Community Participation as an Instrument of Development in East Akim Municipal Assembly

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Date
2012
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Abstract
There has been widespread concern that community participation in development has been making an important contribution to development of countries. In this regard, the then PNDC Government of Ghana in 1992 undertook measures to decentralize administration and political authority as well as engender communities’ involvement in planning and implementation of development programmes in Ghana. This study sets out to examine community participation in the East Akim area, evaluate how it has helped in the provision of social amenities and the residents’ sense of responsibility or ownership of projects in the area. Data was obtained from residents in various communities in the area, community leaders, and senior members of the Assembly using the non-probability sampling technique. The study revealed that community participation, as far as development is concerned, has been a good contribution to the community’s development. Specifically, educational infrastructure, health facilities, and notably toilet facilities have been built. A consultative decision making approach ensued between the community members and leaders for development. Residents contributed through communal labour and to some extent felt a sense of ownership of projects, though government plays important role in ownership. Whereas findings revealed that more projects could be built through community participation, some attitudes that did not promote community participation were indiscipline and instability of the community. A few senior members revealed that community participation is very poor, at best moderate and more needs to be done to rejuvenate it. It was recommended that communal labour movements be properly constituted in the area to empower, educate and inform residents on the need for participation. The study recommended that future studies should attempt a more comprehensive study that would compare community participation among communities to identify indicators for development and the impact community participation really has on development.
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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 degree of COMMON WEALTH EXECUTIVE MASTERS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.
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