Accra: A Local Governance Bill has proposed higher population thresholds for creating districts, municipalities, and metropolises to curb the proliferation of administrative areas. The proposed legislation, already approved by Cabinet and expected to be passed next year, replaces fixed population benchmarks with percentage-based thresholds tied to national population levels.
According to Ghana News Agency, Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi, Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee (IMCC) on Decentralisation, disclosed this at a Sensitisation and Policy Orientation Workshop on Decentralisation and Local Governance for media editors in Accra. He explained that the existing thresholds were outdated, having been set in 1989 using the 1984 census, and are now misaligned with Ghana's estimated population of 35 million.
Under the current framework, a population of 75,000 qualifies an area for district status, 95,000 for municipality status, and 250,000 for metropolis status. Prof. Ahwoi highlighted that this has contributed to an 'explosion' in the creation of districts over time. The bill proposes converting these thresholds into percentages of the national population: 0.6% for districts, 1% for municipalities, and 2% for metropolises.
Prof. Ahwoi said the reforms aim to ensure sustainability in local governance and prevent unnecessary fragmentation while introducing new accountability structures. These include Budget and Environmental Sustainability Subcommittees in Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to support efforts against illegal mining, known as galamsey.
The bill also proposes District Public Interest and Accountability Committees to enhance oversight of public resource use at the local level. Prof. Ahwoi emphasized that decentralization without necessary checks and balances could worsen governance.
Additionally, the bill provides for formalized monthly consolidated allowances for assembly members and renames the Office of the District Assembly as the Office of the District Coordinating Director, ensuring a balance between local autonomy and central control.
Dr. Esther Ofei Aboagye, a member of the IMCC Technical Committee, stated that the 2026-2030 National Decentralisation Policy was developed after extensive 2025 consultations. This followed the expiry of the previous policy in 2024, aiming to revitalize decentralization and increase citizen participation in local governance.
Dr. Aboagye explained that the policy aligns with Ghana's development planning cycle and the Sustainable Development Goals, identifying six thematic areas including political, administrative, and fiscal decentralization, planning, local economic development, and participation. She stressed the importance of improving citizen involvement in district-level elections, which have seen low participation rates.
Dr. Gameli Kewuribe Hoedoafia, Executive Secretary of the IMCC on Decentralisation, urged the media to focus more on local governance and service delivery by engaging directly with Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies instead of concentrating solely on national-level officials.