Development agencies often promote decentralization as a solution for poverty reduction and a means of addressing the unique needs of local populations in developing countries. This manuscript examines the District Assembly system’s effectiveness in delivering services within the Bawku Municipality in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The study employs a mixed-methods approach to illuminate two contrasting perspectives on the local assembly’s service provision. On one hand, citizens generally express satisfaction with the delivery of services related to health infrastructure, education, electricity, and water supply. On the other hand, a significant portion of the population is dissatisfied with the local assembly’s performance in governance, sanitation, gender-related issues, and addressing vulnerability. Notably, the study also uncovers that despite the intended objective of decentralization to empower local citizens, a degree of central government control and influence undermines its effectiveness. This study presents practical and theoretical implications and identifies avenues for future research in this field.
Abdul-GafaruA (2017) The political economy of decentralization and the challenge of improved service delivery in urban Ghana. Ghana Journal of Development Studies14(2): 83–104.
2.
AdamsF (2003) Deepening Democracy: Global Governance and Political Reform in Latin America. Westport, CT: Praeger.
3.
AdjeiPOW (2022) From deconcentration to devolution: tracking the historical trajectory of democratic decentralization in Ghana. In: AdjeiPOWAdu-GyamfiS (eds) Democratic Decentralization, Local Governance and Sustainable Development (Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development). Cham: Springer, pp.3–20.
4.
AdjeiPOWBusiaAKBob-MilliarGM (2017) Democratic decentralization disempowerment of traditional authorities under Ghana’s local governance and development system: a spatio-temporal review. Journal of Political Power10(3): 303–325.
5.
AgrawalARibotJC (2000) Analyzing decentralization: a framework with South Asian and West African environmental cases. Working paper, World Resource Institute, Washington, DC.
6.
Agyemang-DuahWKafui GbedohoEPeprahP, et al. (2018) Reducing poverty through fiscal decentralization in Ghana and beyond: a review. Cogent Economics & Finance6(1): 1476035.
7.
AhwoiK (2006) Participatory governance in Ghana’s decentralization process and the retrogression of legislative enforcement. GIMPA. Journal of Leadership, Management and Administration5(1): 9–37.
8.
AhwoiK (2010) Local Government and Decentralization in Ghana. Accra, Ghana: Unimax Macmillan Ltd.
9.
Amoako-AsieduEDomfehKA (2016) The challenges of central government fiscal and financial Decentralization of Despotic Power and Ghana’s Democratic Locus: a Historic Sketch 53 policies on local government programs in Ghana. International Journal of African and Asian Studies26: 32–40.
10.
AndrewsCWDe VriesMS (2007) High expectations, varying outcomes: decentralization and participation in Brazil, Japan, Russia and Sweden. International Review of Administrative Sciences73(3): 424–451.
11.
Antwi-BoasiakoKB (2010) Public administration: local government and decentralization in Ghana. Journal of African Studies and Development2(7): 166–175.
12.
ArthurDD (2020) Analysing the dynamics of decentralisation and the creation of new district assemblies in Ghana. Ghana Social Science Journal17(1): 58–72.
13.
AtakoraAN (2006) Decentralization and effective revenue mobilization: a case study of the Nkoranza District Assembly. Journal of Leadership, Management and Administration4(2): 92–124.
14.
AyeeJRA (2000) Participation paper presented at a two-day workshop on democracy, poverty and social exclusion: is democracy, the missing link. In: Organized by DPMF and International IDEA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 15–16 May.
15.
AyeeJRA (2003) Decentralization and local governance: the Ghanaian experience. In: AmponsahNBoafo-ArthurK (eds) Local Government in Ghana, Grassroots Participation in the 2002 Local Government Elections. Accra, Ghana: Livog Limited, pp.19–76.
16.
AyeeJRA (2008) The balance sheet of decentralization in Ghana. In: SaitoF (ed.) Foundations for Local Governance. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag, pp.233–258.
17.
AyeeJRA (2013) The political economy of the creation of districts in Ghana. Journal of Asian and African Studies48(5): 623–645.
18.
BardhanP (2006) Decentralization and accountability in infrastructure delivery in developing countries. The Economic Journal116(508): 101–127.
19.
BardhanP (2019) Decentralised development. Indian Economic Review54(1): 235–253.
20.
Be-ereS (2022) Decentralization and pro-poor participation in Ghana: unmasking the barriers to inclusive grassroots development. Studies in Comparative International Development58: 280–307.
21.
BotchwayK (2001) Paradox of empowerment: reflections on a case study from Northern Ghana. World Development29(1): 135–153.
22.
BulutEAbdowBI (2018) Decentralization and poverty reduction: opportunities and challenges in Kenya. Sosyoekonomi26(36): 179–196.
23.
CawleyM (2016) Relationships between local governance and local government and the role of the state: evidence from the LEADER programme in Ireland. Norois241: 33–47.
24.
CheemaGS (2005) Building Democratic Institutions: Governance Reform in Developing Countries. West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press.
25.
CohenJPetersonS (1997) Administrative Decentralization: A New Framework for Improved Governance, Accountability, and Performance. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Institute for International Development.
26.
CrawfordG (2004) Democratic decentralization in Ghana: issues and prospects. Polis working paper no. 9. Leeds: School of Politics and International Studies, Leeds University.
27.
CrawfordG (2008) Decentralization and the limits to poverty reduction: findings from Ghana. Oxford Development Studies36(2): 235–258.
28.
CrawfordW (2009) Making democracy a reality? The politics of decentralization and the limits of local democracy in Ghana. Journal of Contemporary Africa Studies27(1): 45–63.
29.
CrookRC (2003) Decentralisation and poverty reduction in Africa: the politics of local–central relations. Public Administration and Development23: 77–88.
30.
CrookRCManorJ (1998) Democracy and Decentralization in South Asia and West Africa: Participation, Accountability, and Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
31.
CrookRCSverrissonAS (2001) Decentralisation and poverty-alleviation in developing countries: a comparative analysis or, is West Bengal unique? IDS working paper 130. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.
32.
DasguptaABeardVA (2007) Community driven development, collective action and elite capture in Indonesia. Development and Change38(2): 229–249.
33.
DavoodiHZouH-F (1998) Fiscal decentralization and economic growth. Journal of Urban Economics43: 244–257.
34.
Diaz-SerranoLRodríguez-PoseA (2015) Decentralization and the welfare state: what do citizens perceive?Social Indicators Research120(2): 411–435.
35.
Dick-SagoeC (2020) Decentralization for improving the provision of public services in developing countries: a critical review. Cogent Economics & Finance8(1): 1804036.
36.
DickovickTRiedlRB (2014) African decentralization in comparative perspective. In: DickovickJTWunschJS (eds) Decentralisation in Africa: The Paradox of State Strength. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, pp.249–276.
37.
DohD (2017) Staff quality and service delivery: evaluating two Ghanaian district assemblies. IDS Bulletin48(2): 71–90.
38.
DuncanCR (2007) Mixed outcomes: the impact of regional autonomy and decentralization on indigenous ethnic minorities in Indonesia. Development Change38(4): 711–733.
39.
FaguetJPShamiM (2022) The incoherence of institutional reform: decentralization as a structural solution to immediate political needs. Studies in Comparative International Development57(1): 85–112.
40.
FalletiTG (2005) A sequential theory of decentralization: Latin American cases in comparative perspective. American Political Science Review Journal99: 3–17.
41.
FoxLHoffmanBAnyimaduA, et al. (2011) Ghana democracy and governance assessment: final report. USAID, Accra, Ghana.
42.
FritzenSALimPWO (2006) Problems and prospects of decentralization in developing countries. In: MarcelJR (ed.) Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy. New York: Dekker, pp.1–9.
43.
GoelRKMazharUNelsonMA, et al. (2017) Different forms of decentralization and their impact on government performance: micro-level evidence from 113 countries. Economic Modelling62: 171–183.
44.
GreerSLRozenblumSFalkenbachM, et al. (2022) Centralizing and decentralizing governance in the COVID-19 pandemic: the politics of credit and blame. Health Policy126(5): 408–417.
45.
Gyimah-BoadiE (2010) Towards a constitution for a democratic and well-governed Ghana. Constitutional series no. 1. Accra, Ghana: Ghana Center for Democratic Development.
46.
HartDK (1972) Theories of government related to decentralization and citizen participation. Public Administration Review32: 603–621.
47.
HellerP (2001) Moving the state: the politics of democratic decentralization in Kerala, South Africa and Porto Alegre. Politics & Society23: 131–163.
48.
HoffmanBDMetzrothKM (2010) The political economy of decentralization in Ghana. Centre for Democracy and Civil Society, Georgetown University.
49.
HoudretAHarnischA (2019) Decentralisation in Morocco: a solution to the ‘Arab Spring’?The Journal of North African Studies24(6): 935–960.
50.
InangaELOsei-WusuD (2004) Financial resource base of sub-national governments and fiscal decentralization in Ghana. African Development Review16(1): 72–114.
51.
KennyPD (2013) The patronage network: broker power, populism, and democracy in India. Doctoral Dissertation, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
52.
KuditcharNL (2022) Decoding the paradox of decentralization with centralized characteristics in democratic Ghana. In: AdjeiPOWAdu-GyamfiS (eds) Democratic Decentralization, Local Governance and Sustainable Development (Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development). Cham: Springer, pp.43–62.
53.
LentzC (2006) Decentralization, the state and conflicts over local boundaries in northern Ghana. Development and Change37(4): 901–919.
54.
LevitasA (2017) Local government reform as state building: what the polish case says about “decentralization.”Studies in Comparative International Development52(1): 23–44.
55.
MaksimovskaAStojkovA (2019) Composite indicator of social responsiveness of local governments: an empirical mapping of the networked community governance paradigm. Social Indicators Research144(2): 669–706.
56.
MensahJVKendieSB (2008) Decentralized departments of state, the District Assemblies and local level development in Ghana. In: KendieSBMartensP (eds) Governance and Sustainable Development. Cape Coast, Ghana: Marcel Hughes Publicity Group, pp. 80–94.
57.
NyenduM (2012) Democratic decentralization in Ghana: the need for a policy review. Journal of Asian and African Studies47(2): 221–235.
58.
Ofei-AboagyeE (2004) Promoting gender sensitivity in local governance in Ghana. Development in Practice14: 753–760.
59.
OxhornPTulchinJSAndrewS (2004) Decentralization, Democratic Governance, and Civil Society in Comparative Perspective: Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center Press.
60.
Republic of Ghana (1992) Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992. Ghana Publishing Corporation.
61.
ResnickD (2017) Democracy, decentralization, and district proliferation: the case of Ghana. Political Geography59: 47–60.
62.
RibotJC (2002) African decentralization, local actors, powers and accountability. Working paper no. 8. Geneva: UNRISD Programme on Democracy, Governance and Human Rights.
63.
RibotJCAgrawalALarsonAM (2006) Recentralizing while decentralizing how national governments reappropriate forest resources. World Development34(11): 1864–1886.
64.
RobinsonM (2007) Does decentralisation improve equity and efficiency in public service delivery provision?IDS Bulletin38(1): 7–17.
65.
Rodríguez-PoseAEzcurraR (2010) Does decentralization matter for regional disparities? A cross-country analysis. Journal of Economic Geography10(5): 619–644.
66.
RondinelliDA (1981) Government decentralization in comparative perspective: theory and practice in developing countries. International Review of Administrative Sciences47: 133–145.
67.
RondinelliDANellisJR (1986) Assessing decentralization policies in developing countries: the case of some cautious optimism. Development Policy Review4: 3–23.
68.
SaitoF (2008) Decentralization and local governance: introduction and overview. In: SaitoF (ed.) Foundations for Local Governance: Decentralization in Comparative Perspective. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag, pp.1–24.
69.
SmithBC (2023) Decentralization: The territorial dimension of the state. Taylor & Francis.
70.
SmokeK (2015) Managing public sector decentralization in developing countries: moving beyond conventional recipes. Public Administration and Development35: 250–262.
71.
StantonA (2009) Decentralisation and municipalities in South Africa: an analysis of the mandate to deliver basic services. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
72.
StoyanATNiedzwieckiS (2018) Decentralization and democratic participation: the effect of subnational self-rule on voting in Latin America and the Caribbean. Electoral Studies52: 26–35.
73.
TreismanD (2002) Decentralization and the quality of government. Working paper, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.
74.
TurnerMHulmeD (1997) Governance, Administration and Development. London: Macmillan.
75.
Von BraunJGroteU (2002) Does decentralization serve the poor? In: AhmadETanziV (eds) Managing Fiscal Decentralization. London: Routledge, pp.84–112.
76.
WaganaDMIravoMANzulwaJD (2015) Analysis of the relationship between devolved governance, political decentralization, and service delivery: a critical review of literature. European Scientific Journal11(31): 1857–1878.
77.
World Bank (2015) Rising through cities in Ghana: Ghana urbanization review overview report. World Bank, Washington, DC.
78.
WunschJS (2014) Decentralization: theoretical, conceptual, and analytical issues. In: DickovickJTWunschJS (eds) Decentralisation in Africa: The Paradox of State Strength. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, pp.1–22.
