Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has called for stronger institutions, greater accountability and adequate resources to deepen democratic decentralisation and improve public service delivery across Ghana.

She said the next phase of the country’s decentralisation agenda must focus not only on institutional reforms but also on tangible improvements in the lives of citizens, including better services, increased community participation and accelerated local development.

The Vice President made the call in a message delivered at the opening of the second National Dialogue on Decentralisation and Responsive Governance in Accra on August 10, 2026.

The two-day dialogue, organised by the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCC), was held to coincide with the Africa Day of Decentralisation and Local Development, observed annually on August 10.

It was held under the theme, “Resetting Democratic Decentralisation for Accountable Public Service Delivery and Accelerated Local Development.”

The Vice President said she was particularly encouraged by an exhibition at the event showcasing tangible progress made in local communities.

She, however, stressed the importance of documenting and communicating the less visible outcomes of decentralisation, including jobs created, improved service delivery and increased community participation.

“The data generated by these interventions must be properly harnessed to assess our progress, identify gaps, and tell the full story of local development,” she said.

Professor Naana Jane highlighted the re-energisation of the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation, increased direct transfers from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), as well as ongoing policy and legislative work to deepen functional devolution, particularly in education, health and roads.

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She said the government’s Position Paper on the Constitutional Review recommendations also provided an opportunity to pursue reforms that would strengthen local governance and accountability.

“Cleanliness must ultimately become a daily discipline within our communities,” she said.

The Executive Secretary of the IMCC, Dr Gameli Hoedoafia, also called for a fundamental reset of Ghana’s decentralisation system to improve public service delivery and accelerate local development.

He said the next phase of decentralisation should move beyond the establishment of institutions and transfer of functions to focus on the quality of services delivered, the responsiveness of local institutions and tangible development outcomes for citizens.

Dr Hoedoafia said Ghana had made significant progress since the decentralisation process began more than three decades ago, but could not afford to become complacent.

“Policy approval is not our finish line. It is our starting point. The real test now lies in coordination, effective implementation and delivery,” he said.

He said Cabinet’s approval of the National Decentralisation Policy and Strategic Framework (NDPS) 2026-2030 presented an opportunity to translate policy commitments into measurable improvements in citizens’ lives.

He cautioned against allowing the framework to become another policy document without effective implementation and called for a coordinated, whole-of-government approach to decentralisation.

According to him, the ultimate measure of decentralisation should be tangible improvements in communities, including roads, markets, health facilities, water systems, classrooms and other local infrastructure.

Dr Hoedoafia said the National Dialogue would serve as an annual platform for reflection, accountability, partnership and action involving government, local authorities, traditional leaders, development partners, civil society, academia, the private sector and citizens.

The Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, said stronger financial support for MMDAs was necessary to enable them to effectively deliver development to local communities.

He said strengthening the capacity and financing of the assemblies was critical to improving sanitation and building resilient communities.

Ibrahim said sanitation could not be addressed through policy alone, stressing the need for adequate resources, stronger inter-ministerial coordination, accountability and effective project execution at the local level.

“Without adequate financial resources, we cannot build the capacity of our assemblies or deliver the sanitation and other essential services our communities need,” he said.

“The MMDAs must have the fiscal space to invest in sanitation, water and other critical services, rather than merely administering scarcity.”

He said the Ministry had issued fee-fixing guidelines for 2026-2030 to establish transparent standards for fees, levies and charges.

He added that guidelines for the utilisation of the DACF were also intended to provide assemblies with greater fiscal space to deliver essential services.

Ibrahim called for stronger collaboration among the Ministry of Finance, MMDAs, development partners, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to mobilise adequate resources for sanitation, drainage and flood mitigation.

He also urged assemblies to strengthen revenue mobilisation, technical capacity, monitoring and accountability, stressing that policy frameworks alone could not deliver results without adequate financing.

Magdalene Wust, Deputy Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in Ghana, speaking on behalf of development partners, commended the Government for its continued commitment to decentralisation and the approval of the National Decentralisation Policy and Strategic Framework 2026-2030.

She said the framework provided a critical basis for advancing decentralised governance but called for stronger oversight, accountability, citizen participation and financial autonomy at the district level.

Wust stressed the need for national institutions to strengthen monitoring and supervision to ensure that subnational governments effectively delivered on their mandates.

She assured that development partners remained committed to supporting Ghana’s decentralisation agenda through stronger coordination and strategic partnerships.

AM

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