Decentralisation and Poverty Alleviation in Rural Ghana PhD Thesis Peter Ohene Kyei 19 JUL 2000 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the written consent of the author and information derived from it should be acknowledged. A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Department of Geography, University of Durham, England 2000 Declaration This thesis has been composed by myself and it has not been submitted in any previous application for a degree. The work reported within was executed by myself, and all information cited is acknowledged at the appropriate point in the text. Statement of Copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Dedication To Abigail my beloved wife and our lovely children Abstract Decentralisation of government has been a major policy direction of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) as an adjunct to the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) imposed on low income countries. Decentralisation is consistent with the neo-liberal policies of the Bank aimed at liberalising the economy and reducing the control of centralised bureaucracies. The emphasis in SAPs on the reduction of public spending has in many cases increased poverty. This has led to the growth of a new emphasis on decentralisation and participatory development to reduce poverty. The link between participation and local governance has become seen as an important means of improving the effectiveness of services and of empowering the poor to participate in the development processes that affect their lives. NGOs and local government administrations have moved into prominent positions as service providers with the aim of filling the service delivery gap created by the withdrawal of the state. Ghana provides a good example of these processes. The pivot of the local government system in Ghana is the District Assembly which has been set up to provide an enabling environment for socio-economic development. This study examines the extent to which the District Assemblies have achieved success. Participatory approaches are used to explore the perspectives of district elites and the rural poor on poverty and poverty alleviation under the decentralised system of Ghana. Comparative examples are provided by study of Nadowli and Adansi West districts. The rural poor's participation in the development process is assessed together with the role of NGOs in poverty alleviation. The study argues that there are perception gaps between the elites and rural poor with respect to poverty and poverty alleviation strategies. The state has employed structures of grassroots participation without achieving active participation or conceding real power to the local people. The poor are, therefore, rendered anonymous in the design of poverty alleviation programmes. The study concludes that the voices of the poor in the study districts are unanimous in one respect: poverty alleviation programmes under the District Assemblies have hardly affected them. i Acknowledgements First and foremost, I owe a debt of gratitude and thanks to my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ for his grace, mercies, strength, wisdom and sustaining me by the Holy Spirit throughout my study in Durham. To God be the glory for the great things he has done. I am exceptionally grateful to my supervisors, Dr Gina Porter and Dr Liz Oughton, for their support and patience, throughout this period of study. This thesis has been shaped by their intellectual insight, rigour, invaluable and critical comments on the numerous drafts. I am also grateful to Dr Arthur Banister of Durham and Dr Francis Yanney of London who read the thesis and provided advice. I would like to express my gratitude to the Government of Ghana for granting me the award for this study. Then to the Danish International Development Agency and the Department's Board of postgraduate studies for funds for my field work in Ghana. I wish to thank the University of Science and Technology, for granting me study leave to undertake this study. I would particularly wish to thank Gilchrist, Earnest Cassell, FWA, CCOS and Northern Dairies Educational Trusts for their help during difficult moments. I also express my sincere thanks to all the members of staff and fellow postgraduate students in the Department of Geography, University of Durham for their support. I would like to thank the rural people who received me warmly, gave me their valuable time and offered their hospitality. Sincere thanks to Mr Fidellis Zumakpeh and Vida Mensah and the teams of Nadowli and Adansi West district respectively for their help on the field, the politicians and bureaucrats in both districts, Mr Joe D. Issachar, Mr Mike Adjaloo of TCC, Mr Koomson of UST. I must also acknowledge with thanks the constant prayer support of my mother Mrs Dora Kyei, my brothers, sisters and PIWC, Kumasi members. Special thanks to Emmanuel Church, Durham, for their warm fellowship, friendship and above all genuine Christian love, Pastor Alan Bell and Elder Andrew Westerman for the opportunity to work together in ministry and prayer, my home cell members 11 and Grace and Geoff Atkinsen for their fervent Christian love and concern, ELICOP, London, all East Ham members for their love and prayer support. I wish to express my heart felt thanks to Mr and Mrs Afum and Mr and Mrs Antwi-Darkwa and families in London, for their kindness and love. Special thanks to my friends, Dr Martha and Bruce Scolton. Thanks to all who in their concern prayed for me. Finally, I owe much debt of gratitude to my dear wife Abigail (for her special care for all the kids in my absence) and my beloved children. With love and appreciation of this sacrifice by my wife and children, I dedicate this thesis to them. You have been a source of encouragement that has made this work possible. Whatever blessings God gives me are yours to share for all eternity. 111 Acronyms ADB Agricultural Development Bank ADRA Adventist Relief Agency AFRC Armed Forces Revolutionary council AGC Ashanti Goldfield Corporation AWDA Adansi West District Assembly BWDP Baptist Women's Development programme CARE American Co-operative Agency For Relief Everywhere CB() Community Based Organisations CDR Committee for the Defence of the Revolution CPP Convention People's Party CEDEP Centre for the Development of People CIDA Canadian International Development Agency COWAP Community Water and Sanitation Programme CRS Catholic Relief Services DA District Assembly DANIDA Danish International Development Agency DACF District Assembly Common Fund DCD District Co-ordinating Director DCE District Chief Executive DDO Diocesan Development Office DFID Department for International Development DS District Secretary ERP Economic Recovery Programme FAO Food and Agricultural Organisation GAD Gender And Development GAP VOD Ghana Association of Private Voluntary Organisations in Development ICRA International Centre for Development Oriented Research in iv Agriculture ILO International Labour Organisation IMF International Monetary Fund JICA Japanese International Co-operation Agency JSS Junior Secondary School KVIP Kumasi Vented Improved Pit Latrine NCD National Commission on Democracy NDC National Democratic Congress NDA Nadowli District Assembly NDPC National Development Planning Commission NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NLC National Liberation Council NRC National Redemption Council PADIC Public Administration Restructuring and Decentralisation Implementation Committee PNDC Provisional National Defence Council PM Presiding Member PPA Participatory Poverty Assessment PP Progress Party PRA Participatory Rural Assessment RAO Regional Administrative Officer RCC Regional Co-ordinating Council SAP Structural Adjustment Programme SMC Supreme Military Council SOFIDEP Sombo Fian Development Programme SSS Senior Secondary School UNDP United Nations Development Programme UWR Upper West Region VHC Village Housing Committee WASHT Water and Sanitation Health Team WDC Workers Defence Council WVI World Vision International List of Tables Table 1.1 Percentage of population below the poverty line, early 1990s 4 Table 3.1 Commissions/Committees of enquiry into Local Government 46 Reform in Ghana, 1957-1982 Table 3.2 Formula for sharing the District Assemblies Common Fund 81 Table 4.1 Provision of social services in study villages 102 Table 4.2 Focus groups in the study districts 124 Table 5.1 Criteria for poverty, wealth and well-being in Adansi West 135 district 136 Table 5.2 Responses as to which group is the largest in each study village (Adansi West district) Table 5.3 Criteria for poverty, wealth and well-being in Nadowli district 140 Table 5.4 Voting on who is poor — women or men 144 Table 5.5 Seasonal condition in Daffiama 147 Table 5.6 Coping strategies by women and men in Daffiama (Nadowli district 149 Table 5.7 Coping strategies for women in Akrokerri 152 Table 5.8 Matrix scoring and ranking of access to healthcare in study villages 156 Table 5.9 Constraints to access to education in Badabuo 158, Table 5.10 Voting on the most important social service, men and women in 161 (Part 1 & 2) Puleba Table 5.11 Moving out of poverty — Perceived poverty alleviation strategies in Nadowli district 163 Table 6.1 Educational levels of bureaucrats and politicians in the study 175 districts vi Table 6.2 Perceptions of poverty by the District