Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T05:15:19.607Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Politics of Decentralization in Ghana’s Fourth Republic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 April 2014

Emmanuel Debrah
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

This article assesses how the District Assemblies in Ghana’s Fourth Republic have exercised political, administrative, and fiscal powers transferred to them by the central government. It notes that the creation of the assemblies has promoted popular participation and boosted the autonomy of front-line officials in terms of decision-making and the allocation of financial resources at the local level. However, the central government retains the authority to appoint the District Chief Executive and 30 percent of the assembly members. Local governments experience delays in the transfer of funds, an inability to absorb civil servants of decentralized departments into the local culture, and a lack of capacity to raise revenue for development. The article argues that local election of the District Chief Executive and increased allocation of funds to the rural districts would attract entrepreneurs and skilled civil servants who would be able to implement effective decentralization.

Résumé:

Cet article examine comment les assemblées de district dans la Quatrième République du Ghana ont exercé des pouvoirs politiques, administratifs et fiscaux qui leur ont été transférés par le gouvernement central. Il note que la création des assemblées a favorisé la participation populaire et stimulé l’autonomie des fonctionnaires de première ligne en termes de prise de décision et d’allocation des ressources financières au niveau local. Cependant, le gouvernement central conserve le pouvoir de nommer le chef de district et trente pour cent des membres de l’assemblée. Les gouvernements locaux sont victimes de retards dans le transfert des fonds, d’une incapacité à intégrer les fonctionnaires nommés dans la culture locale, et d’un manque de capacité à générer des recettes pour le développement. L’article soutient que les élections locales du chef de district et l’augmentation des fonds alloués aux districts ruraux attireraient des entrepreneurs et des fonctionnaires qualifiés qui seraient en mesure de mettre en œuvre une décentralisation efficace.

Keywords

Decentralizationfinancial resourcesadministrative responsibilityGhana
Type
ARTICLES
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 57 , Issue 1 , April 2014 , pp. 49 - 69
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). 2005. Country Review Report and Program of Action for the Republic of Ghana. Midrand, South Africa: APRM Secretariat.Google Scholar
Ahwoi, Kwamena. 2010. Local Government and Decentralization in Ghana. Accra: Unimax Macmillan.Google Scholar
Ayee, Joseph R. A. 1997. “The Adjustment of Central Bodies to Decentralization: The Case of the Ghanaian Bureaucracy.” African Studies Review 40 (2): 37–57.Google Scholar
Ayee, Joseph R. A. 1999. Decentralization and Conflict: The Case of District Chief Executives and Members of Parliament in Ghana. Accra: Friedrich Ebert Foundation.Google Scholar
Ayee, Joseph R. A. 2008. “The Balance Sheet of Decentralization in Ghana.” In Foundation of Local Governance: Decentralization in Contemporary Perspective, edited by Saito, Fumihiko, 233–58. Heidelberg: Pysica-Verlag.Google Scholar
Berhanu, Kassahun. 2008. “Decentralization and Democratization in Ethiopia.” Regional Development Dialogue 29 (2): 18–31.Google Scholar
Bird, Richard, and Wallich, Christine. 1993. “Fiscal Decentralization and Intergovernmental Relations in Transition Economies: Toward a Systemic Framework of Analysis.” Policy Research Working Papers No. 1122. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Chapman, Jeffrey. 2006. “Land Value Taxation and Economic Development.” State Tax Notes 40 (1): 43–64.Google Scholar
Conyers, Diana. 2007. “Decentralization and Service Delivery: Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa.” IDS Bulletin 38 (1): 18–32.Google Scholar
Crook, Richard C. 1994. “Four Years of the Ghana District Assemblies in Operation: Decentralization, Democratization and Administrative Performance.” Public Administration and Development 14 (3): 339–64.Google Scholar
Crawford, Gordon. 2004. “Democratic Decentralization in Ghana: Issues and Prospects.” POLIS Working Paper 9: 1–13.Google Scholar
Debrah, Emmanuel. 2005. “Political Parties and Democratic Copnsolidation in Ghana, 1992–2004.” Ph.D. diss., University of Ghana.Google Scholar
Debrah, Emmanuel. 2009. “Assessing the Quality of Accountability in Ghana’s District Assemblies, 1993–2008.” African Journal of Political Science and International Relations 3 (6): 278–87.Google Scholar
Dickovick, James. Tyler. 2005. “The Measure and Mismeasure of Decentralization: Sub-national Autonomy in Senegal and South Africa.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 43 (2): 183–210.Google Scholar
Fritzen, Scott A., and Lim, Patrick W. O.. 2006. “Problems and Prospects of Decentralization in Developing Countries.” In Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, edited by Marcel, J. Rabin, 1–9. New York: Dekker.Google Scholar
Heller, Patrick. 2001. “Moving the State: The Politics of Democratic Decentralization in Kerala, South Africa, and Porto Alegre.” Politics and Society 29 (1): 131–63.Google Scholar
Hoffman, Barak D., and Metzroth, Katherine. 2010. The Political Economy of Decentralization in Ghana. Washington, D.C.: Center for Democracy and Civil Society, Georgetown University.Google Scholar
Kulipossa, Fidelx Pius. 2004. “Decentralization and Democracy in Developing Countries: An Overview.” Development in Practice 14 (6): 768–79.Google Scholar
Laryea-Adjei, George. 2000. “Building Capacity for Urban Management in Ghana: Some Critical Considerations.” Habitat International 24 (4): 391–401.Google Scholar
Manor, James. 2001. Democratic Decentralization and Sustainable Livelihoods. Brighton, U.K.: IDS.Google Scholar
Mawhood, Philip. 1993. Local Government in the Third World: The Experience of Decentralization in Tropical Africa. Pretoria: Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA).Google Scholar
Owusu, George. 2004. “Small Towns and Decentralized Development in Ghana: Theory and Practice.” Afrika Spectrum 39 (2): 165–95.Google Scholar
Prud’homme, Remy. 1995. “The Dangers of Decentralization.” The World Bank Research Observer 10 (2): 201–20.Google Scholar
Rani, Geeta P. 1999. “State Finance Commissions and Rural Local Bodies: Devolution of Resources.” Economic and Political Weekly 34 (25): 1632–39.Google Scholar
Republic of Ghana. 1993. Local Government Act (Act 462). Tema: Ghana Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar
Republic of Ghana. 1992. Constitution of the Republic of Ghana 1992. Tema: Ghana Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar
Republic of Ghana. 2003. National Decentralization Action Plan: Towards a Sector-Wide Approach for Decentralization Implementation in Ghana, 2003–2005. Accra: Assembly Press.Google Scholar
Republic of Ghana. 2011. Local Government Service: Providing Professional Support for Effective Local Service Delivery. Accra: Ministry of Local Government.Google Scholar
Republic of Ghana. 2012. Memorandum to Parliament on the Proposed 2012 Formula for Sharing District Assemblies Common Fund Allocation. Accra: Assembly Press.Google Scholar
Ribot, Jesse C. 2002. “African Decentralization: Local Actors, Powers and Accountability.” Democracy, Governance and Human Rights 8: 1–25.Google Scholar
Rondinelli, Dennis A., and Cheema, Shabbier G.. 2003. “Analyzing Decentralization Policies in Developing Countries: A Political-Economy Framework.” Development and Change 20 (1): 57–87.Google Scholar
Saito, Fumihiko. 2008. Foundation of Local Governance: Decentralization in Contemporary Perspective. Heidelberg: Pysica-Verlag.Google Scholar
Smoke, Paul, and Lewis, Blane D.. 1996. “Fiscal Decentralization in Indonesia: A New Approach to an Old Idea.” World Development 24 (8): 1281–99.Google Scholar
Smith, Brian C. 1985. Decentralization: The Territorial Dimension of the State. London: George Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
Turner, Mark, and Hulme, David. 1997. Governance, Administration and Development: Making the State Work. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2001. World Development Report 2000/2001: Attacking Poverty. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Wunsch, James S. 2001. “Decentralization, Local Governance and ‘Recentralization’ in Africa.” Public Administration and Development 21 (4): 277–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar