Participatory monitoring and evaluation in local government: a case study of Lambussie District, Ghana

Ghana has pursued decentralisation since 1988, but its implementation continues to face challenges. Participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) is one of the tools that can help local governments to be more effective in the planning and management of development projects. However, the issues involved in implementing PM&E in rural local governments operating within a rapidly changing sociocultural and political environment have not been sufficiently explored. To fill this gap in knowledge, this paper draws on project and policy documents and primary data on the application of PM&E in District Assemblies’ Common Fund projects implemented between 2013 and 2017 in Ghana’s Lambussie District. Six key informant interviews were held with district- and regional-level stakeholders, and eight focus group discussions were undertaken at the community level. The research found that inadequate provision for operationalising PM&E at the local level, and lack of accountability and feedback mechanisms, resulted in a tokenistic approach to PM&E. The authors suggest that research and advocacy on mechanisms for holding district authorities accountable is vital to the success of future PM&E initiatives at local government level.

Sanitation Challenge for Ghana (SC4Gh): motivating local authorities through innovation prizes to achieve SDG6

As part of the UK Government-funded Ideas to Impact programme, the Sanitation Challenge for Ghana (SC4Gh) ran from 2015 to 2019 aiming to incentivize local authorities in Ghana to prioritize resources to improve municipal sanitation services towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6. The paper reviews the overall results of the SC4Gh and discusses selected results for the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) involved. The most notable outcome was that MMDAs involved were able to make significant improvements across the sanitation value chain with limited technical support and no upfront external donor funding. Another important outcome was the empowering aspect of the prize process which enabled MMDAs to innovate their plans based upon their own ideas to improve sanitation services. The prize process was an unprecedented opportunity for MMDAs throughout the country to participate in an international programme, resulting in encouraging results particularly from smaller, less well-resourced MMDAs in remote parts of Ghana who secured prizes in both stages of the Challenge.

Direct Labour as A Procurement Route for Infrastructure Delivery within Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana

Direct Labour procurement method has been identified as one of several procurement route alternatives used for the delivery of construction projects. This study assessed Direct Labour as a procurement route for the delivery of infrastructure within the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana. A qualitative research approach was employed using in-depth interviews conducted with ten (10) professionals who were purposively sampled from the Works Departments of the Kumasi, Accra and Tema Metropolitan Assemblies in Ghana. The qualitative data was then analysed using content analysis. Direct Labour has been revealed by this study as an effective procurement method which can be employed by the MMDAs in Ghana for the delivery of public infrastructure. The findings of the study also indicate that, the benefits of the Direct Labour procurement route include the elimination of profits to contractors and its idealness for the execution of emergency works. However, Direct Labour as a form of procurement is not used on new MMDA construction projects because the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663) of Ghana as Amended in 2016, does not clearly stipulate its usage on new projects. Direct Labour procurement is used within the MMDAs mainly for maintenance works on public projects. The findings of the study would prove useful for policy re-evaluation, especially regarding the reformation of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) as Amended in 2016 to include Direct Labour as one of the procurement routes for the delivery of infrastructure. This would enable the MMDAs to adopt it not only for maintenance works, but also for the execution of new infrastructural projects in order to benefit from its numerous advantages.

Does Accountability Undermine Service Delivery? The Impact of Devolving Agriculture in Ghana

In recent years, many developing countries have devolved services to locally elected governments. Although this may strengthen downwards accountability to citizens, does devolution improve service provision? Ghana began devolving agriculture in 2012 to its Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs). Drawing on an original survey with 80 District Directors of Agriculture and 960 households, as well as district-level budget data and interviews with national and local government stakeholders, this paper shows that agricultural expenditures and services have been negatively affected by the transition. The imperative of electoral accountability encourages assembly members to de-prioritize agriculture in the budget process in favor of more visible goods and services. Budget allocations, however, do reflect the preferences of local citizens, a majority of whom value using elections to sanction their district politicians. The findings indicate that devolution may increase accountability but result in sectoral trade-offs in service provision, which may undermine national policy objectives.

Re-examining the Benefits of Decentralization for Infrastructure Delivery at the Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana

Decentralization has been promoted to reflect citizens’ preferences and to improve local services. Hence, the strong demand for decentralization across the globe particularly in developing countries. This paper aimed at re-examining the benefits of decentralization for infrastructure delivery at the MMDAs in Ghana. Quantitative research approach was adopted for the study. A questionnaire survey was conducted to solicit construction professionals’ opinions on the benefits of decentralization to the MMDAs. A total of 121 professionals from 36 MMDAs in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions of Ghana participated in the survey. Mean score ranking and Factor analysis were the statistical tools employed for the analysis of the data collected. The findings of the study indicated five categories of the benefits of decentralization including: Decentralized/Democratic governance; Equal distribution of infrastructure; Improved Local capacity; Improved Financial capacity; and Improved Local development. Furthermore, the top four significant benefits accruing from decentralization as agreed upon by the respondents were: Enhanced democratic governance; Improved internally generated funds; Utilization of local materials and Improved and faster infrastructure delivery. The findings of this study provide a wider and improved understanding of the benefits of decentralization particularly to the MMDAs, which in turn would enhance their delivery of infrastructure. Therefore, effective measures should be put in place in order to drive the implementation of decentralization in Ghana. Also, proper decentralized governance systems need to be established to improve the capacity of the MMDAs to deliver infrastructure.

An Investigation into the Implementation Processes of Ghana’s Primary Health Care Strategy: The Community-Based Health Planning and Services Programme.

Background: Ghana has adopted the community-based health planning and services (CHPS) programme as the public health strategy for meeting its universal health goals. The programme is facing implementation challenges that are affecting its expansion within the communities. This research was undertaken to examine the implementation processes of CHPS and suggest solutions to improve its scaling-up within the communities.Method : An exploratory research design was used with a mixed method approach that involved the testing of a hypothesis. Results : The study found that in places with on-going CHPS programmes, there is statistically significant (p<0.001) evidence that the implementation processes are not flawed. However, the district assemblies were selective in the allocation of CHPS zones within the communities. Conclusion : Chieftaincy conflicts within the communities are impeding the community entry aspect of the CHPS policy implementation processes and needs to be addressed by policy makers in the relevant government agencies.

An analysis of the impact of jurisdictional fragmentation on property taxes in Ghana

Purpose Following decades of weak financial capacity of local governments in raising enough revenues to finance their budgets, this paper aims to examine the impact of jurisdictional fragmentation on property taxes in Ghana. Since independence in 1957, many local governments in Ghana are yet to build their fiscal capacity to collect enough own source revenues to support their local budgets. All local government laws in Ghana have assigned property taxes to local governments. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses quantitative econometric techniques with local level panel data from 2010 to 2016 to examine the impact of fragmenting assemblies in Ghana. Findings The paper finds that fragmenting local governments have an overall negative effect on property taxes in district assemblies in Ghana. However, fragmentation of metropolitan assemblies has an overall positive effect on property taxes, relative to district assemblies. In the case of municipal assemblies, fragmentation has a net positive effect on property taxes but an overall marginally negative effect, relative to district assemblies. Also, the paper finds that grants, capital expenditure and administrative expenditure of local governments do not impact on the collection of property tax revenues in all types of assemblies in Ghana. Originality/value The paper concludes that relative to metropolitan assemblies, fragmenting districts assemblies is not congruent with government efforts to promote the collection of property taxes in Ghana.