Kampala — Dr. Kizza Besigye, the head of the Inter-Party Organisation Dialogue (IPOD), has asked African governments implementing the decentralisation system of governance to give more resources to lower units.

Besigye, who is also the FDC party president and Inter-Party Cooperation joint candidate for the 2011 polls, said there can be no development if local governments are not funded.

He said in Uganda, local governments did not have money and had, therefore, become incompetent and irrelevant in implementing development projects.

Besigye was presenting a paper on Uganda's decentralisation system during a workshop at Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala on Monday. The workshop drew participants from Malawi and the Netherlands.

"The Ugandan Government hastily abolished Graduated Tax, without putting in place an alternative tax," he said. "As a result, local governments cannot fund their own budgets, they have to wait for funding from the central government in order to work." He added that even the little funds that were given to local governments did not reach the intended beneficiaries.

He explained that governments in Africa need to discuss with their opposition parties and work for the good of their people by being accommodative and rational. Besigye noted that for the opposition to be continuously perceived as enemies of the sitting governments is counter-productive to development and good governance.

Chris Daza, the secretary general of Malawi Peoples Congress Party, called for unity of African governments. He said ruling parties should find a way of working with the opposition to forge unity, diversity, good governance and development.