Paper long abstract:

The election of municipal councils and mayors in April 2003 marked the start of decentralisation in Benin. The first year all councils prepared a development plan. To support this process, the government and the international community have put in place a range of capacity strengthening programmes. They promote social capital, leadership, and the use of participatory approaches to stimulate ownership. That is, ownership over the vision, strategy, programming, financing and implementation of local development. The present study tests the hypothesis that there is a correlation between these four factors and the performance in implementing the municipal plan.

The research covers 20 of Benin's 77 municipalities and is based on interviews with councillors, civil servants and active members of civil society. A model is developed in which three proxy indicators assess a municipality's performance: 1) realisation of the 2005 budget; 2) transparency about expenses and revenues; 3) a clear organisation of the implementation and monitoring of the plan. The model also includes proxy indicators for social capital, the quality of leadership, the level of participation and ownership of the municipal plan. The findings of the research do not confirm the correlation between performance on the one hand, and social capital, ownership, leadership and participation on the other. The impact of capacity strengthening programmes on the performance of municipalities can thus not (yet) be proven.