2013 Decentralisation progress report launched
The Executive Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Co-ordinating Committee (IMCC) on Decentralisation, Dr Callistus Mahama, says Ghana is making progress in its decentralisation programme.
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He has, therefore, disputed the notion that the decentralisation process is a wasted effort, saying people do not want to come to the realisation that decentralisation can work.
“Decentralisation is working. If you go to the districts and see how decisions are being taken and compare that to 20 or 15 years ago, we are making progress,” he said.
Dr Mahama told the Daily Graphic this on the sidelines of the launch of the 2013 National Decentralisation Action Plan (NDAP) Report in Accra recently.
The report provides details on Political Decentralisation and Legal Reforms, Administrative Decentralisation, Decentralised Development Planning and Budgeting, Spatial Planning and Local Economic Development.
The rest are Fiscal Decentralisation, Popular Participation and Accountability, Social Agenda, Involvement of Non-State Actors in Local Governance and Institutional Arrangements for Policy Co-ordination.
Dr Mahama, however, admitted that local authorities needed to have a great amount of autonomy.
“It is high time we started seeing decentralisation as part and parcel of the national governance system so that we become interested and ask questions. Decentralisation cannot work in a vacuum, except citizens take part in that,” the IMCC executive secretary said.
Improvements in decentralisation process
Touching on some progress made by Ghana in decentralisation, Dr Mahama said politically, there had been improvements regarding the role of the regional co-ordinating councils, how district chief executives (DCEs) were nominated and confirmed or otherwise through voting by district assembly members, and district assembly elections.
Administratively, he revealed that according to Legislative Instrument (LI) 1961, many districts were going to be devolved so that they would report directly to the district assemblies, while the education and health sectors were also going to be integrated into the assemblies so that they became departments of the assemblies and would no longer report through their regional and national levels but would end at the district level.
“So, for instance, a district medical officer’s highest point of authority would be at the district level and would be answerable to the district chief executive and not his regional or national director,” he said.
Reason for decentralisation
Launching the report, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Akwasi Oppong-Fosu, said the decentralisation process was intended to ensure that people participated meaningfully in the process for realising their rights to education, security, good health, jobs, shelter, freedom of association and expression, as well as representation in governance.
“Sectorally, we have all achieved a great deal. But working together will ensure that we achieve more,” he said.
Mr Oppong-Fosu also stated that the report was an evidence of the collective efforts of the ministries, departments and agencies working in the decentralisation sector.
A former Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Kwamena Ahwoi, who chaired the function, said decentralisation had achieved a very high profile on the agenda of the government.
Listen to the interview with Dr Callistus Mahama
{mp3}Callistus_Mahama{/mp3}