What should local government be doing for the poor who want to help themselves?
Dealing with a dispute between a local market stall holder and council I thought about the question, what should local government be doing for the poor who want to help themselves?
For local government to help the lower socio economic communities help themselves, it must understand the issues the poor face in running a business. Like wise these communities must be aware of the importance of effective engagement (including the benefits of compliance) with local government in order to have their voice heard. This may require training on both sides.
One of the key issues here is trust, on both sides. Many of the business people in Mt Roskill come from countries where government officials are corrupt, local government provides little or no services so there is no engagement. The challenge here for local government is to reach out to these people with something of value on offer, to not only listen to their needs, but to be honest about what it can commit to then stick to its promises.
Local Government must be transparent in the way they manage rates. A good system is one where the priorities of the local community will be sought, discussed in public forum then used to allocate funding.
What are some practical ways local government can help lower socio groups to get businesses going:
• Make it easy to get a licence to do business; i.e. food handling licences, a place in a council owned market.
• Be predictable and clear in the way they will incur costs on local businesses so that the businesses can plan ahead. Keep rates low!
• Invest in infrastructure that will help local businesses transport goods (uncongested roads), expand local market facilities.
• Be a buyer of locally produced goods and services to stimulate the local economy.
Note: I have referred to a paper in preparing this post: The role of local government in stimulating pro-poor economic development; what and how? Frits van der Wal & Thea Hilhorst. September 2007
