ENHANCING OUR DECENTRALISATION PROCESS (APRIL 22, 2010)

THE mode of selecting and appointing district chief executives (DCEs) was revisited when the Vice-President, Mr John Mahama, at the launch of a book on decentralisation, advocated the election of the district political heads.
The Vice-President’s suggestion was obviously borne out of the desire to institute measures that will enhance the governance system at the local level and also ensure the active participation of the people in the process.
At the launch of the book, authored by Mr Kwamena Ahwoi, one of the key actors of the decentralisation process introduced about 22 years ago, Mr Mahama also outlined other issues he said were key to the success of the decentralisation process.
Governance experts are quick to identify decentralisation as key to ensuring the success of any democratic process and the institution of a governance system that could be described as “people-centred”.
Over the years, the country has pursued a decentralised governance system that is anchored on the district assembly concept.
While there have been some pitfalls, there have also been some worthy gains that must be consolidated to usher in a new phase of governance with regard to the policy of decentralisation.
Other schools of thought also argue that for decentralisation to produce the desired dividend, measures need to be instituted to truly give a significant measure of power to the people and not create a system of tokenism.
The DAILY GRAPHIC shares the view that after having been in operation for a number of years, a review of the decentralisation process is critical to injecting a fresh lease of life into it to make it more effective.
The lack of fiscal and human resource to drive the noble ideals of the concept has been identified as a major bane that any review process must seek to address.
Related to that bane is what some describe as the over-reliance of the assemblies on the DACF, instead of introducing innovative and effective ways of mobilising resources internally.
Some recent developments have also raised serious questions about accountability and transparency processes that need to be observed to ensure that resources or funds are judiciously utilised at the local level.
These and other weaknesses threaten the effectiveness of the concept and until an expansive approach is adopted to improve the concept of decentralisation, the desired gains will be far-fetched.
As noted by the Vice-President, the concept was intended to have a positive effect on the country. However, any such hope had disappeared, hence the need to give the people new hope.
The stark reality today is that the system in some areas is treated with so much disdain and concepts such as the unit committees intended to provide a forum for grass-root participation in the governance process continue to suffer as a result of apathy.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, however, believes that the launch of the book on the decentralisation process will serve as a timely catalyst to revive the process, especially as the country prepares for district level elections in the course of the year.
We wish to congratulate Mr Ahwoi on taking time to write a book which will definitely help enhance the devolution of power and resources in the country.
As a former Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Ahwoi played a key role in the introduction of the process of decentralisation and we hope that he will continue to enrich the process with his useful ideas and suggestions.