Access to information is key to participatory governance. In Ghana and in many parts of the world, local government is the vehicle through which grassroots democracy and development is brought to the average citizen. The absence of local government systems in a democratic society results in lack of political will by citizens to take part in development processes that concern them.
In Ghana, fortunately, the local government system exist. It is however not fully exploited. The impeding factors have been the lack of knowledge on governance processes, lack of will by citizens to demand information and, above all, poor attitude of local authorities towards information disclosure.
Against this backdrop, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), with funding support from the DW Akademie, has produced a policy brief that highlights governance practices and existing governance platforms for citizens’-local authorities’ engagement. The brief also highlights some development challenges in Tema Metropolitan, Wa Municipal and Twifo Atti-Morkwa and Ellembelle districts of Ghana.
For access to the full policy brief, please click here.
