Commonwealth Local Government Forum

West and Central Africa \ Local economic development

Local economic development is a central part of developmental local government. It is a process which brings together different partners in the local area to work together to harness resources for sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. Local economic development is increasingly being seen as a key function of local government and a means of ensuring that local and regional authorities can address the priority needs of local citizens in a sustainable way. There is no single model for LED; approaches reflect local needs and circumstances. Themes include local economic development guides, tourism, support to small, medium and micro enterprises, microfinance and credit and public-private partnership.

Sub-topics:

  • Local economic development guides
  • Support to small, medium and micro enterprises
  • Microfinance and credit
  • Tourism
  • Extractive Industries
  • Workforce skills
  • Trade

Featured

Institutional Collective Action During COVID-19: Lessons in Local Economic Development

At this point, little is known about local government responses to the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. This crisis is happening on Main Streets around the nation. This article examines how some local governments are taking collective action in partnership with other governments as well as with organizations at the local and regional levels. What is unique is that collective action is rare as it relates to traditional economic development practices, yet it is occurring and leading to offerings of multi-institutional grants and low-interest loans. However, some newer supply- and demand-side actions are the result of a lack of resources and need for expediency. Practitioners can learn about the collaborative economic development actions that governments are taking and how these partnerships can stabilize their local economies.

Author: Darrin H. E. Wilson Brad A. M. Johnson Eric Stokan Michael Overton Publisher: Wiley Online Library Publication year: 2020


The politics of actor involvement in local economic development in Ghana: Empirical evidence from the Accra Metropolitan, Keta Municipal and Shai Osudoku District Assemblies

The main objective of the article was to examine the forces that shape the behaviour of the actors in the local economic development implementation process in Accra Metropolitan, Keta Municipal and ShaiOsudoku District assemblies. Using qualitative data from multiple sources combined with multiple case studies, the study found that the three Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies implemented somewhat different LED strategies with multiple actors’ involvement. Lack of due diligence, weak and lack of institutional independence, absence of political leadership commitment, and political expediency negatively impacted LED implementation in the Accra Metropolitan and Keta Municipal Assemblies while Shai-Osudoku District Assembly had smooth local economic development implementation. Dynamics such as the land tenure system, micro and macro politics, administrative and institutional procedures, and political leadership shaped the behaviour of the actors in the three assemblies. Based on these, the study recommends that politicians should desist from interfering in LED issues; governments should consider the interests of local government units’ development needs in introducing local economic development interventions and broad consultations should be done before initiating local economic development initiatives.

Author: Akpeko Agbevade Publication year: 2020


Value chain and local economic development in the shai-Osudoku district assembly of Ghana: The experience of the Asutuare rice farming project

The article sought to discuss the impact of value chain development and local economic development among rice farmers in Asutuare in the Shai-Osudoku District Assembly of Ghana. The study specifically examined the actors in the rice value chain development process, their roles and how their roles shaped the final output for the consumer and the extent to which the value chain development and local economic development resulted in job opportunity creation, income generation, and poverty reduction in the area. Using the mixed method, the study found that the actors in the value chain process could be grouped into four. They are pre- production actors, which is made of actors involved in activities such as land preparation, tilling, bonding and spraying; production actors who are mainly made up of the actual rice farmers; post production actors who include those involved in harvesting, threshing milling among others; and financing system actors, which involves financial institutions and individual financiers (sponsors). The study opines that rice value chain and local economic development resulted in both direct and indirect employment and income generation for the rice farmers and the “agrigators”. However, there was a mixed outcome in poverty reduction in that 5.3% of the actors sampled for the study were below the poverty line, while the remaining 94.7% were above the poverty line. Challenges such as lack of access to finance, absence of sufficient rice processing factories, poor road networks, and lack of modern agriculture equipment were hindrances to effective rice value chain and local economic development promotion. Based on the findings and challenges, the following were recommended: the establishment of a rice processing factory in the Asutuare area as part of the One District One Factory policy, consistent fiscal policy aimed at supporting rice farmers in the locality, and the provision of modern equipment to modernize rice production.

Author: Akpeko Agbevade Publisher: Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research Publication year: 2018


Financing Local Economic Development in Ghana: A Comparative Analysis of the Accra Metropolitan, Keta Municipal and Shai-Osudoku District Assemblies

The article sought to examine the pull and push factors that culminated into the adoption and

implementation of local economic development policies in the Accra Metropolitan, Keta Municipal and

Shai-Osudoku District Assemblies as well as the sources of financing the local economic development

policies. The study was qualitative one and data were collected from the Finance Officers, Planning

Officers, and Business Advisory Centre Coordinators of the three assemblies. A number of findings came

to light. First, the adoption and implementation of LED in the three MMDAs was influenced by different

historical contexts and diverse situations such as unemployment, poverty and infrastructure deficit as

well as national government policy. Second, the MMDAs’ sources of financing LED programmes could

be classified into three main categories namely; inter-governmental transfers, donor or private sector

funding and internally-generated funds, The ability of an MMDA to attract funds was largely determined

by factors such as the strategic nature and category of the MMDA, its leadership, political and personal

commitment of some top level staff to LED implementation, the available economic development

incentives and the immediate returns that investors expected to gain from their investments. Based on the

findings, the study recommends the following among others: the harmonization of all grassroots

development related policies, the designation of a particular fund and earmarking of a certain percentage

of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) for the implementation of LED as well as the creation of

economic development incentives in the MMDAs to attract investments.

Author: Akpeko Agbevade Publisher: Africa Development and Resources Research Institute Publication year: 2018


Policy and institutional perspectives on local economic development in Africa: The Ghanaian perspective

Author: James Kwame Mensah*, Kwame Ameyaw Domfeh, Albert Ahenkan and Justice Nyigmah Bawole Publisher: Journal of African Studies and Development Publication year: 2013


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