The Continuous Creation of Districts in Ghana: Legal, Developmental, Fiscal, and Political Implications - National Survey Report Conducted by Centre For Local Governance Advocacy
Ghana’s decentralisation programme has relied substantially on the creation of new Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) as a strategy for bringing governance, public services and development closer to the people of Ghana. Since the introduction of the decentralisation system, successive governments have created additional districts and municipalities with the stated objectives of improving administrative accessibility, promoting balanced development, strengthening local participation and enhancing the delivery of essential public services. However, the continuous expansion of the number of MMDAs has generated concerns about whether district creation is consistently driven by objective developmental and administrative considerations or whether political, electoral and other interests have increasingly influenced the process. Against this background, the Centre for Local Governance Advocacy (CLGA) undertook this Survey to examine the rationale, processes, outcomes and implications of the continuous creation of districts in Ghana.
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2025 Public Financial Management Compliance League Table 2025 Assessment Report - Implemented by the Centre for Local Governance Advocacy (CLGA) and funded by the European Union
The 2025 Public Financial Management Compliance League Table (PFMCLT) provides a comprehensive assessment of Public Financial Management (PFM) compliance across Ghana’s 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in all 16 regions. The assessment was designed to measure the extent to which Assemblies comply with key statutory, regulatory and institutional requirements governing the public financial management cycle and to provide a benchmarking and accountability mechanism for improving local-level financial governance. The assessment covered five interconnected stages of the PFM cycle: Planning; Composite Budgeting; Procurement and Contracting; Accounting and Reporting; and Internal and External Auditing. The assessment was anchored in relevant provisions of Ghana’s PFM and decentralisation framework, including the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), as amended, and associated financial administration and audit requirements.
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Bringing Accountability Closer to the People: Dissemination of PFMCLT Findings through Zonal Town Hall Meetings
As part of deliberate efforts to deepen citizen engagement, promote transparency, and strengthen accountability in local governance, the Public Financial Management Compliance League Table (PFMCLT) Project, implemented by the Centre for Local Governance Advocacy (CLGA), successfully organised four zonal town hall meetings across Ghana’s Southern, Eastern, Middle, and Northern zones.
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National PFM Policy Engagement Forum: Bridging Evidence and Policy Reform
A major highlight of the 2024 Public Financial Management Compliance League Table (PFMCLT) cycle was the convening of the National PFM Policy Engagement Forum, a high-level platform designed to translate assessment evidence into actionable policy dialogue on fiscal governance and accountability in Ghana.
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2024 Public Financial Management Compliance League Table Report For Metropolitan, Municipal And District Assemblies In Ghana
The 2024 Public Financial Management Compliance League Table (PFMCLT) assessed the financial management compliance of 258 out of 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), representing 99% coverage across the 16 regions of Ghana for the 2024 fiscal year. The assessment evaluated performance across the five (5) stages of the public financial management cycle, namely Development Planning, Composite Budgeting, Procurement and Contracting, Accounting and Reporting, and Internal and External Auditing.
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Decentralization And Local Government: The Constitution Review Commission’s (CRC) Report and The Government White Paper- Areas Requiring Further Consideration.
The Government of Ghana in 1988 drawing on earlier attempts and experiences embarked on a process of implementing a comprehensive decentralization and local government reform programme. The programme aimed at establishing efficient decentralized government machinery, promoting popular participation by shifting the process of governance from command to consultative processes and devolve functions, power, competences, skills, resources and means to local governments through executive, legislative, administrative, planning, service delivery, rating and budgeting.
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