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CHAPTER THREE
This chapter is meant to analyze the data collected from the responses to the questionnaire and interview questions administered on the local populace and some local government officials respectively.
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Table 2: An assessment of local government performance in rural development:
Variables No. of Frequency % score
Excellent 3 7.5
Good 9 22.5
Fair 21 52.5
Poor 7 17.5
Total 40 100
The above table show that pattern of responses to question on an assess cut of local government performance in the area of rural development. With most of the responses in the fair category (52.5%) it indicates that, the effort of local government towards improving the loss of the rural dwellers is being appreciated by the anticipated beneficiaries in rural development. And this also implies that there has been the development of the rural areas by the local government and there fore the basic rural infrastructural facilities have been provided by the local government to the rural dwellers.
Table 3: An assessment of community development project in the Local government
Variables No. of
frequency
% score
Yes 37 92.5
No 3 7.5
Total 40 100
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The above table indicates the response of the responded to the question of self-help projects in community development projects. And on whether they receive assistance or not, from the local government towards executing the projects. An over whelming majority indicate that they received assistance from the local government in executing community development projects. This indicates that the local government played a vital role in the execution of self-projects:
Table 4: Type of health service being provided by the local government.
Variables No. of frequency % score
Dispensary 10 25
First aid 5 12.5
Rural health 5 12.5
Center 10 25
Clinic 6 15
None 4 10
Total 40 100
The above table shows the responses receive on the question of health service being provided to the respondent by the local government 40% of the respondents show that they are being provided with a dispensary, 17.5% are being provided with a clinic and 15% are not being provided with any health service. There fore about 5% of the respondents are being served or provided with health services by the local government.
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This implies that there has bean a significant development in the health section as only 15% of the respondents indicated that they don’t enjoy any health services of the local government.
Table 5 : Sources of water supply
Variables No. of frequency % score
River 10 25
Well /stream 9 22.5
Borehole 3 7.5
Tap 2 5
Well & borehole 8 20
All of the above 8 20
Total 40 100
The above table shows that sources of water supply of the respondents white 26.5% of the respondents have river as their sources of water supply. 23.2% of the respondents get their water supply. From well or stream. 63% from bore hotel, white 5%
of the respondent get their water supply from the tap 20% get their from well or bore hotels and 20% from all the sources listed above, however, was found that no respondent that relies sorely on the lore hotel or tap as its resources of water supply most respondent have well river stream as their source of water supply.
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Table 6: improvement on the source of water supply
Variables No. of frequency % score
Yes 28 70
No 12 30
Total 40 100
The Above table is a summary of the respondents, question of whether there has been any improvement in their source of water supply. 70% of the respondent was of the opinion that there has been an improvement in their source of water supply 30%
expressed that there has not been any improvement in these sources. This implies that, local government impact on the improvement of rural water supply has been tremendous.
Table 7: Number of Development project that have been out in the Area.
Variables No. of frequency % score
Less than 2 project 7 17.5
2-4 project 23 57.5
More than 4 project 8 20
None 2 5
Total 40 100
The above table shows a summary of the responses to the question on projects that have so far been executed in their area of the local government.
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Most of the respondent 57.5% views on the number of project that have been executed in there are large between 2-4 project, 20% stated that more than four project have so far been executed in their areas and 17.5% have less 2 project been executed in their areas and 5% had no projects that has carried out in their areas. Therefore Sokoto south local government area performance to ward rural development has been quite tremendous particularly in the area of health and water supply.
In the cause of my interview with local government officials I found out that the local government has on health service made a great effort towards providing health facilities and services to the people in the area particularly, the south district. This is in relation to infrastructure facilities which are either being provided. It was found that in Sokoto south district alone today there are about thirty health centers located in different places apart from the specialist hospitals.
On education though its management is vested on the local government, any burden of failure or success is to be carried by the local government. For example, the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme, many primary schools particular in the rural areas became established and years after the scheme most schools that became established as a result of it are not functioning. The local government council has how taken over most of the school some of these school have even been converted to model primary school example of those schools converted are motel primary schools Gagi town etc
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The adult education section is also being reverted. Adult education classes are being run in almost all the village in Sokoto south.
Water supply is also another section in which the local government is trying to make its impacts felt by the populace. The local government has sum over 3 boreholes and well in the district.
In the area of road construction and repairs nor much has been done by the local government council.
Other development projects that have been executed by the local government includes the building of motor parks, Quranic school, clinic, drainage, at Gagi district.
On a discussion the problems confronting the local government and which have directly or in directly impaired on inhibited its efforts towards grassroots development.
The following wore highlighted by the local government officials.
One is inadequacy of funds; the effects of this problem were said to diverse however only few of its. Effects were discussed. And these are its effects of the health services and rural electrification programme. As a result of inadequacy of funds through many health centers have been established they are only a kind of window dressing as most of not all these center lack drugs and the necessary medical equipment for their running. Also a result of lack of adequate funds, no any rural electrification programme have been executed by the local government in Gagi district. The inadequacy of funds was said to arise from the fact that the local revenue sources that have been allocated to the local government are incapable of generating enough revenue for carrying out all the
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function for which the local government were established and neither are the grants of the federal and state government.
The other problem that confronts the local government is lack of autonomy.
Through the 1976 reforms anticipated the development of power and authority to the local council, this is still a dream. This has seriously impaired the local government performance in the areas of rural development; this is because a ceiling amount for contract that can be awarded by the local government is been set by the state government.
Another problem that was highlighted is the lack of adequate and properly trained manpower. This problem is more serious in the health sector of the local government, It takes enough personal to man its various health center. Base on the secondary data, the following were also same of the problems that local governments have to contend with and these have had a negative consequences. state government on the other hand don’t honor their obligation of paying of their internally generated revenue to local government areas within the states on time and this delay in meeting this obligation had affected the smooth implantation of local government programmes.
The other problems is less of revenue through arbitrary statutory allocation by the state government as source of contribution to the primary school management board (P.S.M.B.).this compounded further by the categorization of expenditure by local government as contained in paragraph 9,2 and 1 of the implementation guidelines in the applications of the civil service reform in the local government. By this act lots of founds would be committed to education by local government since no categorical statement has
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been made by the federal government on the amount that should be contributed by each local government to primary education. Also this categorization erodes local government autonomy. Another issue is the encroachment on local government function by the state government areas most affected are constructing and maintenance of markets and motor parks.
Corruption is another problem confronting local government according to some people. The local government is a gold mine where easy money could be made by those charged with collecting revenues. This melody has become so entrenched that an urgent and permanent solution of local government want become effective source for the generation and management of resources to improve the life of rural populace.
In view of Malami Umar Sarkin Yakin Gagi and Baraya Zaki thought it was held that the institution of local government functions primary to ensure the development of the rural areas but this institution is fraught with lots of problems. Which have continued to undermine its performance. And unless these problems are done away with local government performance especially in the area of rural development can never be meaningful. these problems include inadequacy of funds and lack of trained and skilled man power.
Going by the data collected, it can be deduces that this local government has made fair efforts towards the development of its rural areas. however, there are issues, which if care is not taken will not only hamper the local government further efforts in the development of its rural areas but also lead to a deterioration of its performance in this
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direction a case in points is lack of appropriate medical personnel has rendered most of the health centers useless. This is compounded by lack of essential drugs. Which was blamed on the inadequacy of funds to procure the drugs. Also some of the borehole that has been sunk has broken down as a result of lack of engineers that would carry out maintenance work on them. All these are evident in the date collection.
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CHAPTER FOUR
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 4.1 SUMMARY
This study focused on the role of local government in the development of rural areas.
Prior to the 1976 reforms many reforms had been effected in the local government system, both during the colonial periods and post independence, period All intended at improving the local government system. However, all these reforms programs in the administration of local government did not bring any meaningful change in the local system, as local government nationwide continued to be just an extension of the state administration. The failure of these reforms and programs promoted the federal government to initiate system, which made them to assume a uniform position all over the country and became a Third -tier of government their areas in particular the spread of amenities to all section of the Community.
In this study, it was demonstrated that Basic rural infrastructural facilities have to some extent been provided in Gagi district areas and it is the provision of these basic rural infrastructural facilities that determines whether a particular local government area has been developed over the years or not.
Based on this research study, it was found that though there has been considerable development in Gagi over the years. This may generate into the underdevelopment of the area. If the problem confronting the local government which have cripple its performance
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and efficiency are not tackled or done away with. These problems included inadequacy of funds, lack of local autonomy, and lack of skilled professional man power and corruption e.t.c.