CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT AND THE SUSTAINABLE

Abstract

This paper examines the local government personnel functions, career and juxtaposes it within the context of subsisting realities and challenges towards the attainment of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) as one task amongst many at the regional and local levels of government in Nigeria. It identified the core problem that few local governments can offer competitive salaries which are available to prospective employees at the other levels of government (Federal and State) and in the organized private sector. This is aside the ‘heavy hand’ of the State government bureaucracy which clogs the local government service commission (LGSCs) efficient and effective function with long delays in processing applications for hiring, deploying, training, and disciplining local government staff and even separation in terms of retirement and payment of gratuity and pensions. This paper relying on secondary documents theoretically connects this problem using the human capital theory within the SDGs and their 169 targets often described as aspirational. This paper posits here that the availability of local government municipal personnel to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from its global policy agenda setting dimension to the local sector plans as it envisions to the local citizens is an uphill task towards its target of the year 2030 agenda. It suggests amongst others, that the solution remains in the decentralization concept with the deployment (deconcentration/delegation) of personnel from the central and regional governments to the local government with enhanced wages and incentives to end their careers in local communities towards the attainment of SDGs and targets which requires well trained and competent personnel.