A survey by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation found that while councillors are generally aware of their duties, they “..find the decentralisation process very challenging and beyond their capacity”. On another important aspect, the report says: “A second impediment to a full and fruitful implementation of decentralisation is the Council’s tight financial situation.”This demonstrates the lack of trust between the central government and the CCs and that the central government is not ready to relinquish financial power. This is corroborated by Padek’s observations that even when funds were allocated to CCs for commune development, they are usually hampered in the use of these funds by overly restrictive protocols where the CCs have little say on how the project get done. This has implications on the quality and quantity of the projects.

On the other hand, the report notes (ibid) that “...few people from the general public show interest in the everyday management of the commune” and that “hardly anyone attends the monthly council meetings.” In a society where those at the bottom have traditionally been unaccustomed to exercising authority, demanding good governance or expect little from local officials, while those at the top have little experience in delegating authority, the process of decentralisation and deconcentration, so far, has been slow and imperfect. At the meantime, governance at the national level does not provide a role model to follow.

The challenge for Padek and other NGOs is to create conditions for the CCs and the CSOs (VDCs, CBOs, CRCMCs) to work together for the development of their communes.