In many parts of Africa, not only in Burundi, many local people in rural areas interact with the state. This article analyses local institutions, the constraints on their emergence and the nature of interaction with local government. Special attention is given to the attitude of the development aid system towards local organizations and their impact on them. As local government in Burundi commands few resources, but at the same time acquired increased responsibilities, including some of a financial nature as a consequence of political decentralization, it had to look for solutions to this tight squeeze. One solution involved the attraction of external actors like NGOs, the Church, bilateral and multilateral agencies. Much of the success or failure depended on the local leaders in their effort to mobilize local resources, like labour power. In contrast to the weak institutional structure of the commune, the locally present development projects are characterized by much higher budgets, much better trained personnel, committed leadership, clear objectives, and well functioning decision-making structures. As most projects express an attitude of neglect and mistrust towards the local government there is little communication between them, although most projects intervene heavily in the area. In many cases they pay the salaries of the communal technical services which enables them to hire and fire local personnel. The financial resources of the project to extend substantial influence over a number of local inhabitants which leads to a substantial destruction. On the other hand, the project can provide incentives forthe creation of private local organizations and help to overcome some of the constraints acting upon grassroots organizations, Such organizations flower where aid projects exist and favour them. But there is a lack of sustainability and an artificial nature to them. They often reflect a technocratic model or participation, to which the central state is not averse.
