District Councils: The Missing Middle of Local Governance

This roundtable emerged from AREU’s wider study of local governance and focuses specifically on issues encountered at the district level. Participants highlighted the weakness of district structures compared to those at the provincial and village level; the confusion and complexity of different, overlapping bodies under different ministries and donor schemes; and the need to work toward a single, representative district body that can take an active role in local planning and hold ministries and the administration to account.