When public spending goes local: agricultural expenditure at a key stage in Ghana’s decentralisation reform
This paper provides a qualitative analysis that highlights the implications on agricultural services of a key stage in decentralisation reforms in Ghana. We assess the status of agricultural expenditure decentralisation and draw out the likely implications for agricultural service delivery and natio...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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UTS ePRESS
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/cjlg/article/view/7560 |
| _version_ | 1818389063037616128 |
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| author | Tewodaj Mogues Kwaku Owusu-Baah |
| author_facet | Tewodaj Mogues Kwaku Owusu-Baah |
| author_sort | Tewodaj Mogues |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper provides a qualitative analysis that highlights the implications on agricultural services of a key stage in decentralisation reforms in Ghana. We assess the status of agricultural expenditure decentralisation and draw out the likely implications for agricultural service delivery and national strategies. The study finds that agricultural officers at all levels (national, regional and district) had concerns about the implementation of the new decentralisation reform. These included budget cuts and delays in releases that coincided with the reform period; the transfer of staff from the civil service to the local government service; and a sense that agriculture may receive less attention when allocation of government resources becomes the preserve of assemblies and district chief executives, rather than the central agricultural ministry. The structural changes also meant that agricultural local government staff now needed to learn to ‘market’ the value of their public services to local government leadership, in order to protect resources for agriculture. The decentralisation reform also necessitated new public expenditure reporting practices to ensure a clear overview of sectoral spending across government tiers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T04:35:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6537f05561e945b2bdd7967c47b45259 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1836-0394 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T04:35:46Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | UTS ePRESS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance |
| spelling | doaj.art-6537f05561e945b2bdd7967c47b452592022-12-21T23:16:58ZengUTS ePRESSCommonwealth Journal of Local Governance1836-03942020-12-012310.5130/cjlg.vi23.7560When public spending goes local: agricultural expenditure at a key stage in Ghana’s decentralisation reformTewodaj Mogues0Kwaku Owusu-Baah1International Food Policy Research Institute Modernising Agriculture in Ghana ProjectThis paper provides a qualitative analysis that highlights the implications on agricultural services of a key stage in decentralisation reforms in Ghana. We assess the status of agricultural expenditure decentralisation and draw out the likely implications for agricultural service delivery and national strategies. The study finds that agricultural officers at all levels (national, regional and district) had concerns about the implementation of the new decentralisation reform. These included budget cuts and delays in releases that coincided with the reform period; the transfer of staff from the civil service to the local government service; and a sense that agriculture may receive less attention when allocation of government resources becomes the preserve of assemblies and district chief executives, rather than the central agricultural ministry. The structural changes also meant that agricultural local government staff now needed to learn to ‘market’ the value of their public services to local government leadership, in order to protect resources for agriculture. The decentralisation reform also necessitated new public expenditure reporting practices to ensure a clear overview of sectoral spending across government tiers.https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/cjlg/article/view/7560Local governmentpublic spendingfiscal reformagricultureGhana |
| spellingShingle | Tewodaj Mogues Kwaku Owusu-Baah When public spending goes local: agricultural expenditure at a key stage in Ghana’s decentralisation reform Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance Local government public spending fiscal reform agriculture Ghana |
| title | When public spending goes local: agricultural expenditure at a key stage in Ghana’s decentralisation reform |
| title_full | When public spending goes local: agricultural expenditure at a key stage in Ghana’s decentralisation reform |
| title_fullStr | When public spending goes local: agricultural expenditure at a key stage in Ghana’s decentralisation reform |
| title_full_unstemmed | When public spending goes local: agricultural expenditure at a key stage in Ghana’s decentralisation reform |
| title_short | When public spending goes local: agricultural expenditure at a key stage in Ghana’s decentralisation reform |
| title_sort | when public spending goes local agricultural expenditure at a key stage in ghana s decentralisation reform |
| topic | Local government public spending fiscal reform agriculture Ghana |
| url | https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/cjlg/article/view/7560 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tewodajmogues whenpublicspendinggoeslocalagriculturalexpenditureatakeystageinghanasdecentralisationreform AT kwakuowusubaah whenpublicspendinggoeslocalagriculturalexpenditureatakeystageinghanasdecentralisationreform |