28 mars 2024
New Powers Devolved to Councils and Regions

New Powers Devolved to Councils and Regions

New Powers Devolved to Councils and Regions

 
Under the 2004 laws on decentralization, many powers were devolved to Councils and Regions in the economic, health, social, educational, sports and cultural development domains.
The law to institute the General Code of RLAs, while maintaining the powers devolved to both the councils and the regions, broadens them in order to allow a better application of the principle of subsidiarity, i.e. to act in such a way as to give greater satisfaction to the expectations and needs of their inhabitants in terms of proximity. This broadening is also intended to translate the repeated prescription of the President of the Republic on this matter.
By abolishing the principle of concurrent exercise by the State of the powers devolved to RLAs, it will henceforth be the exclusive right of RLAs to do so, for greater effectiveness and efficiency. Indeed, the State may henceforth intervene in the field of the powers devolved only in two cases provided for in Section 18, namely:

  • where the Government intends to intervene on an ad hoc basis to ensure the balanced development of the territory or to address an emergency situation;
  • in the event of failure duly established by order of the minister in charge of local authorities.

In addition to the powers devolved by the 2004 laws included in the Code, eleven (11) new powers are devolved to RLAs, seven (7) for councils and four (4) for regions.
For councils, they include:

  • exploitation of mineral substances that cannot be given out as concession;
  • preparation and implementation of council plans for risk prevention and emergency response in the event of disasters;
  • local pre-collection.and management of household waste;
  • recruitment and management of nursing and paramedical staff of integrated health centres and sub-divisional health centres;
  • recruitment and management of the teaching and support staff of the said schools;
  • creation and operation of leisure parks;
  • organization of socio-cultural events for leisure purposes.

 
As for regions, the newly devolved powers include:

  • recruitment and management of. nursing and paramedical staff of regional and district hospitals·
  • recruitment and management of teaching and support staff for such institutions;
  • creation and operation of leisure parks of regional interest;
  • organization of recreational socio-cultural events of regional interest.

The special status regions of the North-West and South-West, in addition to the above-mentioned additional powers, exercise special powers of their own, taking into account their language specificity and history, as set out in Section 328. These powers are developed in the fact sheet on the powers of the special status regions.

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