The ‘silent pistol’ in Ghana’s local government system: presiding members vs. chief executives
Decentralisation and local governance aim at local economic development, but collaboration among key actors at the local level is essential in realising this objective. However, at district assembly level Ghana exhibits problematic conflicts between district chief executives (DCEs), who head the exe...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
UTS ePRESS
2016-02-01
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| Series: | Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance |
| Online Access: | https://learning-analytics.info/journals/index.php/cjlg/article/view/4849 |
| _version_ | 1811295354509852672 |
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| author | Issah Justice Musah-Surugu Emmanuel Yeboah-Assiamah |
| author_facet | Issah Justice Musah-Surugu Emmanuel Yeboah-Assiamah |
| author_sort | Issah Justice Musah-Surugu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Decentralisation and local governance aim at local economic development, but collaboration among key actors at the local level is essential in realising this objective. However, at district assembly level Ghana exhibits problematic conflicts between district chief executives (DCEs), who head the executive committee, and presiding members (PMs) who convene and preside over assembly deliberations, acting as speaker. This study aims to unpack the main causes of such unsavoury conflicts by using 13 case studies from the Ashanti Region. Both primary and secondary data were collected for the study. Primary data was gathered from a selection of 40 key informants drawn from three main groups including DCEs, PMs, and other stakeholders such as regional coordinating council members, assembly members and chiefs. The main research instrument was one-on-one in-depth interviews with participants. The study found deep-seated conflicts between DCEs and PMs, in some cases even transcending these two actors to involve a greater section of actors within the local government administration. The study noted that professional bureaucrats within the local government service are affected when allegations of affiliation are levelled against them. The study also found that the legal status of DCEs and PMs appears to be the main driver of potential conflict, although other context-specific issues were also prevalent. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T05:32:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-601c6a20899c41cbbeb37801d01f59ec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1836-0394 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T05:32:03Z |
| publishDate | 2016-02-01 |
| publisher | UTS ePRESS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance |
| spelling | doaj.art-601c6a20899c41cbbeb37801d01f59ec2022-12-22T03:00:24ZengUTS ePRESSCommonwealth Journal of Local Governance1836-03942016-02-011810.5130/cjlg.v0i18.48493022The ‘silent pistol’ in Ghana’s local government system: presiding members vs. chief executivesIssah Justice Musah-Surugu0Emmanuel Yeboah-Assiamah1University of Ghana Business School, GhanaStellenbosch University, South AfricaDecentralisation and local governance aim at local economic development, but collaboration among key actors at the local level is essential in realising this objective. However, at district assembly level Ghana exhibits problematic conflicts between district chief executives (DCEs), who head the executive committee, and presiding members (PMs) who convene and preside over assembly deliberations, acting as speaker. This study aims to unpack the main causes of such unsavoury conflicts by using 13 case studies from the Ashanti Region. Both primary and secondary data were collected for the study. Primary data was gathered from a selection of 40 key informants drawn from three main groups including DCEs, PMs, and other stakeholders such as regional coordinating council members, assembly members and chiefs. The main research instrument was one-on-one in-depth interviews with participants. The study found deep-seated conflicts between DCEs and PMs, in some cases even transcending these two actors to involve a greater section of actors within the local government administration. The study noted that professional bureaucrats within the local government service are affected when allegations of affiliation are levelled against them. The study also found that the legal status of DCEs and PMs appears to be the main driver of potential conflict, although other context-specific issues were also prevalent.https://learning-analytics.info/journals/index.php/cjlg/article/view/4849 |
| spellingShingle | Issah Justice Musah-Surugu Emmanuel Yeboah-Assiamah The ‘silent pistol’ in Ghana’s local government system: presiding members vs. chief executives Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance |
| title | The ‘silent pistol’ in Ghana’s local government system: presiding members vs. chief executives |
| title_full | The ‘silent pistol’ in Ghana’s local government system: presiding members vs. chief executives |
| title_fullStr | The ‘silent pistol’ in Ghana’s local government system: presiding members vs. chief executives |
| title_full_unstemmed | The ‘silent pistol’ in Ghana’s local government system: presiding members vs. chief executives |
| title_short | The ‘silent pistol’ in Ghana’s local government system: presiding members vs. chief executives |
| title_sort | silent pistol in ghana s local government system presiding members vs chief executives |
| url | https://learning-analytics.info/journals/index.php/cjlg/article/view/4849 |
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