Decentralisation and poverty reduction in the Gomoa District of Ghana

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of decentralisation on poverty reduction in the Gomoa District in the Central Region of Ghana. The perception of various stakeholders of poverty shows clearly the multidimensional nature of poverty. Unemployment and lack of support for income generating activities were considered by respondents as one of the main underlying causes of poverty. The paper also assesses the role of the Gomoa District Assembly, the local government body, in supporting income generating activities in the district. The conclusion reached is that the District Assembly is incapacitated in this respect, and factors accounting for this are discussed

Keywords:

• decentralisation
• District Assembly
• poverty reduction

Notes

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5. The ‘Gomoa District Development Plan 2002–2005’ is an unpublished document produced by Gomoa District Assembly.

6. COWI Consult. 2001. Ghana Poverty Reduction Initiative (GPRI) Project No. 7.ACP.GH.66. Unpublished final report prepared for the Ministry of Finance, Government of Ghana.

7. Asibuo, S.K. 1996. Local government capacity building: Analysis of the capacity of the twelve District Assemblies in the Volta Region. Unpublished final report sponsored by the Volta Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project and Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), December 1996.

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