CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE __________________________________________________________________________ 172. Institutional organisation and intra-communal relations are not the best, and many constraints need to be overcome if democracy is to be deepened and local governance strengthened. There is also much ambiguity about the local administrative units, namely the districts, villages and neighbourhoods in the cities. The law does not grant them legal status or financial autonomy. Their councils are elected and required to work with mayors. Their operational capacities are often conferred by courtesy of the mayors. This has led to misunderstandings, tensions and even conflicts. The same is true for the district councils that are not operational in the communes under special scheme and whose neighbourhood and village chiefs, although not elected, have been in their positions for over 15 years. However, there are plans to review them at the local elections in early 2008. 173. Another important issue is the high tendency to dismiss mayors at a whim. There are also many internal conflicts, fuelled by political intrigues and quarrels. There is also lack of knowledge of the legal texts, exacerbated by the incompetence of, and sometimes illiteracy among, many elected councillors; moneymaking; interference by the supervising authority; poor collaboration between the deconcentrated services in communal territories and elected councillors; and so on. There is a need to teach people about decentralisation to enhance local governance. 174. There is a lack of or inadequate communication between elected officers and grass-roots communities who do not understand why they are consulted only when they have to pay taxes and levies. They also do not benefit from quality services or assistance, and their requests are never heeded. The dysfunction in the management of the markets and other commercial places, especially in terms of paying taxes and levies, is a constant source of concern for stakeholders who complain about being ‘ripped off’ by municipal and central government workers alike. There is, therefore, a need for more coordinated action by the relevant departments. 175. These constraints have a real impact on local governance, and call into question the efficiency of Benin’s decentralisation system. Analysis of the findings of a survey organised by the TRIs show that most people – citizens and elected officers alike – are not satisfied with the decentralisation system in place, with the quality of services or the autonomy granted the communes. Only 19.57% of those surveyed said they were satisfied with the autonomy in local development granted to the communes, while 39.13% felt otherwise, and 41.3% had no opinion on the issue. Only 13.33% of respondents said they were satisfied with the assistance given by government to the communes. Another 35.63% said this was inadequate, and 51.11% were undecided. Lastly, 43.75% of respondents believe that decentralisation has not been a success, with 35.63% disagreeing, and 20.63% being undecided. Half the respondents believe that governance at the grass-roots level is a failure, 29.31% think it is successful and 20.69% are undecided. 176. There is concern because legal texts have not been adapted to local realities. Traditional authorities, namely the chiefs, are not involved in local governance although they are responsible for making social regulations. In a country with 82