THE ROLE OF THE DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES COMMON FUND IN LOCAL
DEVELOPMENT: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE JAMAN NORTH AND
SOUTH DISTRICTS
By
JUSTICE SELLE BAVERE
A Thesis submitted to the Institute of Distance Learning, Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
of
COMMONWEALTH EXECUTIVE MASTER IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
AUGUST, 2011.
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CERTIFICATION
I hereby declare that this submission is my own work towards the Commonwealth
Executive Masters in Business Administration and that, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published by another person nor material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree of the University, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text.
Justice Selle Bavere ………………………. ……….………………
Exam No. PG2036208 Signature Date
Certified by:
Mr. Clifford Amoako ………………………. ………………
(Supervisor) Signature Date
Certified by:
Prof. Isaac Kwame Dontwi ………………………… ………………
(Dean, Institute of Distance Learning) Signature Date
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DEDICATION
To God be the Glory, and to my family, especially to my dear wife Celestina B.
Naariyong, my gratitude. To my Son, Emmanuel Naab Selleh and daughter,
Emmannuella Ziempog Selleh, I thank you for your love, deed of kindness and acts of caring.
IN MEMORIAN
To my Sweet Mother, Madam Ganoi Sey (1922-2010): You were a pillar in my life.
You left us too soon (22 December, 2010). Your loving care and cheerful smile will always be with me in particular and the entire family in general
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My gratitude goes to the Almighty God for His grace and knowledge He gave me in the course of this study especially during the field survey. My profound gratitude also goes to my supervisor, Mr. Clifford Amoako, of the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology for his commitment and dedication to seeing the success of this work through to the end.
I would also want to thank the officials, Jaman South and North District Assemblies for their profound assistance towards this work. Again, I am grateful for the services of my enumerators in the persons of Emmanuel Osei-Mensah, Emmanuel Otutei and Emmanuel
Frimpong Boamah for their assistance in gathering data for this study. Finally, I thank the
Assembly members, the Area Council Chairpersons, the Unit committee members, the traditional authorities and the community members in these two districts who provided information for this study. May the good Lord bless you all.
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ABSTRACT
Local development has become a component of mainstream thinking about increasing productivity, creating jobs and wealth, promoting entrepreneurship, human capacity building and improving incomes at the grassroot level. With these objectives, central and local governments in Ghana have been planning, implementing and financing local development activities in their various jurisdictions. One of the major sources of funds for local development activities in the country is the District Assemblies‟
Common Fund (DACF). This study is thus an attempt to identify and examine the specific roles DACF plays in promoting local development in the Jaman South and North
Districts. To achieve this, the study examined the various contributions to grassroot development in the districts, the institutional and regulatory framework for the use of the
Fund and the challenges in the use of the DACF in such activities. In carrying out this study, purposive and simple random techniques were used through a field survey to gather data from a total of 498 respondents and key informants. The study revealed that the DACF is the major source of financing local development activities in both districts contributing an average of 45.10 percent and 55.91 percent of the total revenues of the
Jaman South and North District Assemblies respectively. It has improved upon participation in the districts; funded social and economic infrastructure such as schools, health facilities, water and sanitation facilities, roads and markets in both districts. More especially, the Fund has helped in establishing gari processors for eight communities in the Jaman North District. The study therefore recommended that there should be expansion of the IGF base of the two districts and flexibility in MLGRD Guidelines for the utilization of DACF. Again, there should be the allocation of Funds to Sub-
District Structures, reduction in Delays in the DACF Allocation and publication of
DACF Information by Assembly
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents Page CERTIFICATION ...... ii DEDICATION...... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... iv ABSTRACT ...... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... v LIST OF TABLES ...... ix LIST OF FIGURES ...... x LIST OF ACRONYMS ...... xi
CHAPTER ONE ...... 1 BACKGROUND TO LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCING ...... 1 1.1 Introduction ...... 1 1.2 Problem Statement...... 3 1.3 Objectives of the Research ...... 4 1.4 Research Questions ...... 5 1.5 Scope...... 5 1.6 Justification of the Study ...... 6 1.7 Organisation of Report ...... 7
CHAPTER TWO ...... 8 FINANCING LOCAL DEVELOPMENT ...... 8 2.1 Introduction ...... 8 2.2 The Concept of Local Development ...... 8 2.3 Approaches to Local Development ...... 9 2.3.1 Direct Community Support ...... 9 2.3.2 Support to Local Government ...... 10 2.3.3 Area-Based Development ...... 11 2.3.4 Decentralized Sector Approach ...... 12 2.4 Financing Local Development: A Global Perspective ...... 13 2.5 Financing Local Development in Ghana...... 14 2.5.1 Internally Generated Fund (IGF) ...... 15
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2.5.2 Central Government Transfers ...... 15 2.5.3 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)/Development Partners ...... 16 2.6 The DACF and Local Development ...... 16 2.6.1 Introduction to the Fund...... 16 2.6.2 Institutional and Regulatory Framework for the DACF ...... 18 2.6.3 Contribution of the Fund to Local Development ...... 21 2.6.4 Challenges of the DACF ...... 23 2.7 Case Studies of Local Development Financing ...... 25 2.7.1 Financing Local Development in Uganda ...... 25 2.7.2 Financing Local Development in Kenya ...... 27 2.7.3 Challenges to Local Development Financing in Africa...... 30 2.8 Lessons from Case Studies ...... 32 2.9 An Analytical framework for Local Level Finance and Local Development ...... 33
CHAPTER THREE ...... 38 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...... 38 3.1 Introduction ...... 38 3.2 Research Design ...... 38 3.3 Research Process ...... 39 3.3.1 Problem Definition and Synopsis/Proposal Preparation ...... 40 3.3.2 Review of Relevant Literature ...... 40 3.3.3 Design of Field Survey Instruments ...... 40 3.3.4 Data Analysis and Reporting ...... 40 3.4 Data Types and Sources ...... 41 Table 3.1: Data Types and Sources ...... 41 3.5 Sampling ...... 41 3.5.1 Sampling Technique ...... 41 3.6 Categories of Respondent ...... 42 3.7 Data Collection Techniques and Instruments ...... 43 3.8 Data Rationalization, Analysis, Presentation and Reporting ...... 44
CHAPTER FOUR ...... 45 LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCING IN THE JAMAN SOUTH AND JAMAN NORTH DISTRICTS ...... 45 vii
4.1 Introduction ...... 45 4.2 Profile of the Jaman South District...... 45 4.2.1 Location and size ...... 45 4.2.2 Demographic Characteristics ...... 47 4.2.4 Local Government Finance in the Jaman South District ...... 48 4.3 Profile of the Jaman North District...... 49 4.3.1 Location and size ...... 49 4.3.2 Demographic Characteristics ...... 50 4.3.3 Local Government Finance in the Jaman North District ...... 51 4.4 Categories of Respondents ...... 52 4.5 Sources of Funding for Development in the Districts ...... 53 4.6 The uses of DACF in the Development in the Districts ...... 54 4.6.1 Amount of DACF accruing to the districts ...... 54 4.6.2 Regulatory and Institutional Arrangements ...... 55 4.6.3 Contribution of DACF to Developmental Activities ...... 58 4.7 Challenges to DACF as a Source of Local Development Financing in the Jaman South and North Districts...... 73
CHAPTER FIVE ...... 75 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION ...... 75 5.1 Introduction ...... 75 5.2. Summary of Findings ...... 75 5.2.1 Sources of Funding for Development in the districts...... 75 5.2.2 Uses of the DACF in Local Development in the districts...... 76 5.2.3 Challenges of the DACF in Financing Local Development in the district ...... 80 5.3 Recommendations ...... 80 5.4. Conclusion ...... 83
REFERENCES ...... 84 APPENDICES ...... 88 Appendix 1:...... 88 Appendix 2 ...... 89 Appendix 3 ...... 94
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LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
Table 2.1: Sources of Funding for local development in some selected countries ...... 13 Table 2.2: Factors for Allocating the DACF ...... 17 Table 2.3: Major areas of DACF Expenditure by MMDAs (1994-2003) ...... 23 Table 3.1: Data Types and Sources...... 41 Table 3.2: Categories of Respondent ...... 43 Table 4.1: Sources of Revenue for Jaman South District Assembly, 2007-2009 ...... 48 Table 4.2: Sources of Revenue for Jaman North District Assembly, 2007-2009 ...... 51 Table 4.3: Categories of Respondents...... 52 Table 4.4: Sources of Funding for the Jaman South and North Districts, 2007-2009 . 53 Table 4.5: Disbursement of DACF to Jaman South and North Districts, 2007-2009 . 54 Table 4.6: Institutional Roles for the Usage of the DACF in the Jaman South and North Districts...... 55 Table 4.7: Community Participation in use of DACF in the Jaman South and North Districts ...... 59 Again, participation viewed in only information giving is regarded as passive. Thus to ensure active participation by the community members in the use of the DACF, they are engaged in some of the stages of the project decision making and implementation...... 60 Table 4.8: Community Participation in Community Projects ...... 61 Table 4.9: Beneficiaries of Capacity Building Programmes funded through the DACF ...... 66 Table 4.10: Social Development Projects Funded through the DACF since 2006...... 67 Table 4.11: Responses of Local Representatives on the social benefit of the DACF . 69 Table 4.12: Economic Development Projects funded through the DACF since 2006. 70 Table 4.13: Responses of Local Representatives on the Economic benefit of the DACF ...... 71
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page Figure 2.1: Major sources of Revenue to MMDAs, 2008 ...... 22 Figure 2.2.: Framework for Integrated Local Development...... 36 Source: Adapted from Helling et al (2005): Linking Community Empowerment, Decentralized Governance, and Public Service Provision Through a Local Development Framework. pp.52...... 36 Figure 4.1: Jaman South and North Districts in the National Context...... 46 Figure 4.2: Map of Jaman South District ...... 47 Figure 4.3: Map of Jaman North District ...... 50 Figure 4.4: An Organogram for the utilisation of the DACF in the Jaman North and South Districts ...... 57 Figure 4.5: Time Community Members are Informed about Projects ...... 60 Figure 4.6: Responses of Assembly Members on Accountability from District Authorities...... 65 Figure 4.7: Community Responses on the achievement of DACF funded projects .... 72
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LIST OF ACRONYMS
CDF - Constituency Development Fund CG - Conditional Grants DACF - District Assemblies Common Fund DDF - District Development Facility DMTDP - District Medium-Term Development Plan EGF - Externally Generated Fund FOAT - Functional and Organizational Assessment Tool GETFund - Ghana Education Trust Fund GOG - Government of Ghana GPRS II - Growth and Poverty reduction Strategy HIPC - Highly Indebted Poor Countries ICT - Information and Communication Technology IGF - Internally Generated Fund LAFT - The Local Authority Transfer Fund MLGRD - Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development MMDA - Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies MoFEP - Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning MPs - Members of Parliament NALAG - National Association of Local Governments- Ghana NDPC - National Development Planning Commission NIEC - Northern Ireland Economic Council NGOs - Non-Governmental Organizations ODA - Official Development Assistance SBP - Single Business Permit SMEs - Small and Medium Enterprises SPSS - Statistical Package for Social Scientist UCG - Unconditional Grant UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
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CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND TO LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCING
1.1 Introduction
Local development has become a component of mainstream thinking about increasing productivity, creating jobs and wealth, promoting entrepreneurship, human capacity building and improving incomes (OECD, 2007). Local development is seen as an approach which helps in improving quality of life, supporting empowerment of ordinary people, developing or preserving local assets, overcoming market failures, strengthening cohesion, and defining and delivering grass-root development projects.
Initiatives in such directions are area-based integrated strategies mobilising a large number of local stakeholders (Jouen et al, 2010). The above underscores the important role of decentralisation in local development.
Decentralisation has become an engine of local development since the past two decades. Local governments have the responsibility to plan, implement and finance local development activities in their various jurisdiction and countries respectively.
However, the financing tools adopted by local governments for local development vary among countries (OECD, 2007). More developed countries use tax credit and incentives, subsidies and regulations to induce local development. For instance in the
United States, urban re-development is financed through tax credit and incentives whiles micro financing is done through regulations. Moreover, in Europe, most countries offer tax incentives and subsidies to encourage foreign direct investment.
They also issue public bonds to support activities that in other countries are the preserve of private fund managers (OECD, 2007).
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In developing countries however, local government depend on central governments and donors to finance local development efforts (Litschig, 2010; Okidi and Guloba,
2006; Kuntajar, 2006; Botchie, 2000). For instance in Brazil, government grants alone accounts for 50 percent of local government revenue for financing local development
(Litschig, 2010). Moreover in Uganda, local governments finance only 10 percent of its budget from local sources (Okidi and Guloba, 2006) whiles most of the local government income in Tanzania comes from central government allocations, which account for 72 % of the entire local authority budget (Kuntajar, 2006).
Local development financing in Ghana is not different from the developing countries above. There are three major sources of financing development at the local level in
Ghana. These include central government transfers, donor funds and internally generated funds (Botchie, 2000). The NDPC (2009) reveals that the sources of funding for local development by local government comprise 20 percent donor funds,
19 percent Internally Generated Funds (IGF) and 61 percent central government transfers. This underscores the importance of Central government funds to local development in Ghana. These government funds include the DACF, Ceded Revenue, the GETFund, the HIPC Fund, the District Development Fund, etc (Crawford, 2004).
It should however be indicated that, though various research have been done on the contributions of these sources of funds to development at the local level, Fund- specific and district-specific researches are needed. The above has thus necessitated this research into the contribution of the DACF to local development in the Jaman
South and North districts.
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1.2 Problem Statement
Local governments in Ghana have turned to be the major instruments for local development in Ghana. Local government have induced local development through the provision of social, economic and cultural services at the local level, which hitherto could be achieved through central government. The financing of these local development projects have depended mostly on external sources (Botchie, 2000;
Crawford, 2004; and NDPC, 2009).
The Internally Generated Funds (IGF) have proved to be insufficient for local development financing. Over the years, the IGF has constituted a small part of district revenues. For instance, in 1993 and 1994, it formed only 8.3 percent and 11.1 percent of district revenues respectively (Botchie, 2000). Again, in 2006, the IGF formed only
14 percent of funds accrued to the district assemblies (Crawford, 2004). Though this has increased to 18.7 percent of the total funds of local governments in Ghana
(NDPC, 2010), still the figure remains small as compared to other sources of funds.
The above is as a result of small revenue base, use of unskilled revenue collectors and tax evasion at the local level (Botchie, 2000). This has made district assemblies to rely mostly on external sources of funds to finance local development.
The government of Ghana, realising the inability of local governments to raise adequate funds for development has increasingly been transferring funds to district assemblies. Thus funds such as the GETFund, the DDF, the HIPC Fund, Ceded
Revenue and the DACF have been created to enable local governments induce and finance development at the local level (Crawford, 2004). The DACF has consequently been increased from 5 percent of government revenue to 7.5 percent (Adu, 2007).
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The District Assemblies‟ Common Fund remains the dominant and reliable source of funding for the implementation of district development programmes. The total releases of funds from the DACF to all districts since its establishment in 1994 amounted to GH¢ 1,024,755,220.00 in 2009 (Administrator of DACF, 2010). It formed 41.6 percent of MMDAs total revenue in 2009 (NDPC, 2010). Thus DAs in
Ghana have used the DACF in funding basic infrastructure for district administration; health, educational, water and sanitation facilities, maintenance of feeder roads, rural housing, and extension of telecommunications to rural areas and as well as poverty alleviation through the provision of credit to SMEs (King et al, 2003).
Considering the fact that the DACF forms a formidable source of funding for DAs in
Ghana, it is imperative to carryout district-specific researches to identify and examine its specific contributions to local development in Ghana-hence this study.
1.3 Objectives of the Research
Based on the above questions, the study seeks to achieve the following objectives;
To identify and examine the various sources of funding for development in the
Jaman North and South districts.
To examine the uses of the DACF in local development in the districts.
To identify the institutional and regulatory framework for the use of the DACF in local development in the districts
To examine the challenges of the DACF in financing local development in the district
To make/propose measures for effective use of DACF in financing local development.
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1.4 Research Questions
Resulting from the above problem, the study seeks to provide answers to the following questions;
What are the major sources of funding for the Jaman North and South
Districts?
How has the DACF been used in local development in the two districts?
What is the institutional and regulatory framework for the use of DACF in local development in the districts?
What are the challenges of the DACF in financing local development in the districts?
What measures can be put in place for effective use of DACF in local development?
1.5 Scope
The study looks at the contribution of the DACF to local development in the Jaman
North and South districts in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. Specifically, the study takes a comparative look at the major sources of funds for local development in these districts with special concentration on the DACF and its operations. The study considers the various uses of the Fund, the institutional and regulatory arrangements for financing development through the Fund and the challenges faced in using the
Fund to finance local development. Furthermore, the study proposes measures for effective and efficient local development financing in Ghana.
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1.6 Justification of the Study
Decentralisation has characterised development and good governance worldwide. A major component of decentralisation is fiscal decentralisation. Thus, the DACF has been created by the government of Ghana to supplement local government financial base for development. This has served as the major component of local government financing in Ghana. Thus a research into the contribution of the Fund in local development will help bring to bear the enormous roles the Fund is playing in the nation‟s development.
Moreover, local development has been embraced as a paradigm of development for the past three decades. Therefore to assess the role a particular source of fund is playing in achieving the various aims of the Fund will aid in examining how well the concept has been adopted, operationalized and supported in the country.
Furthermore, the findings from the study will provide the necessary information to help track the use of the DACF in the districts. The proposals made in the research could be adopted to improve the efficiency and effectiveness in financing local development in the districts. Again, though various studies have been carried out on the DACF in Ghana, the two case districts have seen little of these researches. Thus, this study will add to the body of knowledge on the contribution of the DACF to local development in Ghana as well as DACF information specific to the Jaman North and
South Districts.
In addition, the study would provide a platform or database for further research by either district assemblies, research institutions or individuals into the above stated area. This would also help to test the validity of findings and the efficacy of recommendations adopted and implemented from this study to promote accountable local governance in district assemblies in the country
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1.7 Organisation of Report
The study has been organised into five chapters. Chapter one outlines the introduction of the study, which consists of the background to the study, statement of the problem, research questions, objectives of the study, scope of the study, justification of the study, and organization of the report.
Chapter two reviews related literature and defines some key terms on definitions and approaches to local development, local development financing, financing local governance in Ghana and the issues relating to the DACF. Under the DACF, issues considered include institutionalisation of the Fund, Funds transferred to the MMDAs,
Earmarked funds and the contribution of the Fund to local Development. Case studies in developing countries concerning local development financing are also included in this chapter.
Chapter three presents the research approach and methodology. It describes the research design, data requirements and sources, population and sampling techniques and data collection techniques employed in carrying out the study.
The fourth chapter of the report relates to the contextual profile of the Jaman North and South Districts. It also looks at the analysis of the data collected from the field, data presentation and giving meanings to them.
Finally, chapter five states the major findings of study. Based on the findings, appropriate recommendations are made to improve the local development and local development financing through the DACF in the districts. The Chapter ends with a conclusion to the entire study
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CHAPTER TWO
FINANCING LOCAL DEVELOPMENT
2.1 Introduction
This chapter looks at a review of relevant data relating to local development financing. Specifically, the chapter talks about the concept of local development and its approaches. Again, the chapter takes a brief look at global perspectives in terms of local development financing taking Ghana, Kenya and Uganda as case studies. Under
Ghana, the DACF is discussed into details since it forms the fulcrum of the study.
Again, the chapter draws lessons from these studies for efficient local development financing in Ghana and Africa. The result of these is the development of a framework for local development, with financing as a major propellant of local development.
This provides the theoretic framework for the analysis in the next chapter.
2.2 The Concept of Local Development
The concept of Local development has different ways with similar meaning and implications. Hart and Murray (2000) indicated that local development is bottom-up, integrative, strategically driven, collaborative, interactive, multi-dimensional, reflective and assets-based (Hart and Murray, 2000). The Northern Ireland Economic
Council (NIEC, 2000) defined local development as “the mobilisation of under- utilised resources in targeted localities by local action, often in partnership with regional and central government departments and agencies, business, trade unions and local community groups, which can enhance the value of people and place”.
Moreover, Cassnova (2004) understands local development as a process in which a local society, maintaining its own identity and its land, generates and strengthens its cultural, social and economic dynamics, and facilitates the interconnection of each of
8 these sub-systems thus achieving greater intervention and control between them.
Similarly, Jouen et al (2010), defined local development as a method which helps in improving quality of life, supporting or accelerating empowerment of the local people, developing and/or preserving local assets, overcoming market failures, strengthening cohesion, and defining and delivering grass-root development projects.
From the foregoing, local development can be defined as a means of achieving grassroot socio-economic, political and environmental development through the mobilisation of local resources, with the support of governmental and non- governmental agencies.
2.3 Approaches to Local Development
Approaches to local development are based on some of the „basic principles‟ promoted by development paradigms such as sustainable human development, sustainable livelihoods and local level early recovery. Approaches to local development can be divided into four broad categories described below. (This section draws heavily on the work of UNDP, 2007).
2.3.1 Direct Community Support
This approach is also referred to as community-driven development and thus takes local communities as local development entry points. This approach is mostly used when traditional means of service delivery are not successful in responding to the needs of the poor. Channelling resources to communities empower them to prioritise, decide and act to support their communal interests. The World Bank is a key proponent of this approach. The UNDP has also supported a large number of community-development projects, for example through its Local Initiative Facility for
Urban Environment or the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme.
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The UNDP indicates that this approach can contribute to a more efficient allocation of resources for local priorities; stronger beneficiary ownership; more transparent and cost-effective management of resources; and strong social capital and networks.
Some of the shortcomings of this approach include the risk of undermining local government capacities by focusing on the strengthening of parallel structures, as well as the risks of „elite capture‟ and weak accountability because the poor may not have the capacities to participate fully in the process and as a consequence may not benefit from them. Also, the sustainability of infrastructure is often questionable due to a lack of linkages to local government budgets to cover costs of maintenance and other recurrent expenditures (World Bank, 2005)
2.3.2 Support to Local Government
The support to local government approach, which is promoted by UNCDF and
UNDP takes sub-national (e.g. local or regional) governments as its entry point. It is envisaged that strengthening the capacities of these bodies to fulfil their mandate has the potential to influence the decentralization process and to increase the willingness of local governments and deconcentrated sector agencies to collaborate.
Support tends to be a combination of capacity development for local government and civil society and community counterparts to formulate local development plans; full or partial funding for investments in small-scale infrastructure and social services to enable implementation and show the effectiveness of the approach; and monitoring of the implementation of the plans to permit downward and upward accountability and the learning of lessons to improve the planning and budgeting cycle the next time around.
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Lessons learned during the process are fed back to the national level to support decentralization and other public sector reforms. The UNCDF has applied this approach in 20 least developed countries and has benefited between 20-25 million people through its Local Development Programmes. The key features of the approach include:
Ownership of funds. So-called „local development fund‟ resources are
„owned‟ by local governments and they make the allocation decisions;
Procedures for planning the use of funds. The availability of local development funds is an incentive for local governments to promote a more comprehensive and participatory local government planning and budgeting process, which is funded by a combination of ODA, fiscal transfers and local revenues.
A hard budget constraint. Local development funds provide a fixed and known amount to support the implementation of the local development plan. This hard budget constraint is often missing in other donor programmes - with the exception of a few social investment programmes – whose implicit soft budget constraints discourage sound prioritisation, efficiency and local resource mobilisation;
Integration with the local budget cycle and process. Local development plans help to integrate the local development fund with local government budget cycles and procedures, to ensure ownership and sustainability (UNCDF, 2006).
2.3.3 Area-Based Development
Area-based development is “targeting specific geographical areas in a country, characterised by a particular complex development problem, through an integrated, inclusive, participatory and flexible approach‟ (UNDP, 2003). In an area-based approach „area‟ and „problem‟ are linked in a sense that the problem to be addressed
11 is area-specific and therefore defines the project‟s or programme‟s geographical area of intervention, which is typically smaller than the country itself.
To the UNDP, applying an area based development approach is only appropriate if a problem can realistically and effectively be addressed at the level of the area. In this respect, successful programmes apply a bottom-up approach to development that feeds into policy and institutional reform at the national level through a combination of horizontal and vertical linkages, thereby linking micro-level issues with macro- level considerations
2.3.4 Decentralized Sector Approach
This approach seeks to develop local-level organizations, whether governmental, non- governmental or private, to deliver basic services that meet the needs of the poor. This approach takes a sector as its entry point, rather than a social unit or a political entity.
This approach induces local development in several ways including the following
On the supply side, it helps to define appropriate technical standards and levels of service, establish criteria for their use, and promote appropriate technologies and organizational systems for service delivery and management‟.
It also trains local professionals, public and private, to manage service delivery and provide advisory services to local service delivery organizations to improve the quality of local service provision.
On the demand side, the approach tries to promote greater consumer power through local-level accountability mechanisms, marketed service delivery and local- level contracting of services.
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A major setback of this approach is that it does not encourage better coordination and coherence between different sectors and levels and hence does not always support an integrated local development agenda.
2.4 Financing Local Development: A Global Perspective
The discussion on local development has been closely linked to local government as the major institution with the responsibility of ensuring development at the local level.
Thus financing local development in this study is synonymous to local government financing. In this regard, local development can be said to be financed from two main sources. These include Internally Generated Revenue and Externally Generated
Revenue. Table 2.1 summarises the sources of finance for local development (local government financing) in some selected countries;
Table 2.1: Sources of Funding for local development in some selected countries
Country Sources of Funds for Local Development Australia Grants and general or special purpose payments of federal and state governments comprise 23 per cent of local government revenues. Other sources include tax on immovable property, fees and fines, net operating surplus of trading enterprises and interest Bangladesh Taxes, rates, fees and charges levied by local bodies, rents and profits accrued from their properties and money received through its services. Government grants, international project funding and loans raised by local bodies are additional sources of income. Taxes are the most important source of income, while loans and voluntary contributions are rare. Cameroon Council taxes, business levy and licenses. Fiji Revenues from land tax (town rate) and other local incomes such as grants-in lieu, rental fees, market and bus station fees, business license fees, building fees and parking fees. Most councils also raise loans from the local capital market. Grants from central government are rare. Ghana Taxes, user fees and charges, central government transfers and donor funds 13
India Tax revenue - properties, octroi, professions and vehicles, non-tax revenue - licenses and service charges, grants-in-aid, and state/central government loans and borrowings. Kenya Fees and charges, water and sewerage fees, local property taxes and business Permits New Property rates, user charges, fees, fuel taxes and Zealand returns on investments. Some central government financial assistance. The rating and charging powers have been provided for in law since 1988 and are an important source of local tax revenue Malaysia Local taxation (assessment rate, rents and fees for services, grants/subsidies given by state or central government. Some local authorities receive grants- in lieu of rates. Other sources include miscellaneous forms of charges and fees (licenses, payment for various forms of services, rental penalties and compounds and interest) Pakistan Tax and octroi (comprising 60 per cent of local governments‟ revenues) and non-tax sources. Property related taxes (such as local rates or leases on all land assessable to either rent, land revenue or use). Tax on the transfer of property and octroi are the largest sources of revenue. Sri Lanka Rates, taxes, duties, fees, fines, penalties and other charges as well as money from sales, leases or other transactions, revenues derived from properties and grants from other government spheres Source: Adopted from Dirie (2005): Municipal Finance: Innovative Resourcing for Municipal Infrastructure and Service Provision. pp 22-23
2.5 Financing Local Development in Ghana
Local development is financed from the Internally Generated Funds (IGF) and
Externally Generated Funds (EGF) [Crawford, 2004]. The IGF includes rates, licences, lands, fees, fines etc collected at the local level for financing development.
The externally generated funds included central government transfers and donor funds. Some of these revenue sources are discussed below.
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2.5.1 Internally Generated Fund (IGF)
Local authorities collect revenue from the local area which forms part of their sources of fund for development projects. This revenue includes rates, fines, dividends, royalties among others. The collection of the internally generated revenue remains very low and constituted only 19% of the total revenue base of district assemblies as at 2009 (Crawford, 2004 and NDPC, 2009).
2.5.2 Central Government Transfers
Ceded Revenue
This is revenue from a number of lesser tax fields that central government has ceded to the District Assemblies. Ceded Revenue is collected by the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) but then transferred to District Assemblies via the Ministry of Local
Government and Rural Development (Crawford, 2004). Ceded revenue takes the form of entertainment duties, casino revenue, betting tax, advertisement tax and others which have contributed quite a substantial sum to local governments.
Highly Indebted Poor Country Fund (HIPC Fund)
This Fund is disbursed to DAs in Ghana to embark on poverty-reduction interventions. The HIPC Fund for district projects are approved on the basis of the guidelines for the utilisation of the HIPC fund and those for the preparation of District
Development Plans. HIPC projects executed directly by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) fall within the stipulated areas of Education,
Health, Water, and Sanitation (Osei and Quartey, 2001).
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District Development Facility (DDF)
In order to bridge the financing gap and to improve the performance of the MMDAs, the Government of Ghana has introduced a performance-based grant system (the
District Development Facility) where access to additional development funds is linked to regular performance assessment under the Functional and Organisational
Assessment Tool (FOAT). The government and its key development partners supporting decentralisation have earmarked part of their support for the implementation of the performance-based funding to MMDAs (MLGRD, 2009).
The District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF): This has been discussed into details in section 2.6.
2.5.3 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)/Development Partners
According to the Government of Ghana document on the Implementation of the
GPRS II, the contribution of NGOs formed 11% of the revenue base of district assemblies‟ coffers. This is in the form of the various projects undertaken by these
NGOs to enhance the development activities of various assemblies.
2.6 The DACF and Local Development
2.6.1 Introduction to the Fund
The DACF was established by an Act of Parliament, District Assemblies‟ Common
Fund Act, 1993 (Act 455). Prior to this, it was enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, Article 252 which indicated that not less than 5 percent of the nation‟s revenue should be paid to DAs to embark on development activities at the grassroot level (GOG, 1992). This percentage has however increased to 7.5 percent of the Revenue of Ghana. Currently, the DACF constitute the largest share of district revenue. In 2008 for instance, the DACF constituted 43 percent of total revenue
16 accruing to MMDAs in Ghana (NDPC, 2009). The total releases of funds from the
DACF to all districts since its establishment in 1994 amounted to GH¢
1,024,755,220.00 in 2009 (Administrator of DACF, 2010).
Formula for the Disbursement of Funds.
Since the inception of the DACF, five factors have been considered in the calculation of the districts‟ shares. These are described as “Need”, “Responsiveness”, “Service
Pressure” and “Equality” Factors. In 2003, a “Poverty” factor was included but discontinued thereafter (Banful, 2007). The Rationale behind these factors and their corresponding share of the Fund (2008 and 2009) are indicated in Table 2.2;
Table 2.2: Factors for Allocating the DACF
Factor Rationale % of DACF Allocated
Equality This factor is aimed at 50% ensuring that districts have a minimum allocation from the Fund. This is to prevent the situation where certain districts will be poorly served with the Fund whiles others are enjoying the lion‟s share.
Need This seeks to address the 40% imbalance in development infrastructure among the i. Health (22%): [Health districts. The level of need is facilities (6%); Doc/Pop determined from the GDP per Ratio (8%); Nurse Pop capita. This is evident with the ratio (8%)] number of schools, doctor/population ratio ii. Education (11%): [Education facilities (5%); Teacher/Pupil Ratio (6%)] iii. Water (7): Water coverage (7%) Responsiveness This is a rewarding factor for 4% assemblies that have done well in revenue collection in terms of per capita revenue collected
17
Service This factor serves to 6% compensate for population pressure on facilities.
Total 100 Source: Adapted from the NDPC, 2010.
The following is the formula for sharing the DACF:
Ninety percent (90%) of each year‟s allocation of the Fund is shared among District Assemblies according to the approved formula
Five percent (5%) of the Fund is shared to the two hundred and thirty
MPs for constituency projects.
Two and half percent (2.5%) is shared among the Ten Regional Co- ordinating Councils (RCC) to be used for supervision in their respective region
Two percent (2%) is reserved to meet Contingence Expenditures
The remaining 0.5% is for the DACF office (Sarquah, 2008)
2.6.2 Institutional and Regulatory Framework for the DACF
Institutional Arrangements
The stakeholders in the sharing of the Fund are mainly, the Common Fund
Administrator, the District Assemblies and the legislators, that is, Parliament, the
Ministry of Finance and the MLGRD. The topmost institution responsible for the administration of the Common Fund is the Administrator of the DACF (Sarquah,
2008). A number of other government agencies are also involved in the administration and supervision of the use of the Fund. It is the Metropolitan, Municipal and District
Assemblies (MMDAs) that actually utilise the funds. The Ministry of Local
Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) issues Guidelines for the utilisation of the Fund at the MMDAs (King et al, 2003).
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Legal and Regulatory Framework
The 1992 Constitution of the republic of Ghana: Article 252 of the 1992
Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, provides for the establishment of a District
Assembly Common Fund (DACF).
The District Assemblies Common Fund Act (Act 455): The DACF is established under an Act of Parliament, Act 455, and refers to the allocation of not less than 5 per cent of „total national revenues‟ to MMDAs.The fund is distributed to all MMDAs on the basis of a formula approved by Parliament, payable in quarterly instalments and administered by the DACF Administrator (Inanga and Osei-Wusu, 2004).
The DACF Utilisation Guidelines: The MLGRD in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning issues Guidleines to determine the category of expenditure of the approved development budget of the district assemblies that must in each year be met out of amounts received by the Assemblies from the fund (Inanga and Osie-Wusu, 2004). The major issues of concern are the deductions and earmarked funds from the DACF (King et al, 2003).
a. Funds Deducted at Source
A number of deductions were made at source from the disbursements of the Common
Fund. The following are the general deductions usually made from the Assemblies‟ allocations (King et al, 2003).:
Human Capacity Building (2%): This is withheld for the Institute of Local
Government Studies (ILGS) for training of Assembly staff.
Bulk purchases: Some deductions are made from the allocations of the DACF for certain bulk purchases.
19
An annual contribution to NALAG, which is also deducted at source.
Other deductions decided upon ex tempore. b. Earmarked Funds from the DACF
In addition to these deductions at source, directives and/or guidelines as to how to utilize the funds accompany the releases. The Assembly‟s entitlement is divided into two categories of expenditures: the category that is determined by the Central
Government and the rest, which can be used as the Assembly deems fit. The first category, which could also be described as earmarked funds, is allocated as follows
(King et al, 2003).:
Productivity improvement and employment generation fund (20%): This percentage is allocated for providing micro finance credit to micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises in each district.
Self-help projects (10%): An amount equivalent to 10% of each Assembly‟s allocation must be devoted towards providing support for community initiated projects.
District Education fund (2%): Each Assembly is required to use 2% of its annual allocation to provide scholarships, bursaries or repayable loans to needy students in its jurisdiction.
Establishment and strengthening of substructures of the Assemblies (5%)
District Response Initiative (1%) – HIV/AIDS
Malaria Prevention (1%).
20 c. Broad Priority Expenditure Areas
With these expenditures above, the Assembly is left with only 59% of the DACF to use on their own priority areas. Even then, the law requires that these priority areas include addressing the needs of the vulnerable groups in society and promoting income generation by the Assembly. Specifically, the law requires that the targeted expenditure areas belong to the following broad areas (King et al, 2003):
Economic ventures – energy, markets, industry, agricultural services, roads, streets, bridges and culverts, ICT, private sector support and counterpart funding.
Social services – education, health, electrification, water supply, housing, sports and recreation.
Administration – human resource management, accommodation, office facilities and equipment as well as project management.
Environment – sanitation, drainage systems, waste management and environmental protection.
2.6.3 Contribution of the Fund to Local Development
The DACF has benefited Ghanaians in terms of local development. It serves as a source of revenue to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in Ghana. It also constitutes a tremendous source of funds for infrastructure provision at the local level;
The DACF as a Major Source of MMDAs Revenue
The District Assemblies Common Fund has become the main source of MMDA revenue since its establishment in 1994. For instance between 2007 and 2009 DACF constituted between 26% and 56% of total revenue of the MMDAs (NDPC,
2010). This is shown in Figure 2.1
21
HIPC 9% DACF Donors DACF 20% 43% IGF GoG 9% IGF GoG 19% Donors
HIPC
Figure 2.1: Major sources of Revenue to MMDAs, 2008
Source: NDPC, 2009 In 2009, out of the total of 167 districts submitting returns to MLGRD, the DACF constituted more than 50% of resources in 83 (49.7%) of these districts; 28 (17%) of districts relied on DACF for 40-49% of resources, 28 (17%) of districts depended on the Fund for 30%-39% of revenue, and 16% on less than 30% (NDPC, 2010). The above underscores the significant role the DACF has and is playing in district level development. The Common Fund is seen as a suitable mechanism for providing resources to the district to provide basic infrastructure in the field of education, health and water that hitherto had been neglected (World Bank, 2004). Indeed, physically, it has caused an incremental access of people living in the district to governmental resources and services (King et. al, 2003). Majority of these developmental projects are in the form of infrastructure provision discussed below.
The DACF as a source of Funds for Grassroot Development Projects
The DACF does not serve as only a major source of revenue to the Districts but it is also used to finance major development projects. These projects are mainly found in the education, health, water and sanitation, transport and others. From the period
22 between 1994 and 2003, the various expenditure patterns of the DACF are summarised in Table 2.3. These projects have contributed to the development of people in the various districts in the country.
Table 2.3: Major areas of DACF Expenditure by MMDAs (1994-2003)
Sector Sub-sector % Share Education Basic education 16.4 Secondary education 7.9 Health Medical facilities 3.4 Sanitation 9.8 Water 2.6 Administration Administration 36.7 and Development Markets 3.4 Roads 3.5 Electricity 7.2 Housing 2.0 Income generation (poverty 6.9 alleviation) 1.1 Community-initiated projects Total 100 Source: Farvacque-Vitkovic et al. (2008): Development of the Cities of Ghana. Challenges, Priorities and Tools. pp.16.
2.6.4 Challenges of the DACF
The DACF as a major source of local development financing is salvaged by numerous problems. Some of these problems are enumerated below.
Delays in the release of the Fund: There are several delays throughout the disbursement process, starting from the submission of the proposed guidelines to
Parliament and finally disbursing the monies to the various MMDAs and even the receipt of the money by the Assemblies. This late release of funds is a major drawback on the district‟s development effort as most of the MMDAs depend on the
23
Fund for development projects, poverty alleviation loans and service delivery (World
Bank, 2004).
Central Government Interferences: There are consistent interventions and directives from the central government on the utilization of the DACF by the
MMDAs, which could jeopardize the attainment of its objectives, as the Assemblies do not have the chance to implement their own priority projects. The amounts received by the District Assemblies do not agree with the figures released from the
MoFEP. The main reason is that a number of deductions are made at source from the disbursements of the Common Fund. Furthermore, the MLGRD issues directives/ guidelines to the MMDAs regarding the use of the fund, leaving only 59% of the
DACF to use on their own priority areas. Even with these, there are specified priority areas as indicated above (King et al, 2003).
Non-predictability of the amount to be received from the Fund: Another inevitable challenge of the Fund is that it is not possible for the MMDAs to predict the amount to be received and the time to expect their allocation of the Fund. Thus, they are not able to do any futuristic planning and budgeting of projects based on the
DACF (World Bank, 2004).
Lack of Transparency in MMDAs’ use of DACF: There is a general lack of transparency in tendering procedures and contract administration. The implication of this has been the inflation of project costs and the inability of local representatives to monitor projects in their communities to ensure quality (King et al, 2003).
Non-participatory usage of the DACF at the district level. There was very little knowledge among community members about the guidelines, disbursement, volume and utilization of the Common Fund. Thus, community members are unable to demand accountability from the authorities in charge of the disbursement of the
24
Common Fund in the district. Moreover, the selection of DACF projects is based on the guidelines for the use of the Fund. Community members were not often consulted in the selection of DACF projects (King et al, 2003).
2.7 Case Studies of Local Development Financing
2.7.1 Financing Local Development in Uganda
Local development financing in Uganda is financed through three major sources.
These include Central Government Transfers, Local revenue and Off-Budget
Transfers.
Local Revenue
In Uganda, whilst local government has powers of own revenue generation, in practice these account for less than 10 per cent of total revenues. In addition, there has been an alarming decline in local revenues in recent years, in part as a response to significant increases in central government transfers (UNCDF, 2004).
Central Government Transfers
The central government transfers in Uganda consist of three main components namely: Unconditional, Conditional and Equalisation grants. At present all are operational, Conditional and unconditional grants are both recurrent and capital/development. The conditional grants are the most dominant, contributing on average, 88% of total transfers to local governments; unconditional grant, 11.6% and equalization grant 0.6%. (Local Government Finance Commission, 2003).
1. Conditional Grants (CG): This is a transfer released on quarterly basis based on the submissions of work plans, quarterly reports, and cumulative quarterly reports covering financial and physical progress to line ministries. It is estimated that 75% of
25 all CG transfers to LG are for recurrent expenditure. The size of recurrent CGs and the flexibility which Districts/Municipalities have in their use is almost entirely determined by line ministry policy as reflected in the CG guidelines. The vast majority funds for conditional grants are tied to key sectors such as Primary
Education, Primary Healthcare, Water and Sanitation, Rural Roads and Agriculture
Extension. Guidelines are prepared for the use of this fund. According to the guidelines, Districts/Municipalities have, in principle, greater discretion in priority- setting, although the real level of discretion remains limited (Fiscal Decentralisation
Working Group, 2002).
2. Unconditional Grant (UCG) :This grant is defined as the minimum grant that are paid to local governments to run decentralised services, and calculated in the manner specified in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of Uganda. The
Seventh Schedule provides the formula for the annual up-rating of UCG in line with price and wage increases and the budgeted cost of running added or subtracted services. This Grant is distributed across Districts/Municipalities according to a formula including a flat-rate allocation for each District/Municipality plus an allocation based on area (15% weight) and population (85% weight). There are also some minor historic transfer items (accounting for 10 -15 % of the total) whereby the
UCG for some Districts/Municipalities includes financing for special tasks including security (Fiscal Decentralisation Working Group, 2002).
3. Equalisation Grant: The Equalisation Grant is released to provide funds to
Districts/Municipalities with low revenue potential, and/or higher costs of delivering services to the people. The allocation is based on a formula which aims to “equalise” revenue potential and service delivery costs. The funds allocated are small and funds
26 can be used in any priority areas, following central approval (Fiscal Decentralisation
Working Group, 2002).
4. Dutch Grant: This grant is accessed by nine local governments in the northern part of the country namely; Arua, Nebbi, Yumbe, Adjumani, Moyo, Lira, Soroti,
Kaberamaido and Katakwi. It is a budget support grant. The allocation to individual local governments was made using the equalisation grant formula (Local Government
Finance Commission, 2003)
Donor/NGO Grants (Off-budget Funds)
There are off-budget sources of funding at local government level. These include funds for specific projects from donors and non-governmental organisations. Off- budget funds normally follow the policy and implementation rules of the different donors and non governmental organisations. Off-budget funding is guided by respective project documents and memoranda of understanding which specify the nature and form of partnership between donors and the government of Uganda
(WaterAid, 2009)
2.7.2 Financing Local Development in Kenya
The revenue base of municipal authorities consists of locally generated revenues and transfers from the central government. These are briefly described below;
Locally Generated Revenue:
The basic revenue sources for municipalities are defined in several statutes. These laws give local authorities the right to raise revenue from a wide variety of sources upon receiving the approval of the Minister for Local Government. The main sources include Property taxes collected in the form of land rates; Business tax referred to as 27 the Single Business Permit (SBP); Motor vehicle parking fees; Market fees (for stalls and use of space in council markets); Rents from council buildings, housing estates and community facilities; and Fees for various municipal services.
Internal revenues are the main sources of funds for municipalities in Kenya accounting on the average, for about 70 percent of total revenues in 2006. Thus in terms of local revenue generation, Kenyan Local governments can be said to be performing better than their counterparts in some African countries such as Ethiopia,
Uganda Tanzania and Ghana since they are less dependent on the center for financial and technical assistance (Menon et al, 2008).
Central Government Systems
1. The Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF): The Local Authority Transfer
Fund (LATF) was established in 1999 through the LATF Act No. 8 of 1998, with the objective of improving service delivery, improving financial management, and reducing the outstanding debt of Local Authorities (LAs). LATF, which comprises
5% of the national income tax collection in any year, currently makes up approximately 24% of local authority revenues. At least 7% of the total fund is shared equally among the country's 175 local authorities; 60% of the fund is disbursed according to the relative population size of the local authorities. The balance is shared out based on the relative urban population densities.
It is estimated that 60% of LATF allocations is released based on LAs meeting set requirements. The remaining 40% is released based on LAs performance measured through Local Authority Service Delivery Action Plan (LASDAP) and other indicators. Budgeted LATF allocations are gazetted but no disbursement is made unless LAs meet the requirements (Budget Monitoring Tool, 2001)
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2. Constituency Development Fund: The Constituency Development Fund was established through the CDF Act, 2003 with the aim of controlling imbalances in regional development brought about by partisan politics. The CDF Act provides for the establishment of the fund comprising an equivalent of 2.5% of all the government ordinary revenue collected every financial year. The fund is allocated to 210 constituencies in the country, whereby 75% of the fund is allocated equally and 25% based on the poverty levels (The Institute for Social Accountability, 2011).
The Fund targets constituency level development projects with particular emphasis on project targeting poverty alleviation. Allocation of the fund to the various projects, which are supposedly identified by the community, is done by the Constituency
Development Committee. Over the past few years, CDF has become a major source of funding to districts. The CDF now constitutes an estimated 17-20% of total GoK fund that are sent to the district level (The Institute for Social Accountability, 2011).
3. The Constituency Bursary Fund: The fund targets children from poor households, children from arid and semi-arid areas, children affected by HIV/AIDS and orphans. Five per cent of the allocation is set aside for the girl child and other children under special or difficult circumstances (this may include children with disabilities or various medical conditions). In order for a constituency to qualify for an allocation of the bursary funds, it is mandatory that it forms a Constituency
Bursary Committee. The money is sent to each constituency in two instalments: A standard allocation of Kshs 1 million to the entire 210 constituencies. A second instalment which varies from constituency to constituency depending on the
Population size, district poverty index, student enrolment in secondary schools so as to ensure equitable distribution of resources (The Institute for Social Accountability,
2011).
29
NGOs/Donor Funds
Non-Governmental Organisations also provide funds for local development at the local level in Kenya. These are called Public Sector Fund. These are channelled directly to local communities in an „NGO-type mode‟, applying separate planning and approval mechanisms outside of any of the formal government systems. Officially, the actual disbursements may use project specific management structures and procedures and they have their own coordinating (or steering) committee at the national and/or provincial level as well as project management units at the district level (Menon et al, 2008).
2.7.3 Challenges to Local Development Financing in Africa.
Local development in Africa is salvaged by several problems. These problems are in the form of transparency and accountability, overdependence on central government transfers, low local level revenue generation and others. Some of these challenges are enumerated below.
Overdependence on external transfers: Many local governments in Africa are not able to raise enough revenue at the local level to finance local development. This is due to inability to identify investment opportunities, and market the districts to attract investors; and undeveloped potential local revenue sources. Thus local authorities remain dependent on central government grants. These are often not enough to undertake the specific functions assigned to them under various legislative instruments. As such, some local development projects are suspended and abandoned
(Botchie, 2000).
The responsibilities and resources that are de facto transferred to the local level are not always sufficient to support effective local development. This poses a
30 particular challenge at the local level, since revenue-raising and resource mobilisation capacities tend to be limited (Botchie, 2000).
Corruption within Local Authorities: corruption is an important issue among public service providers in all the local authorities. Its incidence was described as moderately high by the stakeholders. Operational areas most prone to corruption are procurement, revenue administration, and business centers such as motor vehicle parking, markets, housing, enforcement, construction works, land allocation, employment, and promotions. For instance, a survey by the Kenya Anti-Corruption
Commission (KACC) found that Local Authorities are the second most corrupt public institution in the country after the Police Service (Menon, 2008).
Late Release of Central Government Funds: Problems are caused by the late release of funds from central government. For example, in Uganda, in the two financial years before 2006/7, about half the budget in all districts was released in the last quarter of the financial year. The late release of funds results in hurried work due to the pressure to spend the funds in the last quarter of the year, because the district must return unspent money to the Ministry of Finance (WaterAid, 2009).
Problems with Donor Assistance: Donor assistance to local government in
Africa are usually in the form of budget support and project aid. These funds are often earmarked by donor to finance specific sectoral programs. Where development finance is delivered as project aid, it is channelled directly to local governments or directly to local communities, which fragments local development structures (Botchie,
2000).
Accountability: Local development is characterised by an imbalance between upward and downward accountability. In Africa, emphasis is given to upward accountability with the sole objective of ensuring that resources released from the
31 centre are properly accounted for at the expense of efficiency in resource utilisation and local level accountability. Thus the grassroot people are not aware of the amount accruing to the local authorities and the various uses they are put to (Okidi and
Guloba, 2006).
Political Interference in Local Development Financing; Fiscal autonomy is limited in district councils both with respect to revenues and expenditures. The bulk of their revenues are conditional grants from the central government. Thus Guidelines are given from the national to direct the use of these funds at the local. Again, political interferences also influence the relative locations of local development projects. To the WaterAid (2009), this affects equitable local development. The
WaterAid commenting on equitable local development in Uganda indicated that „the need for an equitable allocation of resources at local level is still a daunting challenge for the local development officers at district level who complain that political interference leads to some localities being over-resourced while others are disadvantaged‟ (WaterAid, 2009)
2.8 Lessons from Case Studies
The case studies have revealed several issues regarding local development financing in Africa. Firstly, it could be realised that there is overdependence of local governments on external sources of funds, especially on central government transfers.
This means local revenue generation has not been enough and effective to finance local development. There is therefore the need to strengthen the collection of internally generated revenue at the grassroot level.
Moreover, having realised that local governments depend on central government finance for most of their developmental projects, it is imperative to ensure timely
32 release of funds from the centre. Again, for local development to be fully successful there should be autonomy in the use of these funds. The conditional grants together with guidelines for the utilisation of these grants impede the ability of local authorities to ensure effective development in their jurisdiction.
Furthermore, the studies have shown that corruption has characterised local development financing. Thus anti-corruption measures should be integrated with local development frameworks to ensure accountability and transparency at the local level.
Moreover, this integrated framework will also reduce embezzlement of Funds by local authorities.
2.9 An Analytical framework for Local Level Finance and Local Development
A local development framework focuses on strengthening decentralized institutional arrangements for empowerment, governance, service provision, and private sector growth as the building blocks of sustainable capacity for local development as shown in Figure 2.2. However, all these cannot be possible without the necessary financial resources needed to implement them.
First and foremost, one of the elements of successful local development is empowerment. This means people and communities, especially those frequently marginalized, having both the opportunity and the capability to participate effectively in social, economic and political spheres. Empowerment enhances people‟s opportunities and capabilities to make and express choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes. People‟s capability to participate in local governance and local service delivery is not only determined by individual resource endowments (money, information, skills, etc.) but also the social capital that provides the basis for collective action to address their common concerns. Here mechanisms
33 are to be put in place to ensure adequate participation in internal financial mobilisation and participation in the decisions on the use of both internal and external revenue.
Secondly, effective local development demands and includes local governance. Local governance is the way authority is organized, legitimated, and employed by and on behalf of local people through planning, decision-making, and accountability processes. Local governance refers not only to local governments and other public sector agencies but also to a variety of community and civil society institutions by which people organize to act collectively. It must be noted that effective local governance partly depends on human and financial resources coupled with accountability. Thus internal and external revenues should be mobilised for effective local governance, whiles measures are put in place to check accountability and corruption.
Moreover, local development looks at service provision. Local service provision systems (including public sector, private sector, non-governmental and community- based organizations) mobilize and manage resources and produce public facilities and services. Some resources for service provision are mobilized locally while others are provided through transfers to local organizations, both governmental and community- based. For local development to be successful and respond to the needs of the people, the mobilization of local revenues to finance local development should be regarded as an important foundation for sustainable empowerment and governance as well as for service provision since most external transfers are not reliable.
Furthermore, it is an established fact that local development will remain fragile and difficult to sustain unless there is growth in the local private sector. Putting in place
34 the mechanisms to encourage private sector growth can contribute significantly to people‟s empowerment by increasing their ability to meet their own needs and invest in their own future. Through their participation in the economy, the poor will not only increase consumption in the short run but also increase their ability to invest in their own development. Three principal areas of intervention support enabling local private sector growth in the context of an integrated approach to local development are thus specified in Figure 2.2.
35
Figure 2.2.: Framework for Integrated Local Development. Source: Adapted from Helling et al (2005): Linking Community Empowerment, Decentralized Governance, and Public Service Provision Through a Local Development Framework. pp.52
36
A concomitant effort should be the external support from the Centre, and other development partners. There should be regular provision of resources such as funding, training, technical assistance, and information that will bring improvements in the social and economic welfare of people and the accumulation of local human, social and economic capital.
37
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the scientific and analytical framework for the study. This involves the approach and methodology adopted and used for the study discussed.
The research design adopted and the processes used in conducting the research are also presented and discussed. It also provides data requirements, forms, and sources.
Data collection and analysis tools and instruments used as well as methods of presentation and reporting of findings are presented in this chapter.
3.2 Research Design
The case study is the design adopted for this research work. Case studies typically describe a program or intervention put in place to address a particular problem (Naele, et al, 2006). It is also an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real life context, when the boundaries between phenomenon and the context are not clearly evident, and in which multiple sources of evidence are used (Yin, 1984). Yin (2003) also sees case studies as a story about something special or interesting-stories can be about individuals, organisation, processes, programs, neighbourhoods, institutions and even events. Case studies are often used to provide context to other data (such as outcome) offering a more complex picture of what happened and why (Yin, 2003).
Yin (1984) identifies three basic principles underlying case studies. Firstly, “how” and “why” questions are used. However, “what” questions are used when the case study is for exploratory purposes. Secondly, case study requires no control over behavioural events and thirdly, the case study focuses on contemporary events.
38
In view of the above principles, the case study has been selected for this research since the research fulfils all of them. This is because financing local development and the DACF are contemporary approaches to and instruments of grassroot development.
Yin (2003) indicates that case studies allow the researcher to present data collected from multiple methods. This study presents data from interviews, observations and photographs. Again, the use of case study provides much detailed information about the phenomenon (Naele, et al, 2006). Therefore the use of this design will provide detail information on the contributions of the DACF to local development in the
Jaman North and South Districts.
One of the limitations of case studies is the difficulties involved in generalising from one case to another (Naele, et al, 2006). Critics indicate that case studies provide no ground for establishing generality of findings (Soy, 1997). For this reason, detailed research has been done from secondary sources on local development financing and the DACF and in this study. Thus, findings from this study are supported with literature to make it viable and reliable for generalisation. Another criticism is that case studies lack rigour (Naele, et al, 2006), that is, they are unscientific and bias in findings. However this study relies on scientific processes for data collection and analysis. Scientific Sampling will be adopted whiles data will be collected with maximum accuracy. Again, the SPSS and EXCEL will be adopted for data analysis to reduce manual errors.
3.3 Research Process
The various stages in the research and the approaches used at each stage are discussed. The discussion takes into account the difficulties faced.
39
3.3.1 Problem Definition and Synopsis/Proposal Preparation
Like in any other research, this study began with the definition of a problem. This involved mainly identification of researchable topic which is of interest to stakeholders and acceptable to the Institute of Distance Learning of Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology. After, a final topic was decided on; a proposal was then written and submitted to the institute for approval.
3.3.2 Review of Relevant Literature
In line with the scope and problem defined in the proposals, relevant literature on local development financing was reviewed. This provided an idea of the direction and the extent of works that have been undertaken on the subject to enable the identification of further research requirements. The literature review includes issues concerning local development and its approaches, financing local development in the world and selected countries including Ghana, Uganda and Kenya and issues on the
DACF. Lessons were drawn from these studies to adopt a conceptual framework for local development financing.
3.3.3 Design of Field Survey Instruments
The DACF in the two districts concerns the District Assembly Authorities, the Sub-
District Structures, community leaders and community members. Thus questionnaires were designed to collect data from these units of enquiry.
3.3.4 Data Analysis and Reporting
Findings of the research were reported using a combination of varied approaches and techniques. Here quantitative and qualitative data gathered from the field were coded and edited. These were analyzed and presented in a report.
40
3.4 Data Types and Sources
Two major sources of data-primary and secondary sources were used for this study.
Secondary data were collected from books, publications and journals from the library and the internet. Primary data were collected through a field survey. Primary data collected for this study are summarised in Table 3.1.
Table 3.1: Data Types and Sources
Unit of Enquiry Categories of Data (Data Sources) Traditional Authority DACF projects in the community Benefits from these projects Participation in these projects Community Members DACF projects in the community Benefits from these projects Participation in these projects Unit Committees DACF projects in the community Benefits from these projects Participation in these projects Benefits from the Fund Assembly Members Types of DACF projects in Area of Jurisdiction and Area Council Involvement in the Use of the Funds Chairmen Transparency and accountability in the Use of the funds Participation in the use of funds Benefits from the Fund Challenges of the Fund DPCU Sources of Revenue and their uses Disbursement of funds from Headquarters Utilisation of the Fund Contribution of the Fund to all the levels of the Assembly‟s activities Transparency and accountability in the Use of the funds Community Involvement in the use of funds Benefit from the fund Challenges of the Fund Source: Author‟s Construct, May 2010.
3.5 Sampling
3.5.1 Sampling Technique
It could be realized from above that there are five units of enquiry for the study. Two sampling techniques were used to select the sample for data collection. These include
41
Purposive and Simple Random Sampling techniques. Purposive sampling is a technique that allows a researcher to select a case with the required information with respect to objectives. This technique was used to collect data from the District
Assembly and Area Council Chairpersons.
Simple random sampling technique involves giving every subject a chance of being interviewed. This technique was used to collect data from community members, chiefs, Assembly members and Unit committees.
3.5.2 Sample Determination
For the purpose of this study, the formula below was used to select community members, Assembly members and Unit committees for the study.
푁 푛 = 1 + (푁푒2)
Where n is the sample size, N is the sampling frame and e is the margin of error. The
Calculation of the Sample sizes are shown in Appendix 1. The total population of the two Districts is 202,449 and the sample population for the two Districts is 312 thus
156 for each.
3.6 Categories of Respondent
Data collected for the research study was sourced from four categories of respondents; these were community members, Unit Committee members, Assembly members as well as District Planning Officers from Jaman North and South Districts. Table 3.2 indicates the categories of respondents interviewed.
42
Table 3.2: Categories of Respondent
Type of Respondents Jaman South Jaman North District District Community members 156 156 Unit Committee 66 44 Members Assembly members 35 24 Area Council 8 7 Chairpersons District Planning Officers 1 1 Total 266 232 Source: Author‟s Construct, May 2010.
A total of 498 respondents and key informants were interviewed during the field survey as indicated in Table 5.1 Key informants in the various institutions interviewed include 312Community Members, 110 unit Committee members, 59 Assembly members, 15 Area council chairpersons and 2 District Planning officers. These respondents provided data on the DACF, participation in the use of DACF, the uses of the DACF, and the challenges to the use of DACF as a major source of funding for local development projects. Details of these respondents are indicated in Appendix 2.
3.7 Data Collection Techniques and Instruments
As indicated under data types and sources, the study used both primary and secondary data. Secondary data was collected through desk studies and internet exploration.
Here libraries and the internet were visited to collect secondary data relevant to this study. Primary data were collected through a field survey. Here, formal interviews were conducted to obtain empirical data from the field. For formal interviews, household questionnaires and institutional questionnaires were used. Samples of these questionnaires are provided in Appendix 3.
43
3.8 Data Rationalization, Analysis, Presentation and Reporting
Data from the field were edited, rationalized and collated. Qualitative data were coded with each sentence given a unique code using the SPSS software.
Subsequently, data were categorized and tabulated to respond to the study objectives.
Quantitative data collected were also coded using the SPSS software. It was analyzed and used to support the qualitative data for clearer understanding of the subject. The data collected were analyzed with the aid of Excel and Statistical Package for Social
Scientists (SPSS) computer software to provide descriptive statistics and frequency tables, and bar graphs etc.
Findings of the research will be reported using a combination of varied approaches and techniques. Quantitative and Qualitative analyses will be undertaken with reference to the study‟s objectives. The use of tables, figures and plates will be employed to support the analysis of data. The major findings will also be summarized in line with the objectives of the study.
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CHAPTER FOUR
LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCING IN THE JAMAN SOUTH AND JAMAN
NORTH DISTRICTS
4.1 Introduction
This chapter narrows the discussion of issues on the contribution of the DACF to local
development using data from the field. This will help ascertain the validity of the
theoretical underpinnings discussed in chapter two. The major components of the
chapter include basic data that summarizes the profile of the case study districts, issues
of DACF usage, the contribution of the DACF to grassroot development such as
community participation, local governance, human development and economic
development in the Jaman South and North Districts. Others include the institutional
and regulatory framework for the usage of the Fund, as well as the challenges to the
DACF as a source of funding for local development in these districts. This chapter
thus provides findings for the next chapter which gives a summary of findings and
policy recommendations
4.2 Profile of the Jaman South District.
4.2.1 Location and size
The Jaman South District is one of the Twenty-Two (22) administrative districts in
the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. It shares borders with the Jaman North District in
the North-East, Berekum District in the South-East, Dormaa District in the South and
La Cote D‟Ivoire in the West. Figure 4.1 shows the Jaman South District in the
national Context whiles Figure 4.2 is a map of the Jaman South District. The district
has a total land area of about 552 km2 and about 130 settlements with six urban
communities.
45
Figure 4.1: Jaman South and North Districts in the National Context.
Source: www.wekipedia.com (2011)
46
Figure 4.2: Map of Jaman South District
Source: Jaman South District Assembly, 2011
4.2.2 Demographic Characteristics
The total population of the Jaman South District was 79,060 according to the 2000
Population and Housing Census. With a growth rate of 3.3 percent, the population was projected to be 109,386 in 2010 with a population density of 198 persons per square kilometer.
47
4.2.4 Local Government Finance in the Jaman South District
Revenue
The major revenue sources in the district come from external sources such as the
District Assemblies‟ Common Fund, Donor Funds and other Government of Ghana grants. The District Assemblies Common Fund is the largest contributor to the districts revenue. Table 4.1 indicates that the Internally Generated Fund (IGF) of the district forms a small part of the total revenue accruing to the district. This can be attributed to issues enumerated in Chapter Two of this report.
Table 4.1: Sources of Revenue for Jaman South District Assembly, 2007-2009
Revenue 2007 2008 2009 IGF 131,77 141,843. 170,064. 3.00 00 52 DACF 427,45 826,098. 500,000. 1.00 00 00 MP fund 59,361. 39,671.0 52,762.4 00 0 3 DONOR Funds 71,118. 94,145.0 124,271. 00 0 40 HIPC 96,419. 124,845. 161,050. 00 00 05 Other GOG Grants e.g 91326. 353,067. 450,000. GETFund 41 00 00 TOTAL 877,44 1,579,66 1,458,14 8.41 9.00 8.40
Source: Field Survey, April 2011
Expenditure
Expenditure pattern over the period 2006 to 2009 indicates a rising trend in expenditure particularly in the area of recurrent expenditure thought capital expenditure takes a huge part of expenditure. Capital expenditure has received inflows mainly from the District Assemblies Common Fund, the Assemblies own generated fund, and the Member of Parliaments Fund. . Analysis of expenditure and figures
48 from the Common fund indicate that approximately 86% of the fund allocation was used for Capital projects.
4.3 Profile of the Jaman North District.
4.3.1 Location and size
Jaman North District is located between latitude 7‟40” N and 8‟ 27”N, and longitude
2‟30”W and 2‟ 60” W. It shares local boundaries with Tain District to the North through to the Eastern part of the district, Jaman South District to the South West and
Berekum District to the South East as shown by Figure 4.1 and Figure 4.3. The
District has a land size of about 640 square kilometers.
49
Figure 4.3: Map of Jaman North District
Source: Jaman South District Assembly, 2011
4.3.2 Demographic Characteristics
The Population of the District was estimated to be 93,053 in 2010 with a growth rate ot 2.9 percent. The district can generally be described as rural and has linear settlement pattern. Out of the 41 settlements only eleven (11) were captured under the first twenty (20) settlements as classified by the 2000 Population and Housing Census and of the 11, only four (4) settlements had populations of Over 5,000 people.
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4.3.3 Local Government Finance in the Jaman North District
Revenue
Revenue in the district is made up of two main parts-internal and external sources of revenue. The internal sources of finance/revenue are mainly generated from the
Assembly‟s area of jurisdiction. The internal revenue base of the Assembly is poor.
This is as a result of few revenue items accounting for the total revenue generated.
The Assembly therefore depends mainly on the external sources for its capital development as indicated in Table 4.2.
Table 4.2: Sources of Revenue for Jaman North District Assembly, 2007-2009
Revenue 2007 2008 2009 IGF 98,818.92 135,243.38 174,863.70 DACF 1,037,420.95 964,356.34 1,280,318.78 MP fund 38, 230.53 1,406.08 45,131.49 DONOR 99,283.94 121,527.84 704,213.13 Funds HIPC 112,000.00 20,000.00 25,096.13 Other GOG 270,405.50 326,727.84 704,213.13 Grants e.g GETFund TOTAL 1,656,159.84 1,569,261.48 2,933,836.36
Source: Field Survey, April 2011
The external source of revenue is the major and highest source of development of the
Assembly as almost all development programmes/projects are funded from it. Central
Government Grants and the interventions from external donors account for the external sources of the Assembly as indicated in Table 4.2.
Expenditure
The Jaman North District Assembly disburses its revenue primarily on both recurrent items and development (Capital) programmes and projects. The internal source is basically used to finance recurrent expenditure whilst the external source is for
51 development projects. The recurrent expenditure is made up of the personnel emoluments; Travelling and Transport; General Expenditure; Maintenance, Repairs and Renewal and Miscellaneous. Personal Emolument takes up the highest expenditure out of the recurrent expenditure.
4.4 Categories of Respondents
Data was collected from five categories of respondents –community members, Unit
Committee Members, Assembly members, Area council chairpersons and district officials. Table 4.3 indicates the number of respondents interviewed during the field survey.
Table 4.3: Categories of Respondents.
Type of Respondents Jaman South Jaman North District District Community members 156 156 Unit Committee 66 44 Members Assembly members 35 24 Area Council 8 7 Chairpersons District Planning Officers 1 1 Total 266 232 Source: Author‟s Construct, May, 2011
A total of 498 respondents and key informants were interviewed during the field survey as indicated in Table 5.1 Key informants in the various institutions interviewed include 312Community Members, 110 unit Committee members, 59 Assembly members, 15 Area council chairpersons and 2 District Planning officers. These respondents provided data on the DACF, participation in the use of DACF, the uses of the DACF, and the challenges to the use of DACF as a major source of funding for local development projects. Details of these respondents are indicated in Appendix 2.
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4.5 Sources of Funding for Development in the Districts
Just as many District Assemblies in the country, the Jaman North and South District
Assemblies have various sources of revenue for funding development activities in their respective districts. For the Jaman North and South District Assemblies, the major revenue sources that were used to fund development activities between 2007 and 2009 included Internally Generated Funds, the DACF, the MP Common Fund and
HIPC funds. The amount of these that accrued to the district are shown in Table 4.4
Table 4.4: Sources of Funding for the Jaman South and North Districts, 2007-2009
Districts Jaman South Revenue 2007 2008 2009 IGF 131,773.00 141,843.00 170,064.52 DACF 427,451.00 826,098.00 500,000.00 MP fund 59,361.00 39,671.00 52,762.43 DONOR Funds 71,118.00 94,145.00 124,271.40 HIPC 96,419.00 124,845.00 161,050.05 Other GOG Grants e.g 91326.41 353,067.00 450,000.00 GETFund TOTAL 877,448.41 1,579,669.00 1,458,148.40
Districts Jaman North Revenue 2007 2008 2009 IGF 98,818.92 135,243.38 174,863.70 DACF 1,037,420.95 964,356.34 1,280,318.78 MP fund 38, 230.53 1,406.08 45,131.49 DONOR Funds 99,283.94 121,527.84 704,213.13 HIPC 112,000.00 20,000.00 25,096.13 Other GOG Grants e.g 270,405.50 326,727.84 704,213.13 GETFund TOTAL 1,656,159.84 1,569,261.48 2,933,836.36 Source: Field Survey, April 2011
The DACF is mainly used for Capacity Building and investments or provision of infrastructural projects in the two districts whiles the IGF is used for administrative activities such as the day to day running of the Assemblies. Moreover the Donor
53
Funds, the HIPC Funds and the GETFund are used for the provision of development infrastructure such as Schools, water and Sanitation facilities and roads.
4.6 The uses of DACF in the Development in the Districts
4.6.1 Amount of DACF accruing to the districts
As indicated in Chapter two of this report, the DACF serves as the largest source of revenue for MMDAs in Ghana. The DACF has been a major source of funding for the
Jaman North and South Districts. For the period between 2007 and 2009 (all inclusive), the DACF contributed an average of 45.10 percent and 55.91 percent of the total revenues of the Jaman South and North District Assemblies respectively.
This goes to confirm the assertion by the NDPC (2010) that the DACF is the major source of Fund for MMDAs in Ghana.
Table 4.5: Disbursement of DACF to Jaman South and North Districts, 2007-2009
Years Jaman South Jaman North Amount Percentage Amount Percentage 2007 427,451.00 48.72 1,037,420.95 62.64
2008 826,098.00 52.30 964,356.34 61.45
2009 500,000.00 34.29 1,280,318.78 43.64
Average 584516.33 45.10 1,094,032.02 55.91 Source: Field Survey, April 2011
As shown in Table 4.5, it can be seen that the Jaman North receives higher amount of
DACF than the Jaman South District Assembly due to the use of criteria outlined in
Chapter two of this report. The uses of the DACF in these districts have been discussed in the subsections that follow.
54
4.6.2 Regulatory and Institutional Arrangements
Regulatory Arrangements
As indicated in Chapter Two, the utilization of the DACF in the two districts is regulated by the Guidelines prepared by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural
Development. The District Assemblies however have mix-feelings about these
Guidelines. The survey indicated that the adoption of the Guidelines is not beneficial to the districts‟ development since it undermines their development effort. The
Development Planning Officers of both districts indicated that the guidelines specify issues which are not in the development interest of the district. Again, the grassroot people are in the best position to identify their needs but not the Ministry. They indicated that the Guidelines affect the budget of the assembly, thereby affecting the development agenda of the District.
Institutional Arrangements
The Jaman South and North Districts have similar institutional frameworks with regards to the usage of the DACF. As presented in Figure 4.4, the District Assembly with its offices serves as the topmost authorities in the two districts. The other institutions engaged in the utilisation of the DACF include the Assembly Members,
Area Councils, Unit Committees, Traditional Authorities and Community members.
The roles of these institutions are summarised in Table 4.6.
Table 4.6: Institutional Roles for the Usage of the DACF in the Jaman South and
North Districts.
Institutions/Officials Roles Relationship with District assembly District assembly It considers and approves the - DACF projects DPCU It selects the DACF projects to be Strong approved by the assembly
55
District Chief Takes active part in the approval Strong Executive of the DACF budget District Coordinating Signatory to the DACF account Strong Director District Planning He is the head of Monitoring Strong Officer Team and ensures effective and efficiency use of DACF District Budget office The Budget Officer prepares Strong warrant for the DACF projects. He is also part of the monitoring team District Engineer Gives technical advice on Strong construction of DACF projects. Assembly Members Sit in Assembly meetings and Weak takes part in the deliberation and approval of DACF projects. Area Council Informed about DACF projects Poor Chairpersons Traditional Authority These are the beneficiaries of Poor and Community DACF funded projects in the members communities in the district. They also provide information, labour and land for DACF projects. Source: Field Survey, April 2011
As shown in Figure 4.4, the District Assembly officers mainly take the decision on the utilisation of the DACF and puts before the Assembly for its approval. This implies the local representatives are not consulted before such decision. This explains the weak relationship between the local representatives and the District Assemblies in
Figure 4.4. Moreover, even though Assembly members sit at Assembly meetings, the analysis indicates that they are just representing in person but not in action. This is because most of the projects are predetermined and voted upon. Thus they are not able to present the needs of the local people at Assembly meetings for consideration.
Again, though they claim they communicate with community members concerning
Assembly decisions, just informing community members of predetermined decision is no effective participation. This implies there has been a poor linkage between the
Assembly members and the very people they represent.
56
Figure 4.4: An Organogram for the utilisation of the DACF in the Jaman North and South Districts
Source: Field Survey, April, 2011
57
4.6.3 Contribution of DACF to Developmental Activities
The DACF has been used to fund various development activities in the Jaman North
and South Districts. These encompass contribution participation, local governance
and institutional strengthening, contribution to social infrastructure and services and
the provision of economic infrastructure (Private Sector Development).
Contribution to Community Participation
Direct Participation by Community members
The District Assemblies‟ Common Fund (DACF) has promoted community
participation in the two districts. This is in the form of community members‟
knowledge on the existence and amount of the DACF accruing to the districts,
participation in communal projects funded by the DACF as well as the ability to share
their views on the usage of the Fund in the districts. With reference to Table 4.7, it
can be realized that majority of the community members in both districts have
knowledge on the existence and uses of the DACF in their districts. In the Jaman
South District, the study revealed that 86 percent of the community members
interviewed have knowledge on the DACF whiles 84.2 percent have knowledge on
the uses of the Fund. Similarly, 94.4 percent of the community members in the Jaman
North District also possess knowledge on the DACF with 90.9 percent having
knowledge of its uses.
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Table 4.7: Community Participation in use of DACF in the Jaman South and North
Districts
Participation Jaman South District Jaman North District Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Community Members with 134 86.0 147 94.4 Knowledge of DACF Community Members with 131 84.2 141 90.9 Knowledge of its uses Community Members with 124 79.5 126 80.6 Knowledge of DACF funded project in the community Community Members 89 57.1 140 90.0 informed about projects Source: Field Survey, April 2011
The sources of information for these community members in the Jaman South District were mainly the media (43.8), Assembly members (21.9), in School (15.6), and through Community meetings (12.5). Again, community members in the Jaman North
District also had knowledge of the DACF through the media (25.7), Assembly members (45.7), in School (8.6), and through Community meetings (17.1). It can be observed that whiles the media has been instrumental in spreading knowledge on the
DACF in the Jaman South District, the Assembly members have taken up the mantle in the Jaman North District.
It is said that the beneficiaries of projects should be informed of a project being implemented in their respective districts. Thus for the DACF to promote participation in the district, there is the need to inform community members of any DACF funded projects in their respective communities. Thus as indicated in Table 4.7, 57.1 percent and 90 percent of community members were informed on DACF funded projects in their communities in the Jaman South and North Districts respectively. This clearly indicate that though both districts have majority of their populace informed of such projects, the Jaman North District leads in disseminating DACF information in its
59 jurisdiction. Most of the community members are informed through the efforts of their Assembly members (60 percent for Jaman South and 92.6 percent for Jaman
North) through community meetings. As indicated in Figure 4.5 it could be realised that community members are usually informed before the implementation of the project.
90 80 70 60 50 40 Before Implementation 30 During Implementation 20 After Implementation
10 PercentageofRespondents 0 Jaman South Jaman North District District
Study Districts
Figure 4.5: Time Community Members are Informed about Projects
Source: Field Survey, April 2011
Figure 4.4, indicate that over 75 percent of community members are informed about
DACF projects before they are implemented. Issues informed about these projects include project purpose, duration, cost and contractor. This is a good mark of participatory use of the DACF in these two districts.
Again, participation viewed in only information giving is regarded as passive. Thus to ensure active participation by the community members in the use of the DACF, they are engaged in some of the stages of the project decision making and implementation.
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Table 4.8: Community Participation in Community Projects
Stage of implementation Jaman South District Jaman North District Number of Number of Percentage Percentage Responses Responses Decision making 26 16.7 21 13.6 Execution 26 16.7 50 31.8 Monitoring and 13 28 8.3 18.2 Evaluation Sustainability 26 16.7 7 4.5 Decision making, design, 52 14 implementation and 33.3 9.1 Sustatinability, M&E Decision making, 13 35 8.3 22.7 implementation, M&E Total 156 100.0 156 100.0 Source: Field Survey, April 2011
Table 4.8 indicates that the DACF has opened avenues for participation in both districts through decision making to monitoring and evaluation of DACF funded projects. In the Jaman South District for instance, community members are mostly involved in all stages of the project (33.3%). However, this is not the case in the
Jaman North District where community members are mostly involved in only the implementation of the projects (31.8%). This comes in the form of the provision of labour and land for the implementation of such projects.
Representative participation
To be effective in its operation, participation must create the environment for representation. Thus this section assesses the role of the DACF in ensuring this form of participation in the districts. Here, the unit committee members, the Area Council
Chairpersons and the Assembly members will be taken into consideration.
The study revealed that most of the representatives of the people in the districts have good knowledge in the DACF in the districts. For instance, while all the Area Council
Chairpersons and the Assembly members have knowledge on the existence of the 61
DACF in both districts, 90.6 percent and 92.9 percent of Unit Committee members in the Jaman South and North districts had knowledge on the Fund respectively. This implies that these representatives have the requisite information at hand to disseminate in their respective areas.
Again, 84.6 percent and 87.5 percent of the Unit Committee members in the Jaman
South and North Districts respectively pointed to DACF projects funded in their areas and indicated that they informed the community members about the projects before implementation. Again, the survey indicated that 50 percent of the Area Council
Chairpersons in both districts are involved in the decision on the use of the DACF.
This is due to the fact that the District Assemblies are in charge of the decision on the use of the Fund in their respective districts. Area Council Chairpersons inform their community members about decisions through the Unit Committee members and the
Traditional Authorities in the various communities.
Furthermore, 73.1 percent and 35.7 percent of Assembly Members in the Jaman South and North Districts respectively indicated that they are aware of the amount of DACF accruing to the districts. Those who are not aware of the amount indicated that they have not been informed by the respective authorities. Again, whiles 80.8 percent of the Assembly members actively partake in the decisions regarding the use of the
DACF in the Jaman South District through Assembly meetings, only 42.9 percent in the Jaman North District actively partake in such activities. They indicated that mostly the DACF is not discussed during Assembly meetings whiles others claimed that issues of DACF are discussed in their absence.
Again, the Assembly members indicated that they inform their community members about decisions at the assembly regarding the DACF. In the Jaman South District,
83.3 percent of the assembly members indicated that they do inform their 62 communities about these decisions to solicit their opinions (20.8%). Others indicated that they are obliged to inform their communities (33.3%) whiles others were of the view that it is the right of the populace to be updated on such issues (29.2%). The above indicate that the DACF has promoted representative participation in the Jaman
South District.
Contrary to the case of the Jaman South District, only 50 percent of the Assembly members in the Jaman North District inform their community members of proceedings in the Assembly regarding the DACF. They indicated that the community members are not interested in the proceedings of the Assembly. Thus it can be inferred that representative participation as brought about by the DACF has not taken root in the district as compared to that of the Jaman South District.
Contribution to Local Governance
Local governance has become one of the pillars of local development. Thus this section discusses the contribution of the DACF in the area of local governance in terms of institutional strengthening, transparency and accountability in the Jaman
South and North Districts.
Local Level Administration
The DACF has been a major source of financing for most of the administrative activities of the Assemblies. In the Jaman South District, the DACF provides ready funds for logistics to promote effective planning, and organizing budget meetings, budget hearing and the submission of estimates to the appropriate and respective headquarters. The DPCU also indicated that the Fund has helped the Assembly in implementing most of its decisions.
63
Similarly, the DACF has been the major source of funding for gathering data for development planning purposes in the Jaman North District. Again, the Fund has been a source of funding for valuing and rating properties to ensure effective budgeting by the Assembly. In the area of decision making, the DACF has funded most of the public hearings at the Area Council Levels.
Institutional Coordination
It can be realized from the discussion in the preceding sections that the DACF has provided an avenue for most of the actors in the districts to coordinate for the overall development of their districts. The DACF has made it possible for Assembly members to carry on information to the grassroot. It has also created the opportunity for traditional leaders and community members to partake in District Assembly projects in the district as shown in Figure 5.1 This has ensured adequate and regular contact with representatives and local authorities.
Transparency and Accountability
For the district assemblies to be accountable and transparent there is the need to inform the beneficiaries of the fund and their representatives of the amount and uses of the fund accruing to the district. As already discussed in the previous subsection, the study indicated that while most (73.1%)of the Assembly members in the Jaman
South District are informed of the amount of the fund accruing to the district, only
35.7 percent of the assembly members in the Jaman North District are made aware of the fund. Thus, the assembly members in the Jaman South District have better benchmark for monitoring the use of the fund in the district than their counterparts in the Jaman North District. Moreover, the Assembly members have weaker basis to demand accountability from the authorities.
64
The two District Assemblies indicated that the authorities render account to the
General Assembly. This is done through discussion of trial balance by the Finance and Administration Sub-Committee. Again, to ensure transparency in the use of the
DACF, the General Assemblies approve the annual supplementary budget for the utilization of the Fund. This assertion is true in the Jaman South District where the
88.5 percent of the Assembly Members confirmed that the Authorities render account on DACF during Assembly meetings as depicted in Figure 4.6 However, the situation is different in the Jaman North District where only 38.5 percent indicated that the
Authorities have ever made account on the DACF before. Despite this, there is no doubt that the DACF has ensured accountability and transparency in the Assemblies in question.
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 Account Rendered 30 20 No Account rendered
Percentageofrespondents 10 0 Jaman South District Jaman North District
Case Districts
Figure 4.6: Responses of Assembly Members on Accountability from District
Authorities
Source: Field Survey, April 2011
Institutional Strengthening
For any institution to function effectively there is the need to equip it with the required logistic and human capacity. The DACF has been instrumental in this respect
65 in the two districts. The DACF has been a major source of fund for capacity building of District Assembly staff in the two districts. For instance, the DACF has funded the capacity building for Assembly Staff, revenue Collectors and Area Council Members in the Jaman South District in 2010. Prior to the introduction of the District
Development Facility, the DACF served as the sole source of fund for capacity building programmes in the Jaman North District. The Fund has so far sponsored the training of six management members in their further studies. Moreover, the Fund has provided funding for the training of Sub-district staff such as the Unit committee members, Area Council Staff and Assembly members. The Sub-District staff attested to this assertion as depicted in Table 4.9
Table 4.9: Beneficiaries of Capacity Building Programmes funded through the DACF
Beneficiaries Jaman South District Jaman North District Number of Percentage Number of Percentage Respondents Respondents Unit Committee 42 63.6 13 28.6 Members Area Council 5 57.1 5 75.0 Chairpersons Assembly 29 81.8 14 57.1 Members Source: Field Survey, April 2011
Table 4.9 shows that 63.6 percent of Unit Committee members in the Jaman South
District have benefited from capacity building activities funded by the DACF as against only 28.6 percent in the Jaman North District. Moreover, more (81.8%)
Assembly members in the Jaman South District have benefited from such capacity building projects than their counterparts in the Jaman North District. Thus in terms of capacity building of sub-district staff using the DACF, the Jaman South District can be said to be ahead of the Jaman North District.
66
Moreover, the DACF has funded administrative infrastructure projects in the
Assemblies. For instance, through the DACF, the Jaman South District Assembly has been able to procure logistics for the Town/Area Councils under its jurisdiction. It has also provided funding for the construction of the district Assembly Block Complex at
Drobo and supported decentralised departments of the assembly. Again, the DACF is funding the construction of Area Council offices at Kwameseikrom and Adamsu.
Similarly, the DACF funded the construction of office blocks for all the Town and
Area Councils in the Jaman North District. The DACF also funded the Construction of the Administrative Block Complex and 1 No. Semi-detached Senior Staff Quarters at Sampa.
Furthermore, part of the DACF is allocated to Town/Area Councils to carry out activities in their areas. However, this is not the usual situation in the district since only one Area Council each from both districts confirmed this allocation.
Contribution to Social Development
As indicated by Farvacque-Vitkovic et al. (2008) in chapter two, the DACF has funded most social infrastructure and services in districts in Ghana in the area of
Education, Health and, Water and Sanitation. The situation does not deviate in the
Jaman South and North District as indicated in Table 4.10.
Table 4.10: Social Development Projects Funded through the DACF since 2006.
Category of Facility and Jaman South District Jaman North District Services Number of Rank Number of Rank projects projects Education 13 1st 15 1st Health 8 2nd 1 3rd Water & sanitation 6* 3rd 4** 2nd Source: Field Survey, April 2011
67
* Two water projects are funded through the DACF and the CBRDP
**The DACF contributes 10 percent of capital cost
Table 4.10 indicates the DACF funds more educational projects in both districts.
These projects include the construction of classroom blocks, offices and libraries. In the Jaman South District, 9 public schools have benefited from DACF through the construction of classroom blocks. Some of the beneficiary communities include
Asare, Kwesibourkrom, Jenjemiraja, Japekrom and Drobo. Other DACF projects in the district are in the form of support to education through the construction of
Administration Block for the Ghana Education Service, contribution to the District
Education Endowment Fund, funding for STME, Mock Examinations and other programmes by the Ghana Education Service. Similarly in the Jaman North District, the DACF has funded the construction of 14 No. classroom blocks with offices and stores in communities such as Dawiri, Korase, Gyenakor, Jankufa and Sampa. Again, a library complex for the Nafana Senior High School in Sampa and hostel at
Sumanman Senior High School in Suma Ahenkro have been constructed using funds from the DACF.
In the area of Health, the DACF has funded the construction of a rural clinic at
Tekese; malaria control and prevention programmes; construction of an Emergency
Ward at St. Mary‟s Hospital (Drobo); and support to the physically challenged in the district. Again, a 1 No. 5 bedroom bungalow has been constructed for the staff of the
Goka Health centre in the Jaman North District.
Analysis of expenditure and figures from the DACF indicate that approximately 86% of the fund allocation was used on such capital projects in the Jaman South District.
The survey revealed that the DACF has benefited 86 percent of the Electoral Areas and 5 (out of 7) Area/Town Councils in the Jaman North District. Similarly, 25 (out
68 of 27) Electoral Areas and 6 (out of 8) Area/Town Councils have benefited from the
Fund in the Jaman South District.
Moreover responses from Area Council Chairpersons and Assembly Members indicate that, the DACF has contributed to the development of the above sectors as portrayed in Table 5.9.
Table 4.11: Responses of Local Representatives on the social benefit of the DACF
Type of Jaman South District Jaman North District Respondents Frequency of Rank Frequency of Rank Responses Responses Education 32 1st 20 1st Health 17 3rd 9 3rd Water & 29 2nd 19 2nd sanitation Source: Field Survey, April 2011
Table 4.11 confirms the earlier assertion that DACF funded educational projects dominate capital projects funded through the DACF. It also indicate that the Fund has brought about grassroot development in the Jaman North and South Districts, since education, health and water and Sanitation form part of the pillars of human development.
Contribution to Economic Development
Economic Infrastructural Provision
The DACF has been one of the major sources of funding for economic infrastructure such as electricity extension, markets and feeder roads in the districts. Table 4.12 indicates that since 2006, the Jaman South District has funded one energy related project. This was in the form of maintenance of street lights in Drobo, Japekrom and others. Again, through the DACF the Jaman South District has been able to fund three road projects and 2 market related projects. With respect to road construction and
69 maintenance, the DACF has funded the acquisition of a Grader to support feeder road construction. The other road projects include the extension of access roads in Drobo,
Japekrom and other communities as well as the construction of bridges and culverts at
Atuna, Zezera, Asugya and Taino No. 2. The district is also developing the Drobo market using the DACF.
Furthermore, the Jaman North District has funded the extension of electricity to five communities through the DACF. These communities include Kokoa, Buni, Gyinakor,
Duadaso No. 1 and Duadaso No. 2. Moreover, the re-construction of Sampa Town road is being funded by the Fund.
Table 4.12: Economic Development Projects funded through the DACF since 2006.
Category of Facility Jaman South District Jaman North and Services District Number of Rank Number of Rank projects projects Electrification 1 3rd 5 1st Road 3 1st 1 2nd Market 2 2nd 0 3rd Source: Field Survey, April 2011
The above discussion indicates that the DACF has invested in economic infrastructure to create the enabling environment for private sector development in the two districts.
This has trickling down effect of sectors such as agriculture, service and industry.
Agricultural and Enterprise Development
The profiles of the two districts indicate their agrarian nature. Thus this section looks at the contribution of the DACF to the development of agro-based activities in the districts. The DPCU of the Jaman South revealed that the DACF support agro-based entrepreneurs through microfinance and entrepreneurial training. However, only the latter is the case in the Jaman North District.
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In terms of Agricultural Extension, the Jaman South District (through the DACF) provides the needed logistics for Extension officers to work. In 2009, the Jaman North
District assembly trained 10 Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) through the
DACF. Moreover, the Fund has been used to provide inputs for farmers and agro- processors. For instance, eight(8) communities in the Jaman North District have been provided with gari processors. Again, the Jaman South District Assembly has assisted in the formation of Farmer-Based Organisations (FBOs) in the district.
Responses from Area council and Assembly members gave varied situations with respect to the above. As indicated in Table 4.13, the Area Council and Assembly members confirmed that the DACF contributes to agricultural development through inputs and extension. However, enterprise development using the DACF is minimal at the grassroot. Only one Electoral Area in the Jaman South District has ever received support from the DACF with regards to enterprise development. The situation is better in the Jaman North District as indicated in Table 4.13.
Table 4.13: Responses of Local Representatives on the Economic benefit of the
DACF
Type of Jaman South District Jaman North District Respondents Frequency of Rank Frequency of Rank Responses Responses Agricultural 25 1st 13 1st development Enterprise 1 2nd 6 2nd development Source: Field Survey, April 2011
However be the case, it can be inferred that the DACF has been a backbone to private sector development in the districts. This goes to improve the living conditions of the people.
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The DACF and Grassroot Development
The above discussion has shown that the DACF has been a major source of funding for development activities in the Jaman South and North districts. These are in the area of promoting participation, strengthening local governance, human development and economic development. Through the survey, the community members indicated that the DACF projects have achieved their purposes and improved their lives as depicted in Figure 4.7
100
80
60
40 DACF projects have achieved their purposes 20 DACF projects have not
PercentageofResponces 0 achieved their purposes Jaman South District Jaman North District. Case Districts
Figure 4.7: Community Responses on the achievement of DACF funded projects
Source: Field Survey, April 2011
As portrayed in Figure, 4.7, over 85 percent of the community members interviewed from both districts are of the view that the DACF has led to community development since there is a positive correlation between the achievement of a project‟s objectives in a community and development of the community. This is because these are to respond to the urgent development needs of beneficiary communities.
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4.7 Challenges to DACF as a Source of Local Development Financing in the
Jaman South and North Districts.
The DACF as a major source of local development financing is salvaged by numerous problems in the Jaman South and North Districts. Some of these problems are enumerated below.
Delays in the release of the Fund: The major drawback for depending on the
DACF as a major source of funding in the Jaman South and North Districts is the delay in the disbursement of the Fund. The DPCUs indicated that there are several delays in the disbursement of the Fund before the final receipt. This goes to confirm the finding of the World bank (2004) discussed in Chapter 2 of this report.
Central Government Interferences: The study found out that the interferences by the Central government in the use of the DACF has repercussions on the budgets of these districts. The deductions and earmarking of funds as well as the issuance of directives and guidelines for its utilization by the Ministry of Local
Government enmeshes these two districts in funding certain projects. This limit the innovations of these districts.
Non-predictability of the amount to be received from the Fund: The two
District Assemblies are unable to forecast and for budgetary purposes due to the non- predictability of the Fund. The time and amount of the Fund accruing to these districts remains sacred and according to the DPCUs, this results in budget deficits, leaving the districts in debt.
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Lack of Transparency in MMDAs’ use of DACF: As indicated by King et al
(2003)there is a general lack of transparency in tendering procedures and contract administration in the use of DACF nationwide. The study revealed a similar situation in the two districts where most of the Assembly members were oblivious of the actual amount accruing to the district, let alone demand for accountability during assembly meetings. The Assembly members are also excluded in tendering and contracting activities of DACF funded projects. Due to this, local people have no basis to hold their district authorities accountable for DACF accruing to their respective districts.
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CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
5.1 Introduction
The previous chapter discussed the data collected and collated by analyzing the data.
Thus this chapter presents some of the major findings emanating from the study. In relation to these major findings and the challenges identified the chapter provides some recommendations for effective use of the DACF in the Jaman South and North
Districts to bring about development. It also presents the conclusion for the whole study.
5.2. Summary of Findings
5.2.1 Sources of Funding for Development in the districts.
The districts under review have access to various sources of funds for financing local development activities. These have been indicated under each districts, though they have similar sources of funds.
Jaman South District a. The major source of funding for development projects in the district is the
District Assemblies‟ Common Fund contributing an average of 45.10 percent of the district‟s total revenue. b. Other GoG Grants such as the GETFund is the second major source of fund in the districts. Other sources in descending order of contribution include the Internally
Generated Fund (IGF), HIPC Fund, Donor Fund and MPs‟ Common Fund. c. The IGF is basically used to fund the administrative activities of the Assembly whiles others such as the DACF, Donor Funds, HIPC are used for capital projects such as the provision of infrastructure. 75
Jaman North District
a. The District Assemblies‟ Common Fund is the major source of funding in the
Jaman North District constituting an average of 55.91 percent of the total revenue of
the district.
b. Following the DACF are the GoG Grants to the district. Other sources of
funding to the district include Donor Funds, the Internally Generated Funds (IGF), the
HIPC Fund and the MPs‟ Common Fund.
c. The IGF is basically used to fund the administrative activities of the Assembly
whiles others such as the DACF, Donor Funds, HIPC are used for capital projects
such as the provision of infrastructure.
5.2.2 Uses of the DACF in Local Development in the districts.
The uses of the DACF in the Jaman South and North Districts have been grouped
under four main categories including community participation; local governance;
social development; and economic development:
Contribution to Community Participation
Direct Participation by Community members:
i. The study revealed that community members have knowledge of the existence
of the DACF and DACF funded projects in their communities. In the Jaman South
District, 76.7 percent of community members had knowledge of the Fund whiles
88.98 percent had knowledge of the Fund in the Jaman North District. However,
community members are not aware of the amount of DACF accruing to the districts ii. The analysis indicated that community members partake in DACF projects in
the districts. In the Jaman South District for instance, community members are mostly
involved in all stages of the project (33.3%). However community members are
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mostly involved in only the implementation of the projects (31.8%) in the Jaman
North District.
Representative participation: The study revealed that most of the
representatives of the people in the districts have good knowledge in the DACF in the
districts including the Area Council Chairpersons, Assembly members and Unit
Committee members. These also inform the community members on DACF projects
in their various communities.
Contribution to Local Governance
a. Local Level Administration: The DACF provides funds for logistics,
budgeting and planning at the Assembly level in the Jaman South District. Similarly,
the DACF provides funds for data collection, valuing and rating of properties as well
as public hearings in the Jaman North District Assembly.
b. Institutional Strengthening: i. It was found out that the DACF has been a major source of fund for capacity
building of District Assembly staff in the two districts. It has funded the capacity
building for Assembly Staff, revenue Collectors and Area Council Members in the
Jaman South District in 2010. Prior to the introduction of the DDF, the DACF served
as the sole source of fund for capacity building programmes in the Jaman North
District. It has so far sponsored the training of six management members in their
further studies. ii. The Fund has provided funding for the training of Sub-district staff such as the
Unit committee members, Area Council Staff and Assembly members. In the Jaman
South District, 63.6 percent of Unit Committee Members and 81.8 percent of
Assembly members have benefited from such programmes. However, only 28.6
percent of Unit Committee members and 57.1 of Assembly members have been
beneficiaries of capacity programmes in the Jaman North District. 77 iii. The study revealed that the DACF has funded administrative infrastructure
projects in the Assemblies. Some of these in Jaman South District include the
procurement of logistics for the Town/Area Councils, the construction of the District
Assembly Block Complex at Drobo and Area Council offices at Kwameseikrom and
Adamsu. Similarly, the DACF funded the construction of office blocks for all the
Town and Area Councils, the construction of the Administrative Block Complex and
1 No. Semi-detached Senior Staff Quarters at Sampa in the Jaman North District.
Contribution to Social Development
i. In terms of education, the study revealed that the DACF has funded 13 and 15
physical educational projects in the Jaman South and Jaman North Districts since
2006. These projects include the construction of classroom blocks, offices and
libraries. ii. Since 2006, the DACF has funded 8 health projects and supported 6 water and
sanitation projects in the Jaman South District. These include the construction of a
rural clinic at Tekese and construction of an Emergency Ward at St. Mary‟s Hospital
(Drobo). The Fund has also funded one (1) health project and supported the 4 water
and sanitation projects in the Jaman North District. iii. The survey revealed that the DACF has benefited 86 percent of the Electoral
Areas and 5 (out of 7) Area/Town Councils in the Jaman North District. Similarly, 25
(out of 27) Electoral Areas and 6 (out of 8) Area/Town Councils have benefited from
the Fund in the Jaman South District.
Contribution to Economic Development
a. Infrastructure Provision: Since 2006, the Jaman South District has funded one
energy related project, three road projects and 2 market related projects. Some of
these projects include maintenance of street lights in Drobo, Japekrom and others;
extension of access roads in Drobo, Japekrom and the development of the Drobo 78
market. Similarly, through the Fund, the Jaman North District has been able to
embark projects such as the extension of electricity to five communities and re-
construction of Sampa Town roads.
b. Agricultural and Enterprise Development
i. The study revealed that the Jaman South District provides the needed logistics
for Extension officers to work. In 2009, the Jaman North District assembly trained 10
Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) through the DACF. ii. The study indicated that the Fund has been used to provide inputs for farmers
and agro-processors. Eight (8) communities in the Jaman North District have been
provided with gari processors.
5.2.3 Institutional and Regulatory Framework for the use of the DACF in Local
Development in the districts.
The use of DACF is regulated by the District Assembly Common Fund Act
1993 (Act 455), the Local Government Act 1993 (Act 462) and Guidelines issued by
the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
The institutional structure comprises of a three-tier hierarchy at the district,
sub-district and grassroot levels. At the district level, the District Assembly together
with its departments administer the use of the Fund. The Assembly members together
with other representatives of the people coordinate between the community members
and the Assemblies whiles the community members are the beneficiaries of DACF
funded projects in the communities in the district. They also provide information,
labour and land for DACF projects.
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5.2.3 Challenges of the DACF in Financing Local Development in the district
The Jaman South and North Districts have similar challenges in terms of the usage of the DACF for local development. These challenges include;
Delays in the release of the Fund: The DPCUs of the Jaman South and North
Districts indicated that there are several delays in the disbursement of the Fund before the final receipt. This slows the rate of implementation of local development projects in the districts.
Central Government Interferences: The study found out that the interferences by the Central government in the use of the DACF has repercussions on the budgets of these districts.
Lack of Transparency in MMDAs’ use of DACF: The study revealed that the Assembly members in the two districts were oblivious of the actual amount accruing to the district leaving them little grounds for demanding accountability during assembly meetings. The Assembly members are also excluded in tendering and contracting activities of DACF funded projects.
5.3 Recommendations
Based on the findings above, it is imperative to provide lasting measures so as to achieve the very purpose of establishing the Fund. Some of the recommendations in this direction include;
Expansion of the IGF base
The research revealed that as a nationwide problem, the IGFs of both districts are marginal in relation to the other sources of funds, especially the DACF. Thus the
District Assemblies should put in place measures to increase the mobilisation of internal revenue in the districts in the short term. There should be district-wide 80 sensitisation of the grassroot people on the need to pay their rates. Again, the
Assemblies should employ more revenue collectors to aid in the collection of revenue even in the remotest areas of the districts. This will help increase IGF‟s contribution to development financing in the districts.
Flexibility in MLGRD Guidelines for the Utilization of DACF:
There should be flexibility in the guidelines attached to the DACF. The Ministry of
Local Government and Rural Development should give Assemblies the complete autonomy to decide on how the fund should be used, more especially if they prepare their Medium Term Development Plans in tandem with the government‟s focus, that is, the government‟s medium-term development framework. Ministerial directives and regulations, which make most of the DACF earmarked, should be minimized, as it gives no meaning to decentralization This short term recommendation will help both
District Assemblies to focus on need-based approaches in utilizing the DACF.
Publication of DACF Information by Assembly:
The study revealed that the grassroot people have inadequate knowledge about the amount of DACF accruing to the Districts. Thus in the short term, the Assemblies should publish their quarterly DACF inflow and expenditure pattern in the national newspapers to allow for proper monitoring at the local, district and national level.
Forums should be created on an annual basis to enable the Assemblies brief community members on how the Common Fund was utilized. This will go a long way in ensuring accountability and transparency in the utilization of the DACF. Again, the
District Assemblies should publish information on DACF on notice boards at vantage points so that various stakeholders can make contributions towards its use.
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Allocation of Funds to Sub-District Structures:
The Jaman South and North District Assemblies must engage in a transparent and participatory way of allocating their share of the DACF to their Town/Area Councils based on a criteria developed by the Assembly. The criteria should be evolved to further define the share of the various Area Councils in the district so that each can obtain a fair share of development projects and properly monitor the utilization of the
Common Fund under its jurisdiction. However, this would require the strengthening of the capacities of these units of government in the district as specified below.
Reduction in Delays in the DACF Allocation.
The Constitutional requirement for the DACF provides that the allocation be made at the end of every quarter and so it is usually at the end of the quarter that the MFEP determines the amount available for allocation. However, the study found that the agencies responsible for the administration of the Fund have not been able to meet this constitutional requirement. It is well acknowledged that this is due to delay in the approval of the formula, disbursement of the amount to the Administrator by the
Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MFEP) as well as the release of the
Fund by the Administrator of the Fund. It is recommended that the Formula be prepared in advance using more staff. Again, the government should remove all bottlenecks entangling the release of the Fund by the MFEP. Moreover, the District
Assemblies should submit their Supplementary Budgets to the Administrator of the
Fund on time. This will reduce the delays associated with the allocation of the DACF to the districts in Ghana including the Jaman South and North Districts.
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5.4. Conclusion
Local development has become one of the best approaches of ensuring integrated development at the grassroot level. One of the issues that have taken center stage in the debate for local development is funding. In Ghana, local authorities fund local development through various sources. Paramount among these is the District
Assemblies Common Fund. The study found out that the DACF is the major source of funding for the Jaman South and North Districts. It has funded projects in the area of local governance, social and economic development. Notwithstanding the above, the
Fund has been plagued by challenges such as delays in its release, interferences from the Central government, lack of accountability and transparency as well as non- predictability of the amount accruing to the districts.
It is essential that steps are taken to tackle these challenges in the Jaman South and
North Districts, and in Ghana as a whole. It is expected that the Government of Ghana
(GoG) MLGRD, the Administrator of the Fund, the Jaman South and North District
Assemblies and other stakeholders will adopt the findings and recommendations of the study and act on them. The recommendations are worth implementing to ensure effective, timely and participatory utilization of the DACF for local development in
Ghana.
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APPENDICES
Appendix 1:
CALCULATION OF SAMPLE SIZE
Formula for the calculation of the sample size for community members is given as
푁 푛 = 1 + (푁푒2)
Where n is the sample size (sample of community members), N is the sampling frame (total number of people in the district) and e is the margin of error. For this study, a margin of error of 8 percent was used.
The total projected population of the Jaman South District is 109,396. Thus the sample for community members is computed as;
109,396 푛 = 1 + 109,396 푥 0.082
푛 = 156
The total projected population of the Jaman North District is 93,053. Thus the sample for community members is computed as;
93,053 푛 = 1 + 93,053 푥 0.082
푛 = 156
Thus a total of 156 community members were selected randomly from each district and interviewed. The same methodology was used to select respondents from Unit Committee members and Assembly members.
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Appendix 2
CATEGORIES OF RESPONDENTS
2.1 Jaman South District
Table 1: Communities of Respondents-Community members
Names of Communities Number of people interviewed Adamsu 7 Akwamu 3 Asare 4 Asratua 4 Atuna 11 Baano 7 Babraraniha 3 Bonna 4 Dodosuo 7 Drobo 25 Dwenem 7 Faaman 11 Gonasua 3 Japekrom 7 Jejemeraja 11 Katakyiekrom 3 Kofitiakrom 4 Konfookrom 3 Kwameseokrom 4 Kwasibaukrom 3 Mpuasu 4 Mpuoasu 3 Sakoora Park 4 Sebreni 3 Tekese 4 Zezera 7 Total 156
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Table 2: Communities of Unit Committee Members interviewed
Names of Communities Number of Unit Committee members Interviewed Adiokor 3 Ahenboboano 2 Anomana 4 Asratoa 2 Asuogya 3 Baano-Krakrom 2 Basakrom 3 Batea 2 Boano no.2 3 Bodaa 2 Drobo 6 Japekrom-Pru 2 Jejemireja 4 Kofiko 2 Kofitiakrom 3 Kojo Kesse Krom 2 Kwameseikrom 3 Miremano 2 Nkokotoa 3 Nyamefie 3 Nyamefie-Yaa-Mensah 3 Old Awbo 2 Tekese 3 Zezera-Yeboakrom 2 Total 66
90
Table 3: Electoral Areas of Assembly Members interviewed
Electoral Areas Number of Assembly Members Interviewed Kofiro 1 Tekese 1 Dwenem 2 Kwamesakrom 2 kofuakrom 1 Damekyere 2 Babianiha 1 Atuna 1 kojokeseikrom 2 Abokomakwamu 1 Basakrom 1 Mpuasu 2 Zexera 2 Buabunu 1 papasu 1 Drobo east 4 Tainano 1 Akwamu 1 Katakyeikrom 2 Gonasua 1 Dodosio 1 Kwasiboukrom 3 Adamsu newtown 1 Total 35
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2.2 Jaman North District
Table 1: Communities of Respondents-Community members.
Names of Communities Frequency Asiri 13 Asuokor 13 Buko 4 Duadaso 4 Duadaso I 9 Duadaso II 13 Goka 13 Jamera 13 Jankufa 13 Kabile 4 Kokoa 17 Koti 4 Morle 4 Sampa 9 Seketia 13 Suma 5 Suma Ahenkro 5 Total 156
Table 2: Communities of Unit Committee Members Interviewed
Names of Communities Number of Unit Committee members Asiri 3 Asuokor 3 Goka 3 Jamera 3 Jankufa 3 Kabile 3 Kokoa 3 Sampa 11 Sampa-Tulo 3 Seketia 3 Suma Ahenkro 6 Total 44
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Table 3: Electoral Areas of Assembly members interviewed
Electoral Areas Frequency Jamera 2 Bonakere 2 Kabile 2 Shiekomblo 2 Tulo 2 New town 4 twene aduasare 2 Old Drobo 2 Adonteng 2 Seketia 2 Zongo 2 Total 24
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Appendix 3
RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
INSTITUTE OF DISTANCE LEARNING COMMONWEALTH EXECUTIVE MASTERS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
This questionnaire is to collect empirical data for academic purposes in aid of the attainment of a master’s degree in Executive Business Administration. The focus of the study is “THE ROLE OF THE DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES’ COMMON FUND IN LOCAL DEVELOPMENT: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE JAMAN NORTH AND SOUTH DISTRICTS”. Please be assured that your responses would be used strictly for academic purposes.
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS
a. Background of Respondents 1. Name of respondent………………………………………………………. 2. Sex a. Male b. Female 3. Age………………….. 4. Community………………………….. b. Knowledge on DACF 5. Have you heard of the District Assemblies‟ Common Fund? a. Yes b. No 6. If yes, where did you hear of it the first time? ……………………………….. 7. Do you know of the uses of the DACF in the districts? 8. Do you know of any DACF funded project in your community? a. Yes b. No c. Participation in the Use of DACF 9. If Yes in Q.8 were you informed about the project? a. Yes b. No 10. If No why? ………………………………………………………………………… 11. If yes, when were you informed? a. Before implementation b. During Implementation c. After Implementation 12. Who informed you? ……………………………………………………………………. 13. How were you informed?...... 14. Were you involved in the following stages of the project? Multiple answers can be ticked. a. Decision making b. Project design c. Implementation 94
d. Monitoring and Evaluation e. Sustainability
15. How were you involved? a. Decision making………………………………………………………………… b. Project design…………………………………………………………………… c. Implementation…………………………………………………………………… d. Monitoring and Evaluation……………………………………………………… e. Sustainability……………………………………………………………………… 16. Which of these do you know about the project? Tick as appropriate a. project duration b. contractor c. cost of project 17. Has the project(s) served its (their) intended purposes? a. Yes b. No 18. Provide reasons for your Answer above……………………………………………… 19. Apart from this project(s), have you benefited from the DACF? a. Yes b. No 20. If yes, how did you benefit from it?...... 21. In your opinion, what are the problems associated with the use of the DACF in the district? ………………………………………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………… 22. What can be done to solve these problems? ………………………………………………………………………………………… QUESTIONNAIRE FOR UNIT COMMITTEE MEMBERS
a. Background of Respondents 1. Name of respondent………………………………………………………. 2. Sex a. Male b. Female 3. Age………………….. 4. Community………………………….. 5. Knowledge on DACF 6. How many years have you been working as a Unit Committee member?...... 7. Have you heard of the District Assemblies‟ Common Fund? a. Yes b. No 8. If yes, where did you hear of it the first time? ……………………………….. 9. Do you know of the uses of the DACF in the districts? 10. Do you know of any DACF funded project in your community? a. Yes b. No 11. Participation in the Use of DACF 12. If Yes in Q.8 were you informed about the project? a. Yes b. No 13. If No why? ………………………………………………………………………… 14. If yes, when were you informed? a. Before implementation b. During Implementation c. After Implementation 15. Who informed you? ……………………………………………………………………. 16. How were you informed?...... 17. Were you involved in the following stages of the project? Multiple answers can be ticked. a. Decision making b. Project design c. Implementation 95
d. Monitoring and Evaluation e. Sustainability 18. How were you involved? a. Decision making………………………………………………………………… b. Project design…………………………………………………………………… c. Implementation…………………………………………………………………… d. Monitoring and Evaluation………………………………………………………… e. Sustainability……………………………………………………………………… 19. Which of these do you know about the project? Tick as appropriate a. project duration b. contractor c. cost of project 20. Has the project(s) served its (their) intended purposes? a. Yes b. No 21. Provide reasons for your Answer above……………………………………………… 22. Has the Assembly used the DACF to organize any activity for Unit Committee members before? a. Yes b. No 23. If yes, how did you benefit from it?...... 24. In your opinion, what are the problems associated with the use of the DACF in the district? ………………………………………………………………………………. 25. What can be done to solve these problems? …………………………………………………………………………………………
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ASSEMBLY MEMBERS
a. Background of Respondent 1. Name of Respondent………………………………………………………….. 2. Sex a. Male b. Female 3. Age………………………………….. 4. Name of Area/ Town Council………………………………………………… 5. Name of Electoral Area……………………………………………………………….. 6. What are you functions?...... b. Knowledge of DACF 7. How many years have you been working as an Assembly member?...... 8. Have you heard of the DACF a. Yes b. No 9. If No, why? …………………………………………………………………………….. 10. If Yes, since when did you hear of it? ……………………………………………….. 11. Where did you hear of it?...... 12. Do you know the amount the district has been receiving since you joined the assembly? a. Yes b. No 13. If No why? …………………………………………………………………………… 14. Do you know of any DACF programmes/projects in your area. a. Yes b. No 15. Has the District Authorities rendered account on the use of the DACF at Assembly meetings before? a. Yes B. No 16. If Yes, how often?...... 17. If No, why?...... 96 c. Participation in the use of DACF 18. Do you actively partake in decisions regarding the use of the DACF at assembly meetings? a. Yes b. No 19. Provide reasons for your answer in Q.18 above? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 20. If Yes in Q.18, do you sometimes object to decisions taken? A. Yes b. No 21. Provide reasons for your answer in Q.20 above? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 22. If yes in Q.18, do you inform your citizens about decisions taken in Assembly meetings regarding the use of DACF? a. Yes b. No 23. Provide reasons for answer in Q.22 above? ………………………………………. 24. If yes in Q.22 how do you inform the citizens? (Multiple responses are accepted) a. through unit committee members b. through traditional authorities c. others (specify)………………………………………...... 25. Do community members participate in DACF projects in the district? a. Yes b. No 26. Provide reasons for your answer above. ………………………………………………………………………………………… 27. If, Yes, how do they participate? (multiple responses are accepted) a. provision of information b. consultation d. provision of labour d. co-financing e. involvement in decisions making f. others (specify)…………………………………………………… 28. Do community members inquire project details from you? a. Yes b. No 29. Provide reasons for your answer above?...... d. Contribution of the DACF to the development of Electoral Area 30. Has the DACF benefited your Electoral area a. Yes b. No 31. If No, why?...... ………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………. 32. If Yes, has the DACF contributed in the following areas? Please complete the table below by ticking?
Sector Sub-sector √ Education Basic education Secondary education Health Medical facilities Training of personnel
Water and Sanitation Sanitation Water Administration and Administration other Development Markets sectors Roads Electricity Housing Income generation (poverty alleviation)
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Institutional strengthening (NGOs, CBOs, CSOs, FBOs) Community-initiated projects Agriculture Inputs Credit facilities Extension services Post harvest management Enterprise Credit facilities Development Entrepreneurial training
33. Name some of the projects funded by the DACF in your area since 2006.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
34. Were you involved in the following stages of the project? Multiple answers can be ticked. a. Decision making b. Project design c. Implementation d. Monitoring and Evaluation e. Sustainability 35. How were you involved? 26. Decision making…………………………………………………………………… a. Project design…………………………………………………………………… b. Implementation…………………………………………………………………………. c. Monitoring and Evaluation…………………………………………………………… 36. Have these projects helped the development of your Area? a. Yes b. No 37. Provide reasons for your answer above? ………………………………………………. 38. Has the DACF been used to organize capacity building of Assembly members before? a. Yes b. No 39. What are some of the problems in the use of DACF in the district? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 40. What measures can be put in place to solve these problems? …………………………………………………………………………………………
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR AREA COUNCIL CHAIRPERSONS
a. Background of Respondent 1. Name of Respondent………………………………………………………….. 2. Sex a. Male b. Female 3. Age………………………………….. 4. Name of Area/ Town Council………………………………………………… 5. What are you functions?...... b. Knowledge of DACF 6. How many years have you been working as an Area Council Chairperson?...... 7. Have you heard of the DACF a. Yes b. No
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8. If No, why? …………………………………………………………………………….. 9. If Yes, since when did you hear of it? ……………………………………………….. 10. Where did you hear of it?...... 11. Do you know the amount the district has been receiving since you joined the assembly? a. Yes b. No 12. If No why? …………………………………………………………………………… 13. Do you know of any DACF programmes/projects in your area. a. Yes b. No c. Participation in the use of DACF 14. Do you actively partake in decisions regarding the use of the DACF? a. Yes b. No 15. Provide reasons for your answer in Q.14 above? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 16. If Yes in Q.14, do you sometimes object to decisions taken? A. Yes b. No 17. Provide reasons for your answer in Q.16 above? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 18. If yes in Q.14 how do you inform the citizens? (Multiple responses are accepted) a. through unit committee members b. through traditional authorities c. others (specify)………………………………………...... 19. Do community members participate in DACF projects in the district? a. Yes b. No 20. Provide reasons for your answer above. ………………………………………………………………………………………… 21. If, Yes, how do they participate? (multiple responses are accepted) a. provision of information b. consultation d. provision of labour d. co-financing e. involvement in decisions making f. others (specify)…………………………………………………… d. Contribution of the DACF to the development of Town/Area Council 22. Has the DACF benefited your Town/Area Council? a. Yes b. No 23. If No, why?...... 24. If Yes, has the DACF contributed in the following areas? Please complete the table below by ticking?
Sector Sub-sector √ Education Basic education Secondary education Health Medical facilities Training of personnel Water and Sanitation Sanitation Water Administration and Administration Development Markets Roads Electricity Housing Income generation (poverty alleviation)
99
Institutional strengthening (NGOs, CBOs, CSOs, FBOs) Community-initiated projects Agriculture Inputs Credit facilities Extension services Post harvest management Enterprise Credit facilities Development Entrepreneurial training
25. Name some of the projects funded by the DACF in your Town/Area Council since 2006.…………………………………………………………………………………… 26. Were you involved in the following stages of the project? Multiple answers can be ticked. a. Decision making b. Project design c. Implementation d. Monitoring and Evaluation e. Sustainability 27. How were you involved? a. Decision making…………………………………………………………………… b. Project design…………………………………………………………………… c. Implementation…………………………………………………………………… d. Monitoring and Evaluation………………………………………………………… e. Sustainability……………………………………………………………………… 28. Has the District Assembly allocated Funds from the DACF for Area Councils before? a. Yes b. No 29. If Yes, when?...... 30. Has the DACF been used to organize capacity building of Area Council Members before? a. Yes b. No 31. What are some of the problems in the use of DACF in the district? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 32. What measures can be put in place to solve these problems? …………………………………………………………………………………………
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QUESTIONNAIRE FOR DISTRICT PLANNING OFFICERS
a. Revenue Sources 1. What have been the major sources of funds to the District since 2006? Please complete the table below.
Source of 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Revenue
2. What are the uses of the various revenue sources? Complete the table below/
Source of Revenue Major uses
b. Amount of DACF 3. Provide a table stating the amount received from the DACF since 2006 (both Gross and Net amount) c. Institutional and Regulatory Arrangements 4. Which institutions are in the district for the following? Complete the table below
Category Name of Roles Institution Administration and use
Participation
Accountability and Transparency
5. Do you follow the MLGRD Guidelines for the uses of the DACF? a. Yes b. No
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6. If No Why? …………………………………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………. 7. If Yes, do you any problems following it? a. Yes b. No 8. If Yes in Q.7, what are these problems?...... ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… 9. What other regulatory arrangements are there for the use of the DACF?...... ………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………
d. Contribution of DACF to Empowerment 10. Does the DACF provide avenues for the inclusion of grassroot people (both sexes) in local governance? a. Yes b. No 11. If no why? ……………………………………………………………………………… 12. If Yes, how? …………………………………………………………………………… 13. Which of the following are involved in the use of the DACF? (Tick as many as are applicable) a. Assembly members b. Area Council Chairpersons c. Unit Committees d. Traditional Authorities e. Community Members d. Private organizations (NGOs, CBOs, CSOs) 14. Provide reasons for your response…………………………………………………… 15. How do you involve them in the use of DACF? Complete the table below by ticking.
Type Informatio Decisio Selectio Contractin Implementatio M&E and n on n on n of g out n of DACF Sustainabilit DACF* DACF DACF DACF projects y usage projects projects Assembly members Traditional Authorities Area Council Chairpersons Unit Committees Community Members Private Organization s *The amount of DACF accruing to the district.
e. Contribution to Local Governance
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16. How has the DACF helped in the following in the district?
Issue Contribution of DACF Planning Budgeting Decision making Accountability Institutional strengthening and performance Sub-District Administration, strengthening and performance
f. Contribution to Social infrastructure and Services 17. How has the DACF contributed to the provision of social infrastructure in terms of a. health b. education c. water and sanitation d. housing e. electricity [Please provide the list of projects funded by the DACF in these areas since 2006]
18. How has the DACF helped in the following in the district? a. Human capacity development (building) ……………………………………………………………………………………… b. Sensitization of the populace on emerging issues
………………………………………………………………………………………….
c. Supporting community initiatives/Self Help Projects ………………………………………………………………………………………
g. Provision of Economic Infrastructure/Private Sector Development 19. How has the DACF contributed to the provision of economic infrastructure in terms of a. Road b. Market c. Telecommunication [Please provide the list of projects funded by the DACF in these areas since 2006] 20. Which of the following does the Assembly provide (using the DACF) to develop the private sector in the district? (Tick as many as are applicable) a. Provision of Loans b. Microfinance c. Entrepreneurial Training and Enterprise development d. Others (specify)…………………………………………………… 21. How has the DACF contributed to agricultural development since 2006? a. Extension services…………………………………………………………………… b. Provision of credit facilities…………………………………………………………… c. Post harvest management ……………………………………………………………… d. Formation of Cooperatives……………………………………………………………
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22. What other poverty alleviating projects have been funded by the DACF in the District since 2006? …………………………………………………………………………………………
h. Institutional Strengthening 23. Have there been any DACF funded projects/activities for private organizations (NGOs, CSOs, CBOs, FBOs, etc)? a. Yes b. No 24. If No why? ………………………………………………………………………… 25. If yes, what are these activities? a. Organization of capacity building programmes b. provision of support c. others (specify)………………………………………………. i. Accountability and Transparency 26. Do you render accounts to the Assembly on the usage of the DACF? a. Yes b. No 27. If No why? ……………………………………………………………………………. 28. If Yes, how often? A. Quarterly b. annually c. other(specify)…………………………. 29. Do you publicize DACF information to the general public? a. Yes b. No 30. If No, why?………………………………………………………………… ……. … 31. If Yes, by what means? (Tick as many as are applicable) a. through Assembly members b. by pasting notices at vantage points communities c. through traditional authorities c. others (specify)……………………………… 32. What mechanisms are in place to ensure accountability in the use of the DACF in the district? ……………………………………………………………………. ….. …. … j. Benefits and Challenges 33. How has the DACF helped in local development in your district? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 34. What factors are in place to sustain and/or improve this development? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 35. What factors inhibit the use of the DACF in the district? a. Delays in the release of the Fund b. Central Government Interferences c. Non-predictability of the amount to be received from the Fund d. Lack of Transparency in MMDAs‟ use of DACF e. Non-participatory usage of the DACF at the district level f. Others (specify)...... 36. What measures can be put in place to check these factors?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
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