Evaluation of Decentralisation at the Sub-District Structure Level: a Case of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly

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Date
2011
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Abstract
The enactment of Legislative Instrument 1589 in 1994 actually set the tone for the implementation of decentralisation at the Sub-District Structure level. The seemingly slow pace of implementation of the programme at this level in the past sixteen years has generated some concerns among Ghanaians and created the impression that the programme is stalled. For this reason, the study sought to assess essentially the establishment and functioning of Town Councils and make recommendations on the way forward. The study adopted and used the case study design focusing on eleven Town Councils within four out of the ten Sub-Metropolitan District Councils under the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly. Purposive sampling techniques were used to select the relevant respondents for the study. Questionnaire and key expert interviews were used to gather primary data from 39 respondents comprising relevant stakeholders in the implementation process. The study found that though the Town Councils had been established and provided with office accommodation they had generally not been inaugurated and operationalised, apparently because they did not have their full members. Again, they did not receive adequate support from KMA, but had poor sanitation, inadequate financial, staff and logistical challenges. Furthermore, the structures enjoyed some co-operation and participation of stakeholders, but stakeholders were not adequately involved by KMA in their fee-fixing exercise though their views were sought in the development plan preparation. In conclusion, though there is evidence of the readiness of the public to participate actively in the activities of the Town Councils, the desired support to enhance the effective performance of the Councils was inadequate and hence requires urgent attention and commitment from political leadership.
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A thesis submitted to the Institute of Distance Learning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Commonwealth Executive Master of Business Administration (CEMBA),
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