Citizens’ Participation in the Decentralization Process in Ghana (Published)
Participation in decision-making is the root of democratization, as democratization is widely believed to be rooted in decentralization. As such, citizens’ participation in the decentralization process will bring governance closer to the people. The focus of the study was to explore the views and understandings of citizens about Ghana’s decentralization process. The researcher used the case study design for the study. Both questionnaire and interview protocol were used for data gathering. One hundred and six people in the area were conveniently sampled to become respondents in the study. For the method of data analysis, the researcher used tables and percentages. The study found out that nearly 25% of the citizens have no or very little understanding of the decentralization process. Even though majority of the citizens took part in local elections, the citizens were not part of the decision making process, planning of developmental projects and paying taxes/levies to the district assembly. The non-performance of Unit Committee Members were found to be the cause of citizens’ non-participation in the decentralization programme even though there were other factors that generally affected the programme in the North Tongu District. The study recommended that the need for some more education in the Decentralization Process for all citizens.
Keywords: Citizen, Decentralization, Ghana, Participation, Stakeholders