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E-Government, Local Government
Japan urges cuts in local govts' public works costs
In the ongoing tussle between central and local government in Japan, a panel in charge of expediting the decentralisation of power has called for local entities to be freed from the burden of maintenance expenses for public work done under the orders of central government.
The call for removing this financial burden from local governments is one of a set of proposals released by the Council for the Promotion of Decentralisation Reform, an advisory body to Prime Minister Taro Aso.
The seven-member panel agreed on the set of proposals in its meeting on April 24th and presented them to Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama.
Currently, prefectural governments and the governments of 12 ordinance-designated major cities, are required by law to cover portions of construction and maintenance expenses for such central government-planned public works as dams, arterial roads and flood control facilities.
The local governments have been paying one-third of the public works’ construction expenses and 45 per cent of their maintenance costs.
The expenditures for these purposes from local governments in fiscal 2009 are expected to reach an estimated US$10 billion across the nation, including about US$1.7 billion in maintenance outlays.
Osaka Governor Toru Hashimoto and some other heads of prefectural governments have lambasted the central government for “using local governments as if they’re a slave of the central government”.
The proposals by the panel were based on the Decentralisation Reform Promotion Law that took effect in 2007, revamping the relations between the central government and local governments in a way conducive to boosting the autonomous capabilities of local governments.
The proposals, however, have no binding power in the eyes of the government.
Attention has been focused on whether Aso will grab the initiative and have the panel’s recommendations reflected in future government measures. The Prime Minister has pledged to put priority on enhancing the welfare of local entities through acceleration of the decentralisation of power.
The ministry indicated its readiness to disclose in May detailed public works-related information involving planned fiscal contributions from local entities for this fiscal year.
Hatoyama said, “In compiling a national budget for the next fiscal year, the government must incorporate measures for coping without public works maintenance expenses from local government coffers.”
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