Local governance expert Professor Kwamena Ahwoi has criticised the proliferation of district assemblies in the country, arguing that the increased number has become counterproductive and needs to be re-examined. 

For instance, he said, partisan considerations had gone into the creation of 261 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs), suggesting that some of them currently barely existed and were not fit for purpose.

“It is my view that we have already exceeded the optimum number of regions and districts that the country needs.

The results of the current excessive number of 261 MMDAs, many of which are not viable, and many of which cannot be used for planning purposes, defeat the key rationale for the creation of districts,” Prof. Ahwoi, who is Ghana’s longest serving Minister of Local Government, stated.

He was speaking at the national dialogue on decentralisation and responsive governance in Accra last Friday.

Held on the theme, "Resetting decentralisation for responsive local governance and effective service delivery", the dialogue brought together experts in the local governance space, including policymakers, academia, civil society and development partners.

Prof. Ahwoi spoke on the topic: "Using the past to inform the future: resetting decentralisation for responsive local governance and effective service delivery: political, administrative and economic development imperatives".

He said the basis for upgrading some MMDAs to metropolitan and municipal status had been abused, leading to the creation of six metropolitan and 70 municipal assemblies, some of which did not meet the standards.

Politicisation

Touching on the creation of new regions, he said, the decision was politically motivated, and it had failed to produce tangible benefits to the country.

“For a period of over 50 years, the country survived with a maximum of 10 regions. Creating six more regions in only two years (2018 to 2019) was definitely an overreach with no tangible benefits to show for it,” he stated.

Prof. Ahwoi stressed that it was worrying that metropolises had increased from three in 1993 to six in 2025, with municipalities also growing exponentially from four to more than 70, although some of them did not meet the population threshold.

“It is obvious that our Presidents have not kept faith with the population threshold required for the creation of districts as contained in the Local Government Act of 1993 (Act 462) and the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936); and have only created those districts for purely partisan political reasons,” he said.

He said the Constitution Review Committee needed to take advantage of the ongoing review process to clearly define decentralisation in the Constitution from the political, administrative and economic development perspectives to enable MMDAs to function appropriately.

Prof. Ahwoi said the government’s reset agenda in the area of decentralisation should thrive on enhancing checks and balances in the local governance space, particularly at the MMDAs.

He said there was a need for enhanced awareness and education for assembly members in the MMDAs and residents of communities to know that they had the power to hold the MMDCEs and their elected representatives accountable.

“The assembly members have the power under the Local Government Act to pass a vote of no confidence in the chief executive of their MMDA by a two-thirds majority. For assembly members, people in the electoral area can actually initiate processes for their removal from office and get the Electoral Commission to conduct fresh elections,” he said.  

Elections

Prof. Ahwoi reiterated that the local governance system must remain non-partisan because it had worked well for the country.

"I submit here that the MMDAs should continue to have the hybrid system of 70 per cent elected members and 30 per cent appointed by the President," he said.

Touching on the election of MMDCEs, he said the current architecture of nomination by the President should remain, but emphasis should be on getting people who had the requisite knowledge and qualities to lead the assemblies.

The local government expert further proposed that more training and capacity-building must be done to get more technical people to lead various departments in the MMDAs.

Ethical leadership

The Founder and President of the Institute for Security, Disaster and Emergency Studies, Ghana, Dr Ishmael Norman, said the reset of the decentralisation system would require ethical leadership that would champion transparency and accountability in service delivery.

He added that persons at the helm of affairs at the MMDAs must be servant leaders who had the capacity to deliver policies that resonated with the needs of the people.

"To be a good leader, you need to observe your ecosystem; the people around you; and morality should be the conscience of your leadership," he said.

Dr Norman also said the reset of the local governance system must be anchored on establishing a robust structure for meritocracy.

He said MMDAs must also put in place structures to strengthen disaster risk management systems to deliver efficient humanitarian services in times of disasters.

"The country is underprepared for an emergency, and this needs a total reset if the decentralisation system must work well," he added.