Ruta Peru Podcast: How do we achieve true decentralization and better public services for citizens?

The marked differences in the level of development between different regions of the same Peru testify to the difficulties faced by the process of decentralization in order to achieve the goals of improving the quality of public services in all corners of the country. These problems are aggravated by recurring cases of corruption in regional governments and municipalities, which in practice do not allow the use of state resources to improve the quality of life of citizens.

What reforms need to be carried out at different levels of government to improve the process of decentralization? It was this question that guided the recent episode of #RutaPerú, from IPAP Business Association in union with RPP. The conversation was devoted to putting forward proposals for optimizing the decentralization process in the country, which made it possible to provide quality services throughout the country.. Charles Gallardo, IPAP National Development Manager, D Theodore Chrysologsenior economist at the Peruvian Institute of Economics, commented on the issue.

Experts agreed that decentralization is currently far from achieving its goals: its benefits are limited and territorially heterogeneous, as evidenced by persistent differences in the coverage and quality of basic services not only between regions, but also between regions and districts of the republic. the same region.

In this situation, the question arises: How to solve the main problems of decentralization? In this regard, the experts recalled the proposals of #RutaPerú “Decentralization and Public Services for Citizens”, a document prepared by the IPAE Business Association.

The document says three proposals for structural reform of the decentralization process in the country: (I) to establish a clearer definition of the responsibilities of each level of government and to promote coordination between different levels; (II) review the way in which budgetary resources are allocated and allocated to subnational governments; (III) Carry out territorial reform to reduce the number of municipalities and regional governments for more efficient service delivery.

However, it must be recognized that these proposals work in the medium and long term. Meanwhile, it is important to pursue urgent policies that lead to immediate changes for the benefit of the population. To this end, it is also proposed to: (i) increase transparency through more open data and real-time monitoring systems of the functions performed by regional and municipal governments; (II) Strengthening the capacity of subnational government officials through fiscal incentives; (III) Assign the most important functions to the levels of government that are best able to carry them out; and (IV) Initiate political reform that will enable citizens to feel effectively represented by political parties and organizations at the subnational level.

To listen to the episode, you can go here: