| GENERAL INFORMATION ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT |
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The island state of São Tomé and PrÃncipe is constitutionally divided into two provinces and seven districts. On the larger island of São Tomé there are five districts including the Aqua Grande district which corresponds with the capital. PrÃncipe on the other hand is a one of the two provinces as well as a single district and possesses autonomous status and self government since 1995 with its own head of state. São Tomé and PrÃncipe was one of the first African nations to commit to democratization in 1990. The importance of local elections which were first held in 1980 grew with the opening of the political system. District assemblies are elected by the population for a period of 5 years most recently in 2006. New elections are planned to take place in the summer of 2011. The autonomous decision-making powers of the districts are however limited as most policy decisions are made by the responsible ministries.
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Local government is secured in the constitution with the declaration of local authorities as the representatives of local interests. Also the self government of PrÃncipe is enshrined in the constitution. Local government’s primary task is to execute and support central government projects thus showing the limitations on the independency of localities. This is also apparent in the field of financial control which – according to the constitution - should be in the hands of localities. In reality subsidies from the national government are inadequate hampering the ability of localities to develop on their own terms. There have been little legislative improvements in the field of local government. Decentralization is rated as ineffective and local authorities as lacking in capacity. Prioritizing the improvement of the legal and institutional status of localities can be a first step towards benefitting from the potential of decentralized government.
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Local Government Associations
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More information will follow.
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National Local Government Partners
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More information will follow.
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Regional Local Government Representation
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More information will follow.
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DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
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