New law shifts property ownership from central to local government .In Georgia, the central government owned the property used by local governments on a day-to-day basis, such as city halls, park equipment, and municipal water and sewage systems. While the central government allowed local governments to use this property, the situation restricted local government’s ability to make important decisions regarding repair, maintenance, and quality control. As a result, in many communities, government buildings and local infrastructure are falling apart.
USAID’s local government project assisted the Georgian government in writing a law that transferred this property from central to local government... more
Office of Democracy and Governance
USAID
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20523
Tel: 202-712-1892
Anti-corruption: Activities are designed to promote governance institutions, processes and policies that are transparent and accountable across all development sectors and may focus on civic education and advocacy for reform of laws and practices, or directly on improving accountability and transparency of governance processes.
Democratic Governance of the Security Sector: Assistance in this area supports the development of effective, legitimate and democratically accountable security systems. Activities include: public sector reform and public management; strategic planning, policy, and budget formulation; civilian and civic capacity building; formal oversight (legislative, fiscal, human rights); and informal oversight (civil society watchdog groups).
Decentralization and Democratic Local Governance: Decentralization and democratic local governance activities and strategies are designed to improve subnational public service delivery, to enhance local economic development, and to enhance democratic decision-making at national and subnational levels. Decentralization strategies are designed to prioritize national stabilization, economic growth and/or democratization as a primary goal, consistent with country circumstances and U.S. foreign policy objectives.
Strengthen Legislative Function and Processes: Assistance in this area seeks to improve the way legislatures and legislative processes and procedures work to uphold democratic practices. Programs focus on improving legislative processes and the quality and effectiveness of laws and regulations. Programs are also designed to increase the legislature’s capacity to be responsive, enhance public participation, engage in policy-making, hold the legislative and the executive branch accountable, and oversee the implementation of government programs, budgets, and laws.
Policy Reform through Strengthened Executive and Public Sector Performance: This component assists executive branch offices and citizens in incorporating democratic structures and principles into state building, and into their ongoing systems of governance and public administration services. Programs provide executive offices, ministries, and independent governmental bodies with policies, procedures, and skill sets (including leadership and strategic management) to guide operations, implementation and enforcement of laws, regulations and policies, linkages between and among branches, levels and functions of government, international relations, financial management systems, civil service reforms, public/private partnerships; and support working with citizens as customers of government.
