Challenges of decentralisation in Ghana: district assembly's responsiveness to community needs

Abstract

The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and the various legislations on decentralisation articulate the explicit objectives of the policy which includes responsiveness to community needs. The rationale behind Ghana's decentralisation programme and the functions of the District Assemblies (DAs) therefore provide a starting point for investigation into the process. This paper examines the level of responsiveness of the DAs to the needs of the communities. Questionnaires were administered to three thousand five hundred households chosen from forty two communities in eight districts. The chi-square and the logistic regression model were employed in the descriptive and inferential analysis respectively. It was realised that the implementation of the decentralisation programme has brought about some progress in the communities. It was also realised that the DAs have been responsive to the pressing development needs of the communities, in that, a significant relationship was established between community progress and the greatest achievements of assemblies. However, peace/order/security and road/transport/communication which were identified as significant determinants of community progress did not receive the needed attention from the DAs.

Keywords: Ghana, decentralisation, district assembly, community, responsiveness

IFE PsychologIA Vol. 14(1) 2006: 60-76