Local Administration Law

A new version of this law was passed on 23 August 2011 and its aims include:

• Decentralizing authority and responsibility through expanding and specifying authorities of elected councils in administrative units (Governorates, cities, towns and districts) in order to facilitate their role in developing these units economically, socially, culturally and urbanely.
• Establishing qualified administrative units that are capable of delivering their development plans, making administrative units directly responsible for services, the economy, culture and all matters of concern to citizens, and decreasing the role of central authorities to planning, legislation, regulation, the introduction of new technologies and the implementation of large projects that are beyond the capacities of administrative units.
• Increasing the income of administrative units to allow them to perform a developmental role in addition to their service one.

Administrative units (Governorates, cities, towns and districts) are administratively and financially independent and each has an elected council for a four year term. In the frame of the general policy of the state, local councils are responsible for local administration and actions aiming at developing the Governorate including culture and
based on the principles of sustainable and balanced development. The councils’ work includes the fields of planning, education, culture, archaeology, tourism, environment, and sports and youth.

The councils coordinate with central bodies (like the Ministry of Culture) by providing feedback on their plans and their implementation, set long term and annual plans, supervise their implementation, evaluate achievements and have contracting powers, in addition to supervising central bodies that are to become decentralized soon.

Local councils at the level of the Governorate draft plans and follow their implementation to ensure balanced and sustainable development in the Governorate, following guidelines set by national Five Year Plans and coordinating in the process with private, public and civil entities. Administrative units can carry out cultural projects and help non‐for‐profit cultural organizations, associations, forums and clubs to achieve their goals, in addition to establishing sport, social and cultural clubs.

Furthermore, the local councils can establish committees on the level of quarters to better respond to the needs of local neighbourhoods, including social and cultural ones. These committees participate in implementing local projects, in addition to communicating citizens’ feedback.