How good or bad is your municipality?

I recently had the opportunity to travel to a Central American country. I was impressed by the fact that many professionals, both from the public as well as the private sector, both local and foreign, were basically in agreement as to which municipalities were well governed and which were not.

Evidently, there are a great number of subjective factors that may influence or “color” opinions from municipality to municipality. Some of these we have seen before, such as the mayor’s looks and/or congeniality or how big a share of the nation’s global resources it has been awarded. Certain variables can, however, be objectively evaluated in order to allow a reasonable ranking of municipalities as far as effective government is concerned.

In many parts of the world, including Venezuela, we have seen that expectations of improvements in public services are based on decentralization of power. As a result, it would seem positive to be able to develop a methodology which would help the population measure the results and efficiency of its government(s).

Bad results are immediately evident; their causes are not. An inefficient municipality can easily justify its unsatisfactory performance by alluding to a lack of resources. On the other hand, a below par result can also be hidden behind a surplus of resources. Having to take care of his day to day duties, how is a simple voter to know which is which?

The absence of knowledge or of access to information based on very certain and objective data about municipal government as well as an accompanying aversion to the unknown, attempts against a healthy renovation of the latter’s authorities. This lack of benchmarks and standards of measurement may also mean that results which may seem poor in the short run but that are designed by provide meaningful long-term improvements are not suitably rewarded.

Just imagine the chaos and confusion if our system of education all of a sudden decides to do away with the report card. How would parents evaluate the scholastic capacity of their children, especially when many of them haven’t even heard about the existence of the subjects currently being taught. This is very similar to the confusion of most voters when the time comes to choose their authorities for the next period.

We have about 300 municipalities that hold official elections in Venezuela. Few voters, so much so that I personally don’t know of one, have even the remotest idea whether their municipal government is better or worse that his neighbor’s. A ranking such as that mentioned above would help us comply with our obligations as voters.

Evidently, nobody can say that the measurement of results, however objective, will result in the correct analysis of any particular administration. However, a reasonable ranking could at least go a long way toward becoming a valuable tool to identify extreme situations. It would certainly identify those governments which one should hang on to for dear life and flag those that should go as quickly as possible. For example, the list of ingredients printed on packaged foods such as levels of calories, proteins, vitamins and chemicals is not meant to prohibit ingestion of the food but to inform and allow you to control your diet.

At a time when the country is betting the farm on decentralization, even in the face of certain risks such as runaway federalism, I am under the impression that one of the best possible investments we could make would be the creation of an evaluation committee whose task it would be to review efficiency at municipal levels. This committee or group, in addition to having solid methodological knowledge and ample resources with which to ensure that the job is done, must be totally independent of all political movement and of all people who could aspire to posts in municipal governments.

Perfection is the enemy of good. We don’t have to be overly precise. I don’t doubt for one minute that the 50 municipalities that are ranked at the top of the list would realistically belong at least in the top 150 and that the bottom 50 would really belong in the bottom 150.

A country of this composition that manages through elections to keep 50 good ones and trash 50 bad ones is certainly on the road to a better future than a country that bases its choice primarily on election period jingles. This means taking firm command of our future based on realistic information.

By saying all this, I’m not saying that I want our rights to vote reduced. By having declared myself incapable of saying with reasonable certainty whether things in my municipality are going well or not (in terms of what can be done and what can’t), I don’t wish to disqualify myself as an electoral illiterate. I simply wish someone would give me some spectacles with which to see better. And while you’re at it, throw the state governments in the pot as well.