Assessing the quality of accountability in Ghana’s district assemblies, 1993 - 2008

Abstract

The article delineates the forms and mechanisms of accountability in Ghana’s District Assemblies (DAs) and
probes their efficacy in the current decentralization policy. It provides empirical data on how accountability
relationships have improved or not improved local democracy in Ghana. The DAs were created to be pillars of
grassroots governance. The devolution of power to the DAs aimed at enhancing a system of local public
monitoring and checks on their elected representatives. This was justified that local representatives would be
more accessible to the local populace and could be held at close range for their policies and actions than
distant national political leaders. The paper notes that the challenges of local accountability are many but they
stem from the tendency of the central government to recentralize power by placing grassroots leaders under its
influence. The practice of appointing the DCE and thirty percent members of the DAs, and the upward reporting
mechanism reflect a growing culture of central controls in order to side step the autonomy of the DAs. The
most apposite remedy for overcoming weak grassroots accountability lies in reform measures that allow the
direct election of all officials of the DAs by the local populace.