Renowned governance expert and former Minister for Local Government, Professor Kwamena Ahwoi, has criticised Ghana’s recent decentralization trajectory, describing the rapid creation of new regions and districts as excessive and politically driven.
Speaking at the National Dialogue on Decentralization and Responsive Governance in Accra, under the theme “Resetting Decentralization for Responsive Local Governance and Effective Service Delivery,” Prof. Ahwoi said the establishment of six new regions between 2018 and 2019 was an “overreach” with little developmental impact.
“For over 50 years, Ghana functioned with 10 regions. Expanding to 16 in just two years was excessive and unjustified,” he argued.
He further noted that Ghana’s 261 districts include many that fall short of population thresholds set out in the Local Government Act of 1993 and the Local Governance Act of 2016.
“These districts were created largely for partisan political reasons,” he said, adding that their lack of viability undermines effective planning and development.
Citing the Justice-Ribbock Commission of Inquiry after the 1966 overthrow of the CPP government, Prof. Ahwoi cautioned against repeating past mistakes. He highlighted the unchecked growth of district categories, with metropolises doubling from three in 1993 to six today, and municipalities ballooning from four to more than 70.
On governance structures, he reaffirmed support for keeping Ghana’s local governance system non-partisan.
“It has worked well for us in the Fourth Republic, allowing local-level progress without the divisiveness of national politics,” he said.
Prof. Ahwoi also called for reforms to the composition of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs). While endorsing the hybrid model of elected and appointed members, he proposed transferring the president’s power to appoint 30% of assembly members to traditional authorities.
“Presidential appointments have politicised the assemblies, detracting from their intended neutrality,” he observed.
