It is also about the extent to which local governments are empowered, about how much authority and. In section 2, i provide a short overview of the main features of decentralisation in uganda, including political, administrative. To guarantee a minimum level of public service and basic needs or standard of living for the entire population regardless of their geographical location, the central government often. On the other hand, those who oppose fiscal decentralisation argue that fiscal decentralisation will result in ruins and wrecks. Ghana, direct and indirect international involvement have profound effect on these policies. Although ghana has been committed to decentralization since the passing of the 1993 local governance act, it typically has practiced deconcentrationi. Factors inhibiting effective fiscal decentralization in ghana.
Proponents of fiscal decentralisation believe that, devolving government tax and expenditure responsibilities to lower tiers of governments will lead to the efficiency of governments and ultimately enhance economic growth. Decentralization and local government reforms in ghana download decentralization and local government reforms in ghana ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub, and mobi format. Rethinking fiscal decentralization policies in developing. Decentralisation efforts in ghana predates the attainment of independence from british rule. The basic view is that decentralisation of government will. This research investigated the extent to which the decentralization policy of ghana which has been implemented since 1988 conforms to international best practice, the degree to which the policy lends itself to achieving its objectives and the extent to which the implementation has achieved policy objectives. Therefore, rethinking fiscal decentralization involves acknowledging the complex intermingling effects that global, national, and local territories produce. Decentralization, as a policy option, has been on ghanas political agenda since independence. Table 1 refers to a select group of west african countries at the beginning of the 90s.
Decentralization and governance in ghana request pdf. Focusing on developing economies especially ghana, and also employing. Assessing the performance of district assemblies and exploring the scope of partnerships by matthias zana naab ba hons. Pdf the challenges of central government fiscal and financial. Contextualizing fiscal decentralization fiscal decentralization defines how and in what way expenditures and revenues are organized between and across different levels of government in the national polity. Fiscal decentralization and poverty reduction linkages. Fiscal federalism 2016 surveys recent trends and policies in intergovernmental fiscal relations and subcentral government. News ghana is ghanas leading online news portal for business in west africa and around the world. When a part of the work is entrusted to others, it is known as delegation. Accessible and easyto read chapters provide insight. This study highlights various discourses on local selfgovernment, especially fiscal decentralisation processes. Fiscal decentralization, ghana, mixed methods, local government.
A decade of decentralisation and local government reform in ghana. Click download or read online button to a decade of decentralisation and local government reform in ghana book pdf for free now. July 2005 understanding fiscal decentralisation in south. They also failed to establish any meaningful correlation between fiscal decentralisation and economic growth in developed countries. Burkina faso, ghana, kenya, and senegal bernard dafflon and thierry madies. Decentralisation extends to the lowest level of the organisation. First we will look at the main features of fiscal decentralisation in south africa and assess its impact on the major components of social expenditure. On the fiscal side, subnational governments had to rely on their own sources of revenues. Fiscal decentralisation is the dispersal of financial responsibility to lower levels of government or other spheres of government. Our mission is to advance justice and the rule of law by ensuring a free, fair. Ghana is a unitary country with a threetier system of local governments. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies.
Press release the rationale behind ghana s decentralisation programme and the functions of the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies mmdas have been lauded by many countries, dr. Post independence era problems that developed as a result of this dual central and local administration included encroachment on the rights and responsibilities of the weaker local. The oecd fiscal decentralisation database provides comparative information on the following indicators analysed by level of government sector federal or central, including social security, stateregional and local, for oecd member countries between 1965 and 2018. It was prepared by management systems international. The argument for fiscal decentralisation is anchored in the socalled first generation theory of bringing government closer to the people. If local governments and private organizations are to carry out decentralized functions effectively, they must have an adequate level of revenues either raised locally or transferred from the central government as well as the authority to make. Ankamah, the politics of fiscal decentralization in ghana. Various legal frameworks in ghana underpinning decentralization and local governance were utilized to. Decentralisation refers to tire systematic effort to delegate. A study of the impact of decentralization on access to. Download pdf decentralization and local government reforms. Following the disbursement of 17,5 million euros to ghana last month by the european union to support the decentralisation process, the eu delegation to ghana yesterday 06 08 2015 opened discussions on modalities to measure the results of this active cooperation for the two coming years. Press release the rationale behind ghanas decentralisation programme and the functions of the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies mmdas have been lauded by many countries, dr. Our central interest in this paper is to examine how fiscal decentralisation is articulated to address the leading social disparities in south africa.
This study examined the impact of fiscal decentralization on quality financial reporting at local government level in ghana. Trade and development isbn 0 521 64143 8 hardbound 1. In section 2, i provide a short overview of the main features of decentralisation in uganda, including political, administrative, and fiscal elements of the reform. Challenges of ghanas decentralisation process news ghana.
Impact of fiscal decentralization on quality financial. Achievements and challenges of fiscal decentralization lessons from mexico edited by marcelo m. Decentralisation and management of human resource for. We find that fiscal decentralization in government expenditure is consistently associated with lower measured corruption. Fiscal decentralisation under the district assemblies common fund dacf in ghana is supposed to transfer more financial resources from the centre to the districts, and to provide fiscal autonomy. Saavedracostas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor in philosophy in the andrew young school of policy studies and the school of public policy. A multilevel approach is used to promote coordination mechanisms between regional, local and national stakeholders. Table of contents acknowledgments vii abbreviations viii. Contemporary perspectives on fiscal decentralisation and. Sep 23, 2018 consequently, fiscal, administrative and political authority for the delivery of healthcare is expected to be transferred from the central ministry of health moh to ghana health service ghs and other alternate institutions in an effort to ensure efficiency, equity, service innovations, quality, transparency, and accountability in the health.
Executive summary 1 introduction 2 legal environment 3 decentralisation policy and goals 4 the intergovernmental fiscal decentralisation framework 5 o objectives and principles 5 o structure of framework 6 expenditure functional assignment and. Decentralization is a complex and multifaceted concept that spans fiscal, political, and administrative dimensions. Identifying and disentangling the impact of fiscal. First, there is a generation gap to switch form manual to electronic. Decentralization and local government reforms in ghana. One important factor in determining the type of fiscal decentralization is the extent to which subnational entities are given autonomy to determine the allocation of their expenditures. Post independence era problems that developed as a result of this dual central and local administration included encroachment on. Fiscal decentralization and the efficiency of public service. This article uses panel data from 94 lgas in tanzania mainland over the period 200506 to 200910, to examine the impact of fiscal decentralization on education spending and provision of quality education. Pdf the impact of fiscal decentralisation on local economic. This can be illustrated by considering the use of a head tax.
Government privatizes or deregulates private functions. Pdf growing interest in the area of participation especially at the local level stems from the belief that democratic. This thesis examined the impact of fiscal decentralisation on local economic development in ghana, evidence from the ketu south municipal assembly ksma. For estimating the impact of fiscal decentralization on economic growth, we follow the analytical framework developed by davoodi and zou 1998, which is based on the conventional neoclassical economic growth model barro, 1990, mankiw et al. Fiscal decentralization in developing countries edited by richard m. Achievements and challenges of fiscal decentralization. The case study research design was used and the qualitative research method was adopted to collect and analyze data from twentyfive 25 respondents. Fiscal decentralization involves shifting some responsibilities for expenditures andor revenues to lower levels of government. At the heart of ghanas current decentralization are the metropolitan, municipal and district chief ex. Government of ghana intergovernmental fiscal decentralisation framework english abstract. The first is the division of spending responsibilities and revenue sources between levels of government national, regional, local etc.
Supporting decentralisation and local governance in third countries. Decentralisation in africa occurs on multiple levels. It is intended primarily for policymakers, in this case meaning civil servants and their. Decentralization or decentralisation see spelling differences is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. The support for decentralisation reforms sfdr project supports the implementation of decentralisation reforms in ghana in 60 municipalities nationwide. It is structured into a number of parts as follows. Semantic scholar extracted view of the impact of fiscal decentralisation on local economic development in ghana. Arrow, musgrave, samuelson, and others have done seminal work in this field. There are shared thoughts among scholars that fiscal decentralisation is a solution to the problems of poor public services in the local government. Ghana has chalked many successes in decentralisation. Contemporary perspectives on fiscal decentralisation and new. The impact of fiscal decentralization on provision of quality. The impact of fiscal decentralization on provision of. Government of ghana intergovernmental fiscal decentralisation framework.
The study is important because it provides development partners with the assurance that metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies mmdas funds are used for their intended purposes. Using local share of total fiscal expenditure as a proxy for fiscal decentralization, this article concludes that fiscal decentralization exerts significant impact on education spending and. The primary goal of this framework is to provide a comprehensive road map which has broad based support for the vision of fiscal decentralisation as well as the strategies to meet that vision. The impact of fiscal decentralisation on local economic. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do. Practices and challenges of fiscal decentralisation in africa.
Government of ghana public disclosure authorized fiscal. This piece of legislation built on previous ordinances to establish towns and. With political liberalization and the free election of mayors in. Click download or read online button to decentralization and local government reforms in ghana book pdf for free now.
For the problem of decentralizing government activities, mobility across regions is a critical factor. A study of the impact of decentralization on access to service delivery a dissertation presented to the academic faculty by pablo a. The case study research design was used and the qualitative research method was adopted to collect and. Fiscal decentralisation covers two interrelated issues. Fiscal decentralisation comprises the financial aspects of devolution to regional and local.
Fiscal decentralisation overseas development institute. Fiscal decentralization and the efficiency of public. Fiscal decentralization financial responsibility is a core component of decentralization. This paper deals with ghana experience in fiscal decentralization. Meaning, advantages and disadvantages of decentralisation. Supporting decentralisation and local governance in third. This result is highly statistically significant, and robust to a wide range of specifications, including all of those. In this case, previously concentrated powers to tax and generate revenues are dispersed to other levels of government, e. Distribution of conditional transfers contents acknowledgements 3 1. The relevant national and municipal actors are better able to implement decentralisation, especially fiscal decentralisation, in a more efficient, transparent and coordinated way more closely geared to citizens needs and to poverty reduction. Decentralization in government developing countries.
In a unitary state, the head tax does not distort economic decisions. Reducing poverty through fiscal decentralization in ghana and beyond. A decade of decentralisation and local government reform in ghana download a decade of decentralisation and local government reform in ghana ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub, and mobi format. Decentralization or decentralisation see spelling differences is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group concepts of decentralization have been applied to group dynamics and management science in private businesses and organizations. While measuring decentralization is equally complex, the fiscal flows to, from and among different levels of government can be used assess some aspects of fiscal decentralization.
It shows both the paucity of subnational resources, amounting to. Aug 07, 2015 eu supports ghana s decentralisation process. Decentralisation and management of human resource for health. Fiscal decentralization can also obstruct the redistribution role of the central government.
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