Challenges and prospects of fiscal decentralization in Ghana: A case study of Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly

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JULY, 2015.
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Abstract
This study is concern with assessing the challenges and prospects of fiscal decentralization in Ghana using Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly as a case study. Questionnaires were administered to fifty staff at Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly. Purposive sampling has been used in selecting the staff for the study. The research findings revealed that the Assembly has the power to generate, retain and use its revenue, the power to prepare and approve its budgets, power to invest surplus funds if any and the power to borrow funds where necessary to supplement its budget deficits, however, this power to borrow is restricted to a ceiling of GH¢20,000. The analysis also showed that the assembly has no power to use the DACF at its own discretion. The DACF usually comes with an ambit of vote (spending warrant) and the assembly must disburse the DACF strictly according to the instructions of the warrant and also that the DACF is meant to be used to finance capital expenditures and under no circumstance should any MMDA use it to finance revenue expenditures. The results from the analysis also showed that even though the assembly is given complete power to prepare and approve its own budgets, it still faces many challenges in performing this task which include inadequate budget staff which inhibits on time budget preparation and inadequate skills on the part of some budget staff resulting in difficulty in making realistic and reliable budget estimates. The analysis also indicated that even though the assembly has been given the power to generate, retain and use its revenue there are certain challenges it encounters in doing so. The results from the analysis revealed that in order to overcome the challenges the assembly faces in acquiring loans, financial institutions should charge moderate interest on loans. The results from the analysis also showed that in order to overcome the challenges the assembly encounters in generating revenue, there should be public sensitization on the need to pay tax.
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A thesis submitted to the department of Accounting and Finance, School of Business, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration (Finance) ,
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