Ghanas system of local government administration as a barrier to. An integral component of this effort is helping to improve local government to assist member countries to achieve millennium development goals mdgs. The case of the district development facility jonas ayaribilla akudugu centre for development research, university of bonn, bonn, germany abstract decentralisation has become an essential tool of democracy and development. Ghanas current system of decentralized local government is. Relationship between central and local authorities 1 introduction the purpose of this report is to give an overview of the interaction between local authorities and central government, andor regional authorities in states where regional authorities have legislative powers affecting local government. A guide to district assemblies in ghana, 2nd ed fes ghana. Ghana local government act 1993 a comparative analysis in. Institute of local government studies accra, ghana. An act to establish and regulate the local government system in accordance with.
It also sheds light on the various mechanisms of accountability built into the system. Ghana local government act 1993 a comparative analysis in the. The department also provides public address systems for events and undertakes street announcements. House house ghana ghana national information clearing house house house ghana ghana background mission of the ministry of communications and technology is to develop, coordinate, monitor and evaluate the implementation of policies, plans, programmes and projects that help to promote access to.
Local government is enshrined in the constitution, as is decentralisation, and. Metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies mmdas 16. The decentralisation policy of ghana devolves power, functions and responsibility as well as human and financial resources from the central government to the district level. Following a national referendum on december 2018, six new regions were created, increasing the total number of regions in the country from 10 to 16. Here is some general information about you new host country the flag the coat of arms the national anthem maps data on ghana introduction geography climate people education history ghanas presidents government and political conditions economy foreign relations links the flag of ghana. Pdf international development organisations have, for a long time, presented ghana as having a highly functional intergovernment system or. Ghana is a constitutional republic with two spheres of government. Before the changes in regional and local administration under the pndc, ghana had a highly centralized government structure in which local people and communities were little involved in decision making. Joining and participating in committee meetings of the. A local economic and social development initiative in ghana. At the local level, the aim is to build capacities of the key stakeholders in the local economy to design and implement a local economic and social development lesd approach.
Events covered are posted onto the government of ghana portal. In january 1993, military government gave way to the fourth republic after presidential and parliamentary elections in late 1992. Based on information from ghana, local government information digest, 4, no. For the development and testing of tools and policy proposals at the local level, the programme selected. Institute of local government studies located in accra, ghana. Republic of ghana ministry of local government and rural. Comparative analysis of ghanas local government act lgprsp october. Politics and challenges of the 1999 constitution asaju, k. The 1st level of the system comprises 10 administrative. The relationship between central and local authorities. Part one districts and district assemblies establishment 1.
Metropolitan or municipal or district assemblies mmdas 19. This article focuses on the local government system of ghana. Local governments in ghana play very important roles in adminis. Local government revenue mobilisation in anglophone africa.
The new york state department of state division of local government services. This paper discusses some o f the weaknesses inherent in ghanas local governme nt sys tem. Introduction a sound revenue system for local governments is an essential precondition for the success of fiscal. The local government service is a public service institution established by the local government service act, 2003 act 656 which has been repealed and replaced with the local governance act, 2016 act 936. Improvement in local government remains a high priority in most countries, but unless the relationship between citizens and government is more fully developed the actions of local government will.
The local administrative system means the systems and practices of establishing administrative regional divisions and setting up local administrative organs in order to facilitate the. One key question for this new plan is whether recent increases in enrollment have been matched by an increase in achievement. In april 20, the government of ghana and the world bank launched the third phase of the new local government capacity support project lgcp, building the capacity of the media and civil society groups to monitor government financial management. This is a fourtier metropolitan and threetier municipal district assemblies structure designed in line with the decentralization policy. The structure of the ghanaian state the structure of the ghanaian state is set out in the 1992 constitution. To host legal materials from other countries which are obtained through partnerships and collaborative efforts with governments, courts, law societies and other institutions in ghana and africa. Local government handbook new york department of state. Local government in ghana comprises metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies mmdas. Department of public administration ahmadu bello university, kongocampus, zaria kaduna state, nigeria. The department also produces documentaries and provides video coverage of major events for news and archival purposes.
New york state has a tradition of home rule authority and providing citizens with a strong voice in their local governments. This minister is also responsible for enhancing the development of the rural areas of ghana. Ghanas system of local government administration as a. The new local government system in ghana began in 1988 with a redemarcation exercise. Collaboration between the government of ghana and usaid has generated several new sets of data able to respond to this question. Local governance, decentralization and democracy are. The government of ghana was created as a parliamentary democracy, followed by alternating military and civilian governments.
In an effort to enhance ghana s democratic governance systems, usaids democracy, rights and governance programs support improved local government, increased accountability to citizens, free and fair elections, and strengthened human rights. Local government is enshrined in the constitution, as is decentralisation, and the main relevant legislation is the local government act 1993 act 462. Local governance act, 2016 ghana legal information institute. Each state has its own local government legislation, known as the. This will be followed by a discussion on the system of local government administration that has been operating in ghana both the past and the present before the results of the case study is presented. The minister for local government in ghana is responsible for decentralised administration of the country.
Apply for ministry of local government ghana jobs, gov jobs, federal jobs, government vacancies, state government jobs, federal government jobs. Local government act, 1993 act 462 act 462 local government act, 19931 an act to establish and regulate the local government system in accordance with the constitution and to provide for related matters. To provide online freeaccess collection of journals, judgment and legislation from ghana. The local government service is a public service institution established by the local government service act, 2003 act 656 which has been repealed and replaced with. Following the 1948 disturbances in the major cities in ghana, and in a bid to address the inadequacies identified by the coussey committee in 1949, the first local government ordi. The title of the position has been altered under some governments to reflect this. The constitution outlines not only how the various individuals and public bodies fit together, but also explains their respective functions. The survey began out of discussions with the ministry of finance and the ministry of local government and rural development. Local governments in ghana play very important roles in administration and development at the local areas.