ABSTRACT

This study assessed the effectiveness of decentralization in the Kpone Katamanso Municipality in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The study specifically examined the model of decentralization practiced in the assembly, the contribution of decentralization to development, the involvement of women and men in the decentralization process and the challenges associated with decentralization in the Municipality. A single case study design was employed for the study and primary data was obtained from twenty-eight elected, appointed members and employees of the Assembly using face to face in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The members of the assembly were selected through the purposive sampling technique. Data obtained was analysed using the thematic data analysis technique. It was revealed that the Kpone Katamanso Municipal General Assembly is made up of nineteen elected members and nine members appointed by the government. Decentralization at Kpone Katamanso involves the transfer of power and authority to zonal councils and unit committees for effective local participation. The study revealed that both women and men are involved in the decentralization process but there are significant disparities in representation as only three women are part of the General Assembly. The contribution of decentralization to development is significant as it has led to infrastructural development and grassroots participation in local development. The main challenges to effective decentralization in the assembly include; inadequacy of funds, poor boundary demarcation, political inference, under representation of women and poor coordination of planning and development in the area. The study concludes and recommends that decentralization must be implemented fully as stipulated in the 1992 Constitution, but with emphasis on equal participation and local capacity development in order to address the many teething challenges that may arise during implementation.

SECTION ONE INTRODUCTION

         Background to the study

Decentralization as a concept defies a single definition. Decentralization refers to the transfer of authority to plan, make decisions, as well as manage public functions from a higher level of government to any individual, organization or an agency at a lower level (Boadway & Dougherty, 2018). Transfer of authority as used by in this definition means the sharing of part of governmental power by a central ruling group with other groups, each having authority within a specific area of the state. Another way of understanding decentralization is the devolution of political decision- making power to local level, small-scale entities (Bardhan, 2002). This definition emphasizes devolution as a mechanism for decentralization. This is germane because decentralization allows the devolution of power to lower levels of government and this gives them the possibility to get actively involved in development activities. In terms of analysis, what is common to the above definitions of decentralization are the fundamental areas in the decentralization process-power, authority and responsibility, which start from the center and are then diffuse to the periphery.

Ribot, Agrawal and Larson (2006) observe that with decentralization, the accountability of power- holding actors to their constituents is an important index as this broadens popular participation. Decentralization also increases resource use, efficiency and promotes equity along with accountability of the local government to local. However, it should be stressed that despite the benefits of decentralization, its implementation and effectiveness is not uniform in all countries.

The wide acceptance of decentralization has brought about political, fiscal and administrative reforms in many developing countries (Egbenya, 2009). Ghana as a country has had various experiences in decentralization (Odoom, 2016). These can be traced from the colonial period till

now. The current decentralization system in Ghana can be traced to 1988 when the government introduced the decentralization programme based on values such as empowerment, equity, stability, accountability and checking of rural-urban drift (Aryee, 1995). Decentralization has been advocated by development partners and agencies as well as civil societies in both developed and developing nations as an essential mechanism for broadening citizen participation and improving local governance. Its aim is the enhancement of the socio- economic conditions of the citizens to facilitate poverty reduction. As a result, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa including Ghana have adopted decentralization as a mechanism for ensuring local development (Aryee, 1995; Mohammed, 2016).

Although many countries have adopted decentralization, the implementation of the concept differs from one country to another. In addition, some of these countries have succeeded, some are getting success, despite the slow pace and others have failed. Mostly in the developing world, countries claim to have been decentralized but it is still normal to see some practices of centralization (Honyenuga & Wutoh, 2018). The success or otherwise of decentralization is therefore said to be dependent on the notion of development, the level of decentralization, central government attitude towards the local units and the degree to which the practice is allowed to continuously evolve itself (Boadway & Dougherty, 2018). For decentralization to be complete and significant, it is argued that it must entail a mixture of political, fiscal and administrative types (Opare, Egbenya, Kaba, & Baku, 2012). In Ghana, political decentralization involves District Assemblies and sub-district structures such as urban, town, area councils and unit committees which provides a platform at the local level for the people to deliberate, legislate and execute actions necessary for the development of their areas. Administrative decentralization in Ghana also involves decentralizing several government agencies such as health, education, agriculture and social welfare to the district level

and the district staffs of the sector departments take up the functions previously performed by the twenty-two central government agencies.