Ghana
 

Introduction

The Republic of Ghana is situated in West Africa, about 750km north of the equator on the gulf of Guinea, bounded to the north by Burkina Faso, on the west by the Côte d’Ivoire and to the east by Togo. It has a population of 22,931,299 and a land area of 239,460 sq km.

The country is divided into 10 administrative units or regions, each headed by a regional minister appointed by the president. The principal units of local government are the district assemblies, of which there are 138. Between the district assemblies and the central government are the regional coordinating councils (RCCs). The RCCs are made up of representatives from each of the district assemblies in the region and from the regional House of Chiefs. The role of these bodies is to coordinate policy implementation amongst the district assemblies.

Local government expenditure contributes 2.6 per cent to GDP.

Summary

Local government is enshrined in the constitution of Ghana. Since 1988, the government has been pursuing a policy of decentralisation and is continuing with this process through major policy reforms. The system is vertically integrated insofar as the regional ministers responsible for coordinating district assemblies’ programmes are appointed by the president (to whom they report) and the district chief executive is nominated by the president. Local government finance is substantially supported by the District Assemblies Common Fund.

The implementation of decentralisation has been slow, but the new government elected in 2004 is fully committed to supporting and implementing decentralisation to strengthen local governments into vibrant institutions for effective service delivery.

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