 |
[email protected] |
 |
3275638434 |
 |
 |
| Paper Publishing WeChat |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Dominic Degraft Arthur
Full-Text PDF
XML 3974 Views
DOI:10.17265/1548-6591/2016.07.003
University for Development Studies, Wa Campus, Wa, Ghana
Local government is established by law to provide grassroot developments. However, in Ghana, local government institutions are not performing their responsibilities effectively due to challenges bedevilling them. In this paper, the researcher seeks to examine the challenges militating against the performance of the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly. To achieve this objective, convenience and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 60 respondents for the study. Qualitative methods such as interviews and focus group discussion were used to collect data for the study. In addition, the discussion was also based on documentary analysis. Ineffective level of accountability and coordination, poor management capacity, inadequate finance, and low level of local participation in the local level programmes were identified as the challenges facing the performance of the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly. The paper recommends the following measures to resolve them. These measures include the creation of more awareness among the citizens to improve the level of participation, recruitment of administrative staff with sharp analytical skills, improvement of the internally generated revenue through investments in resources that yield revenue, and improvement of the institutional building that produces the human capital committed to the principles of good governance at the local level.
local government, decentralization, political boundaries, local governance, political system
Journal of US-China Public Administration, July 2016, Vol. 13, No. 7, 454-465
Ahwoi, K. (2000). Trends in local government reforms and decentralization in Ghana. In W. Thomi, P. W. K. Yankson, and S. Y. Zanu (Eds.), A decade of decentralization in Ghana: Retrospect and prospects. Accra: Gold Tyre Ltd.
Ahwoi, K. (2010). Local government and decentralization in Ghana. Accra, Ghana: Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
Aina, D. A. (2006). State and local government in Nigeria: The changing scene. In O. Aborissade and I. O. Aransi (Eds.), From native administration, divisional administration to council managership and local government (pp. 279-303). North Carolina: Catawba.
Akhakpe, I. (2012). Public administration: Qualities, functions and constraints of public administrators. In I. Olojide and S. Fajonyomi (Eds.), Essentials of public administration. Lagos: Sage Prints.
Alderman, G. (2012). Local government system: A comparative perspective. Retrieved from http://www.cenresinpub.org/pub/ Dec2012/JSSPR/Page% 252043-671054
Amaechi, R. (2012). The debate on local government autonomy. Retrieved from http://www.thisdaylive.com/article/the-debate-on -local-government-autonomy
Bardhan, P. (2004). Decentralization of governance and development. Berkeley: Department of Economics, University California.
Briggs, B. (2007). Participation in self-help projects among rural inhabitants: A comparison. Quarterly Journal of Administration, 11(4), 285-296.
Chukwuemeka, E., Ugwuanyi, B. I., Ndubuisi-Okolo, P., & Onuoha, C. E. (2014). Nigeria local government: A discourse on the theoretical imperatives in a governmental system. An International Multidisciplinary Journal, Ethiopia, 8(2), 305-324.
Cigler, B. A. (1993). State-Local relations: A need for reinvention? Intergovernmental perspective. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Cigler, B. A. (1998). Emerging trends in state-local relation. In R. L. Hensen (Ed.), Governing partners: State-Local relations in the United States (pp. 53-74). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
De Mello, L., & Lago-Peñas, S. (2012). Local government cooperation for joint provision: The experiences of Brazil and Spain with inter-municipal consortia. Working paper 12-18. International Center for Public Policy, Georgia State University.
Fischer, F. (1993). Citizen participation and the democratization of policy expertise: From theoretical inquiry to practical cases. Policy Sciences, 26, 165-187.
Ghana Statistical Service. (2012). Ghana population and housing census 2010. Accra, Ghana.
Hyden, G. (2006). African politics in comparative perspective. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Kwon, S. (2002). The effects of fiscal decentralization on public spending: The Korea case. Proceedings from 13th Annual Conference on Public Budgeting and Financial Management. Washington, D.C.
Mills, C. W. (1963). The unity of work and leisure. In I. L. Horowitz (Ed.), Power, politics and people. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in Ghana. (2014). Report on the local government systems. Accra, Ghana.
Ofei-Aboagye, E. (2009). Economic decentralization and local development: Concepts and issues. Journal of Local Government Studies, 1(1), 3-28. Institute of Local Government Studies, Accra.
Office of the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly. (2014). Medium term report. Saltpond, Mfantseman, Central Region of Ghana.
Olowu, D. (1999). Local governance, democracy, and development. In R. Joseph (Ed.), State, conflict, and democracy in Africa. Boulder: Lynne Rienner.
Partridge, P. H. (1963). Some notes on the concept of power. Political Science Quarterly, 61, 573-588.
Prud’homme, R. (1995). On the dangers of decentralization. Policy working paper 1252. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.
Republic of Ghana. (1993). The district assemblies common fund act (act 455). Tema: Ghana Publishing Corporation.
Schlachter, B., Coleman, M., & Anway, H. (2013). Fiscal policy and governance committee key challenges and strategies for local government. University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics. Retrieved from http://Challenges%20and%20Strategies/ 20for%20Local%
Serdült, U., & Yanina, W. (2015). How sustainable is democratic innovation? Tracking neighborhood councils in Montevideo. Journal of Politics in Latin America, 2, 131-148.
Stake, R. E. (2006). Multiple case study analysis research methods. New York: Guilford Press.
Tony, O. (2011). Key issues in local government and development: A Nigerian perspective. Enugu: Praise House Publishers.
van der Gaag, J. (1995). Private and public initiatives: Working together for health and education. Direction in Development Serves. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.
Wunsch, J. (1991). Institutional analysis and decentralization: Developing an analytical framework for effective third world administrative reform. Public Administration and Development, 11(5), 431-451.