives basic Capital Development Gants (CDG) allocation for next
financial year (FY)
+ 20% CDG allocation for next FY
- 20% CDG allocation for next FY
No CDG
Receives Capacity Building Grants (CBG)
No CBG
Results for both the assessments may be obtained
through the evaluation of the fulfilment of existing
statutory requirements/legal frameworks to
promote local government compliance and/or the
comparison with realistic benchmarks for good
institutional performance, good governance and
accountability.
In order to allocate funds, a clear formula is often
applied in order to define the amount of the
transfer, which also takes into account some
characteristics of local governments, such as
population, size of the local government, number
of people below the poverty line, human
development index.
Minimum Criteria and Performance Measures are
assessed against the above criteria that are
generally defined in country based manuals,
providing the explanation of these indicators, the
guidelines for their measurement, the scoring
system and a detailed outline of the entire
assessment process. With respect to the PMs, there
exist two levels for each functional area, a
minimum score that must be attained to attract a
performance bonus and the minimum score below
which a local government attracts a penalty for
poor performance. To qualify for a bonus a council
must score higher than the minimum mark for a
performance bonus in all functional areas.Table 33
summarises the scheme applied in the assessment
to determine the size of the grant to be received in
the ensuing financial year in Tanzania.
Key actors/stakeholders
PBGS are usually managed and overseen by a
central government ministry or department, such
as the Department of Finance or Local
Government, or a sector ministry if the
assessments are sector oriented. Performance
grants can also be carried out through an external
assessment (contracting out solely or combined
with stakeholders from various places co-opted
in the teams), self-assessment by the local
governments in dialogue with the citizens (social
audit) or combined external and internal
participatory assessment (external agency + local
self-assessment).
Results reporting format
Minimum Conditions have usually to be fulfilled
100% in order to be eligible for grants (on/off
conditions), while Performance Measures are
more qualitative measures of local government
performance (scoring values). It is recommended
that results be published – through radio,
newspapers and workshops – and discussed. Table
34 shows a summary of the status of Minimum
Conditions and the level of Performance Measure
for 20 districts in Nepal for 2006.
Coverage
Examples of how these systems have been tested
and applied in recent years are available for some
Asian and African countries, such as Uganda,
Kenya, Tanzania, Bangladesh and Nepal.
126 UNDP Oslo Governance Centre