To facilitate a holistic approach to the decentralisation process, various structures have been created at the subnational level with the regional coordinating council rcc as a coordinating body. Section 37 1 of the local government act, 1993 act 462 states that a. Parliament pases local government bill ghana news ghana news. New local governance act 936 mandates ec to create new. Initially, the creation of a new assembly was the sole prerogative of the president, a situation, critics say were done to score political points.
The local government service medium term development plan. Local government act 1993 no 30 nsw contents page historical version for 3. No person shall at any one time be a member of more than one district assembly. The minister of local government and rural development hon. Local governance act, 2016 act 936 local government.
Constitutional economics of ghanas decentralization. Ghana secondary cities support programme launched at koforidua, jackson park. In these policies, the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies mmdas need money to pay for services and functions which include. This act may be cited as the local government amendment act, 2016, and shall be read as one with the local government act, in this act referred to as the principal act. This law has been repealed by the local government act, 936 2016. Government places a lot of emphasis on rural development and transparency in government.
Local governance act, 2016 act 936 arrangement of sections section part one local government districts and district assemblies 1. And local government in ghana 1 introduction 1 the preindependence era 2 from 1957 1987 3 1988 and beyond 6 chapter 2. Hajia alima mahama making the presentation observed that, following the passage of the consolidated local governance bill in 2016 act 936 the local government act 1993 act 462 was repealed and currently there is no provision in act 936 that gives the president the mandate to revoke. Parliament passes new local governance bill modern ghana. Ghana is a unitary country with a threetier system of local governments. Short title this act may be cited as the local government act 2011. Local government act 462 of 1993 part vii on financial matters, financial memorandum by the minister for local government under powers conferred on himher under sect. Policies are important inputs to the economic development process of any territory. An assessment of the implementation of the national policy. Republican constitution of ghana and the local government act act 462. For amounts above 2 000 cedi, the local government act 1993 restricts the mmdas access to domestic borrowing and require approval from the minister of local government and rural development mlgrd, given in consultation with the minister of finance. Ghanas new local government system excerpts from ghana the new local government system published by ministry of local government and rural development, 1996 historical development. The chairman of parliaments local government and rural development committee, dominic azumah azimbe told citi news one of the highlights of the bill is that the administrators of the district assembly common fund dacf would be able to invest the money into securities to earn interests in case the monies cannot be immediately disbursed.
Demarcation of areas of authority of subdistrict structures 3. Aug 27, 2015 the functions of district assemblies established by the 1992 constitution of ghana and the local government act 1993 act 462. Local government act, 1993 act 462 78 national development planning system act, 1994 act 480 79. The role of district assemblies in strengthening links of accountability introduction ghana has, since independence struggled to establish a workable system of local level administration. Good governance and financial administration in local. Functions of district assemblies you should know labone express. The local government act, act 462, 1993 of ghana empowers district assemblies da to pursue policies that will lead to the development of the communities within their domain. Part one districts and district assemblies establishment 1. The minister may issue directives to the council and this authority is stipulated in clause 12. Act 936 and the problematic provisions part i modern ghana. After over 30 years, the 1992 constitution and the local government act 462 of 1993 appears to provide a suitable basis to end ghana s struggle for the. Schedule act 656 local government service act, 20031 an act to establish a local government service and to provide for the objects.
The five section interactive programme, led by mr david oseiwusu, the registrar of ilgs, saw participants discussing, sharing and exchanging ideas on the overview of the act, local government systempart 1, the local governance instituteparts 2, 8 and 9, bye laws part 7 and miscellaneous matters. In 2009, local government legislative instrument l. Local government act ghanalegal legal portal for ghana. It is in the light of the above that mmdas have since 1997, been formulation and implementing. The five section interactive programme, led by mr david oseiwusu, the registrar of ilgs, saw participants discussing, sharing and exchanging ideas on the overview of the act, local government systempart 1, the local governance instituteparts 2, 8 and 9, bye. During the colonial era, the native authorities were used to. Civil and local government staff association of ghana v attorney general and others j1162016 2017 ghasc 18 14 june 2017. Local government is enshrined in the constitution, as is decentralisation, and the main relevant legislation is the local government act 1993 act 462. Ghana local government act 1993 a comparative analysis in the. Mr azasoo was speaking at a days sensitisation workshop on the new act 936 in sunyani on friday. Oct 28, 2016 the chairman of parliaments local government and rural development committee, dominic azumah azimbe told citi news one of the highlights of the bill is that the administrators of the district assembly common fund dacf would be able to invest the money into securities to earn interests in case the monies cannot be immediately disbursed. The local government in ghana has a long history, which predates colonialism.
In particular, the policy acknowledges the goal, objectives and strategies of the ministry of local government and rural development sector medium term development plan 2010 to 20. A careful analysis of act 936 brings forth some grave concerns. This is clear from the provisions of the fourth republican constitution. Since an mp cannot belong to two districts since a constituency cannot be divided by a district boundary an mp cannot belong to two districts. Civil and local government staff association of ghana v attorney general and others j116. Also, the pace of implementation of many other policies has been terribly slow resulting in huge time lag.
Regulates the system of local government with detailed provisions concerning districts, district assemblies and their planning functions, regional councils and related matters. Ghana is a constitutional republic with two spheres of government. The 1992 constitution of the republic of ghana, in article 240, tasks them, the local government authorities metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies mmdas to plan, initiate, coordinate, manage and execute policies in respect of all matters affecting the people within their areas. The path dependence of district manager decisionspace in. Oyster fishery community based management plan for the. The new local government system in ghana began in 1988 with a redemarcation exercise. Local government practitioners sensitised on act 936 of. Local government practitioners sensitised on act 936 of 2016. This has led to some what stable macroeconomic stability in the country.
The 1st level of the system comprises 10 administrative. The local government act act 462 of 1993 reinforces the constitutional provisions. Local government act, 1993 act 462 77 national development planning system act, 1994 act 480 77 local government urban, zonal and town councils and unit committees establishment instrument 1967, 2010 78 who participates 79 modes of participation 80 chapter 9. Local governments are not used as political tools by the government in power. Ningo prampam district with its capital prampram was carved from dangme west now shai osudoku and forms part of the new districts and municipalities created in the year 2012 and were inaugurated at their various locations simultaneously on the 28th june, 2012 by the li 22 and the local government act of 1993 act 462. The law is now superseded by chapter 20 of the 1992 constitution and replaced by the local government act, 1993, act 462. The institute of local government studies strategic plan 2011 to 2016. The assemblies, among other things, have been set up to perform the following functions. The creation of districts and constituencies in ghana. When the local government bill 1993 was presented to parliament, the ghana education service was on the list of the twenty two decentralised departments but by the time the local government act, 1993 act 462 was enacted, the ghana education. The creation of new metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies mmdas in the country is now the sole mandate of the electoral commission ec.
For general information about the country profiles click here. Local government act, 1993 act 462 act 462 local government act, 19931 an act to establish and regulate the local government system in accordance with the constitution and to provide for related matters. Local governance act, 2016 ghana legal information institute. Luxury vehicle levy act, 2018 act 969 public procurement act, 2003 act 663, 663. Local government act 2002 no 84 as at 26 march 2020, public. Rethinking decentralization and local government in ghana. The district health system is guided by two main pieces of legislation. National development planning system act, 1994 act 480. Functions of district assemblies you should know labone. This is a fourtier metropolitan and threetier municipal district assemblies structure designed in line with the decentralization policy. Gabriele ferrazzi for the local governance and poverty reduction support programme lgprsp ministry of local government, rural development and environment deutsche gesellschaft fur technische zusammenarbeit gtz october 2006. It ends with a recommendation that the majority of the identified areas be subjected to constitutional or legislative amendment.
In addressing this issue, the concept of collaborative public management including collaboration will. Ghana local government act 1993 a comparative analysis in. In ghana, experience has shown that many good policies formulated in the past did not get implemented. But policies, of themselves, cannot bring about the desired goals unless they are duly implemented. Gna a local governance act, act 936 of 2016 stakeholders sensitisation programme, has been held in accra to help stakeholders gain an indepth understanding of the five thematic areas of the new act. Local government act 1993 no 30 historical version for 3. The role of district assemblies in strengthening links of. Act 656 local government service act, 2003 section 32. For examples, the government of ghana with the support of the world bank implemented different phases of an urban development projects i. According to the law, district assemblies are the exclusive bodies in charge of water and sanitation services at the local level.
Kwamena ahwois paper, which is a distillation of two separate papers, identifies twelve areas of ghanas local government and decentralization system for critical analysis. Oct 31, 2016 the umbrella local governance bill encompasses the district assembly common fund act, 1993 act 455. Local government practitioners sensitised on act 936 of 2016 26th jun 2017 source. Ghanas system of local government administration as a.
The local government act of 1993 states that ghana 1993. Act 656 local government act, 2003 memorandum article 240 2 d of the constitution provides that as far as practicable, persons in the service of local government shall be subject to the effective control of local authorities. In ghana, the civil service law, the local government act, the local government service act and the national development planningsystems act are the main legislations governing administrative decentralization administrative decentralization in ghana involves ministerial restructuring and the establishment of decentralized departments of. Municipality and town to be lower local governments.
Municipal assembly is enjoined by section 10, subsection 3 of the local government act 1993 act 462 to formulate development plans for the development of their areas of jurisdiction. Act 656 local government act, 2003 the tenure of the council is four years clause 7 and provisions on allowances, meetings, conflict of interest and committees of the council are in clauses 811. Finally, this act contains sections with regards to revenue and expenditure for local government bodies. In 2011, government finally implemented some aspects of act 462, especially the ceding. The earliest attempts at local administration during the colonial era were with the native authorities, which centres around the chief or some unit of local royalty which was not very defined.
On 27 th october, 2016, parliament passed into law the local governance act of 2016, act 936 and it was assented to by the president on 20 th december, 2016. Local government service act, 2003 act 656 coordinating councils effectively perform their functions and discharge their duties in accordance with the constitution and the local government act, 1993 act 462. Jun 17, 2017 but, added that the passage of the new local governance act 936, 2016, has given the responsibility to the ec to do so if the need arise. Article 34 section 5 d of the 1992 constitution required the state to make democracy a reality by decentralizing the administrative and financial. In conclusions, we can say that the local government in ghana is better than in nigeria. For amounts above 2 000 cedi, the local government act 1993 restricts the mmdas. When the local government bill 1993 was presented to parliament, the ghana education service was on the list of the twenty two decentralised departments but by the time the local government act, 1993 act 462.
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