Decentralisation in Zambia

The International Growth Centre hosts a roundtable on 4th February 2022 in Lusaka to bring together government departments, academic expertise, and practitioner experience to discuss the government's decentralisation objective and practical barriers faced in achieving them. The roundtable is chaired by Mr Gary G Nkombo, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development.

The roundtable follows IGC on-going work with the Government of Zambia on decentralisation, the Constituency Development Fund, and urban development in Zambia.

The aims of the roundtable are:

• Discuss the governmental objectives as set out in the National Decentralisation Policy and its interaction with other government objectives, including on job creation and economic growth, particularly its link with the Constituency Development Fund.
• Identify the practical barriers in achieving these government objectives, from the perspective of the central government and the local councils, along with lessons from other countries on circumventing similar barriers.
• Identify areas of collaboration between the government, researchers, and development partners in mitigating these practical barriers.

The closed-door roundtable includes representatives of State House, Ministry of the Local Government and Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, the Decentralisation Secretariat, along with researchers affiliated with the IGC. Additionally, representatives from the donor community will also attend.

For more details, please email Shahrukh Wani at [email protected]