Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi

The paper discusses the meaning of development administration suggesting that it is closer in meaning to political development than to traditional public administration. If then goes on to speculate on the adequacy of decentralisation as a response to specific problem areas of development administration. The underlying argument is that decentralisation is not a panacea. Rather it must be accompanied by a high degree of political commitment from all concerned, and in this sense, it is an issue in underdevelopment.