The challenges faced by local governments during COVID-19 era.
“The COVID-19 pandemic reveals that the public sector is not only facing simple and complex problem, but also turbulent problems characterized by the surprising emergence of inconsistent, unpredictable, and uncertain events. Turbulent problems call for robust governance solutions that are sufficiently adaptable, agile and pragmatic to upheld a particular goal or function in the face of continuous disruption”.
In the light of this statement, discuss the challenges faced by local governments during COVID-19 era. With the help of examples, explain how local governments can raise their awareness about such emerging pandemic, meet future challenges and be able to convert their challenges into opportunities.
Sample Solution
The challenges faced by local governments during COVID-19 era
In 2020 COVID-19 affected almost all countries and more that 50 million people around the world. It has governments operating in a context of radical uncertainty, and faced with difficult trade-offs given the health, economic and social challenges it raises. Beyond the health and human tragedy of the coronavirus, it is now widely recognized that the pandemic triggered the most serious economic crisis since World War II. Many economies will not recover their 2019 output levels until 2022 at the earliest (OECD, 2020 {1}). Subnational governments – regions and municipalities – are at the frontline of the crisis management and recovery, and confronted by COVID-19`s asymmetric health, economic, social and fiscal impact – within countries but also among regions and local areas. For example, the health of populations in some regions is more affected than in others. Large urban areas have been hard hit, but within them deprived areas are more strongly affected than less deprived ones.
