Democratic Decentralization, Local Governance and Sustainable Development: Ghana's Experiences for Policy and Practice in Developing Countries

Foreword
Acknowledgements
About This Book
Contents
About the Editors
List of Acronyms
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Boxes
Part I: Conceptual and Historical Perspectives of Decentralization and Local Governance
From Deconcentration to Devolution: Tracking the Historical Trajectory of Democratic Decentralization in Ghana
1 Introduction
2 Conceptualizing Decentralization and Its Links with Sustainable Governance and Development
2.1 Decentralization: Definitions and Models
2.2 Linking Decentralization to Sustainable Local Governance and Development
3 Democratic Decentralization in the Lens of CAAARS Governance Analytical Framework
4 Trajectories Towards Democratic Decentralization and Local Governance: Case of Ghana
4.1 Ghana´s Local Governance Practice in Precolonial Era
4.2 Decentralization and Local Governance Under Colonial Regime
4.3 Post-independence Decentralization and Local Government Reforms
4.4 Post-adjustment Ghana Decentralization and Local Government Reforms
5 Conclusion and Recommendation
References
Historical Perspectives of Local Governance and Community Development in Ghana
1 Introduction
2 Pre-colonial Local Government in Ghana: The Case of Asante
3 Colonial Local Government in Ghana from the Perspective of the Indirect Rule System
4 Post-independence Local Governance in Ghana, 1957-1966
5 The Post-Nkrumah Era Including the PNDC Regime in the 1980s
6 Local Government in the Fourth Republic of Ghana
7 Concluding Remarks
References
Decoding the Paradox of Decentralization with Centralized Characteristics in Democratic Ghana
1 Introduction: Decentralization as a Function of the ``Political´´
2 Contextualizing the Agenda of Democratic Decentralization in Ghana´s Political Context
3 A Theoretical Note: Transmission of Despotic and Infrastructural Power in the Quest for State Capacity and Stability
4 Decentralization and State Capacity in Ghana´s Political Arena
5 Proposals for Deepened Decentralized Democracy in Lieu of a Conclusion: Civil Society and the Politicization of the ``Techni...
References
Legitimizing Local Governance and Development Reforms in Ghana
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Framework
2.1 Conceptualization of Local Government
2.2 Growth and Development
2.3 Sustainable Development
3 Local Government and Development Reforms in Ghana Prior to the 1950s
4 Decentralized Local Reforms of 1952
5 The Immediate Post-independence Reforms
6 Local Government Reforms After 1981
7 Decentralization After 1992: Constitutional and Legal Basis
8 Conclusion and Lessons
References
Part II: Institutional Choice, Representation, Poverty Reduction and Local Development
Towards the Election of MMDCEs: A Case for Local Government Reforms in Ghana
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Underpinning
2.1 Path Dependency Theory (Historical Institutionalism)
3 Methodology
4 Decentralization in Ghana: Past and Present Experiences
5 Local Government Reforms in Ghana: 1994-2016
5.1 Political Reforms
5.2 Administrative Reforms
5.3 Fiscal Reforms
6 Perceptions and Opinions on the Election of MMDCEs
6.1 Retaining the Status Quo
6.2 Arguments for Election of MMDCEs
7 Opportunities for Reforms
8 Conclusion
References
Women and Social Development: Opportunities for Gender Mainstreaming in Local Governance in Ghana
1 Introduction
2 Conceptual and Theoretical Review of Related Literature
2.1 Social Development
2.2 Gender and Gender Mainstreaming
2.3 Gender Mainstreaming
3 Justification for Gender Mainstreaming
3.1 National Efforts to Mainstream Gender
4 Social Development and Gender Mainstreaming Through Local Governance Practice
5 Local Governance Opportunities for Gender Mainstreaming
6 Women´s Representation in District Assemblies and Sub-District Structures
7 Committees and Sub-Committees of District Assemblies
7.1 Sub-Metropolitan District Councils
7.1.1 Urban Councils
7.1.2 Zonal Councils
7.1.3 Town/Area Councils
7.1.4 Unit Committees
8 Provisions Under the Local Government Act of 2016 (Act 936) for Gender Mainstreaming
9 Key Challenges of the Local Government System for Gender Mainstreaming
10 Conclusion and Recommendations
References
Sub-District Structures and Local Governance in Ghana: Role of Unit Committees in Promoting Popular Participation
1 Introduction
2 Participation and Local Governance: Theoretical and Empirical Discourses
2.1 Conceptualising Participation
2.2 Participation and Local Governance
2.3 Constraints to Grassroots Participation
3 The Unit Committee in Ghana´s Decentralised Governance
3.1 Subsidiarity and the Unit Committee in Ghana´s Decentralised System
4 Research Methods
5 Description of Study Area
6 Findings and Discussion
7 Participation in Decision-Making
8 Participation in Project Implementation
9 Participation in Unit Committee Elections
10 Constraints to Grassroots Participation
11 Relocation
12 Conclusion and Policy Implications
References
Subnational Structures, Poverty Reduction and Rural Development Under Ghana´s Local Governance System
1 Introduction
2 Concepts of Local Governance, Decentralization and Poverty: An Overview
3 Nexus Between Local Governance, Decentralization and Poverty Reduction: A Conceptual Review
4 Institutional Landscape of Subnational Structures Under Ghana´s Decentralized Governance System
5 Functions and Responsibilities of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies
6 Study Setting and Methods
7 MMDAs, Rural Development and Poverty Reduction
8 Challenges of MMDAs in Rural Poverty Reduction and Development
9 Conclusion and Recommendations
References
Part III: Local Governance, Resource Capacity and Service Delivery
Domestic Revenue Mobilization: Institutional Challenges in Ghana´s Decentralization System
1 Introduction
2 A Problematic Fiscal Decentralization Regime
3 Theoretical Framework for Fiscal Decentralization
3.1 Efficiency Values
3.2 Governance Values
3.3 Arguments Against Fiscal Decentralization
4 The Paradox of Local Revenue Mobilization by MMDAs in Ghana
5 Sources of Funds for MMDAs in Ghana
5.1 Inter-Governmental Fiscal Transfers
5.2 The District Assembly Common Fund
5.3 Recurrent Expenditure Transfer
5.4 Ceded Revenue
6 Institutional Challenges in Local Revenue Mobilization
7 The Way Forward: Improving Local Government Revenue Mobilization
8 Conclusion
References
Financial and Human Resource Capacities of Sub-national Governance Structures in Ghana
1 Introduction
2 Review of Local Government Reforms in Ghana
3 Study Location and Research Procedure
3.1 Study Location
3.2 Research Procedure
4 Results and Discussion
4.1 Human Resource Capacity of the Study Districts
5 Personnel Needs Assessment at the Assemblies
6 Financial Capacities
7 Financial Capacity of Sene West District
8 Financial Capacity of Atebubu Amantin Municipal Assembly
9 Conclusion
10 Policy Recommendations
References
Decentralization and Resource Capacity for Sustainable Sanitation Services Delivery in Ghana
1 Introduction
2 Decentralization and Service Provision: The Conceptual Context
3 Study Approach
4 Decentralization and Sanitation Service Delivery in Ghana: Present Situation
5 Some Selected Decentralized Initiatives in the Sanitation Sector
5.1 Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS)
5.2 Enforcement of Sanitation By-Laws
5.3 The GAMA Sanitation and Water Project
6 Challenges of Decentralization in Improving Sanitation Service Delivery
7 Conclusions and Future Expectations
References
Health Sector Decentralisation and Delivery of Responsive Healthcare in Ghana
1 Introduction
2 Methods
3 Operations and Activities of the Ghana Health Service (GHS)
4 Autonomy of Subnational Health Institutions
5 Capacity of Lower Level Health Institutions for Responsive Healthcare
6 Tendencies for Disgruntled Responsiveness of Ghana´s Decentralised Healthcare
7 The Success Story of Decentralisation in the Ghana Health Sector
7.1 Improved Capacity of Some Essential Human Resource
7.2 Easy Access and Increased Utilisation of Healthcare
7.3 Reduction in Mortality Rates
7.4 Availability of Some Essential Drugs
8 Conclusion and Recommendations
References
Fiscal Decentralization with Autonomy for Service Delivery and Poverty Reduction in Ghana
1 Introduction
2 Review of Related Literature
2.1 Concept of Poverty
2.2 Concept of Fiscal Decentralization
2.3 Concept of Fiscal Autonomy
2.4 Theories of Fiscal Decentralization and Fiscal Autonomy
2.5 Empirical Literature
3 Fiscal Decentralization, Poverty Reduction, and Service Delivery in Ghana
4 Challenges to Effective Fiscal Decentralization System in Ghana
5 Conclusion
References
Part IV: Non-State Actors, Local Governance and Sustainable Development
Changing Role of Traditional Authorities in Local Governance and Development in Ghana
1 Introduction
2 Legitimacy and Authority of Traditional Authorities and Hybrid Local Governance
3 Changing Roles of Traditional Authorities in Ghana´s Political History
3.1 Pre-Colonial Period and the Role of Traditional Authorities
3.2 Colonial Period and the Role of Traditional Authorities
3.3 The Role of Traditional Authorities During the Post-Colonial Period
4 The Millennium Turn and the Neo-Traditional Roles of Chiefs in Contemporary Ghana
4.1 Chiefs as Local Development Brokers
4.2 Chiefs as Electoral Brokers
4.3 Chiefs, Land-Related Resource (Mis)Management and Sustainability
5 Conclusion and Recommendations
References
Non-Governmental Organizations as Partners for Sustainable Local Development: Ghana´s Experiences
1 Introduction
2 Conceptualizing Decentralization
3 Decentralization Efforts in Ghana
4 Non-state Actors and Decentralization in Ghana
5 NGOs as Partners for Local Governance and Development
5.1 Local Development Interventions of NGOs: Experiences from World Vision, Catholic Relief Services and ActionAid
6 World Vision Ghana and Sustainable Development
7 Challenges Facing NGOs under Ghana´s Local Governance and Development System
8 Strengthening NGOs as Partners for Sustainable Development
9 Conclusion
References
Strengthening Citizen´s Participation in Local Economic Development for Sustainability in Ghana
1 Introduction
2 Methodology
3 Overview of the Concept of Participation
4 Citizens´ Participation in Ghana´s Decentralized System
5 Local Economic Development
6 Sustainable Development
7 Theoretical Framework for the Study
8 History of Local Economic Development
9 Principles for Integrated Approaches for Promoting LED
10 Initiation of LED in Ghana
11 Citizens´ Participation in Agriculture and Exportation of Foods
12 The Nexus Between LED and Citizens´ Participation
13 Strengthening Citizens´ Participation and LED Towards Sustainable Grassroots Development
14 Conclusion
References
Decentralising for Democratic Polycentric Local Government System in Ghana: Challenges for Sustainable Development
1 Introduction
2 The 31st December 1981 Coup and Decentralisation for Grassroots Empowerment
3 The 1992 Constitution and Decentralisation for Polycentric Local Government System
3.1 Sources of Revenue for the MMDAs
3.2 Sub-District Structures
4 Decentralisation, Democratic Polycentricism and Issues of Sustainable Development
5 The Workings of the Local Government System and Challenges
5.1 Degree of Fiscal Autonomy of the Local Government Units
5.2 Neo-Patrimonial Culture and Patronage
5.3 Rural Underdevelopment and Human Resource Issues
5.4 Implications for Sustainable Development
6 Conclusion
7 Recommendations
References