Abstract:
The study focused on the effects of fiscal autonomy on service delivery in the local government system in Nigeria through a survey of selected local governments in Enugu State, Nigeria. The broad objective of this study was to assess the effects of fiscal autonomy on local government service delivery in Nigeria using selected local governments in Enugu State as our base study. Specifically, the study objectives were to: determine the extent the local governments in Enugu State have access to their funds from the federal revenue allocation, examine the extent the Local governments in Enugu State have access to the statutory10% share of the internally generated revenue of the state, determine the sources available to the Local governments in Enugu State for mobilizing internally generated revenues and examine the relationship between availability of funds and service delivery efforts of the local governments in Enugu State. Survey research design was adopted. The study used questionnaire as the primary source of data. The study purposively sampled nine local governments from the three senatorial districts of the state. Furthermore, three communities were selected from each local government sampled. The four hypotheses formulated were tested using T-test statistics and Pearson's Product-Moment Correlation test statistics (SPSS). The findings of the study revealed that local governments in Enugu State have limited access to the funds from federal revenue allocation and statutory 10% share of internally generated revenue of the State government, Local governments in Enugu State have little significant sources for mobilizing internally generated revenue, and there is no significant relationship between availability of funds and service delivery efforts of the local governments in Enugu State. The implication of the above findings is that efficient social service delivery in Enugu State will remain a mirage if these findings were not remedied. As a panacea, the study recommended review of 1999 constitution in order to grant local government financial autonomy and at least one lucrative revenue source so that they can mobilize revenue internally.
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