Leadership and Performance of Decentralised Local Government System in The Central Region of Ghana

Abstract

The study set out to examine leadership and performance in the the Central Region of Ghana. Descriptive survey design and mixed-methods approaches were used. Multi-stage sampling procedures were used to select a sample of 989 respondents. Cape Coast Metropolis, Effutu Municipality and Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District were purposively selected. Data were collected on regional, district and community actors using an interview guide and interview schedules. Content analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The study found that although mixed leadership behaviours were exhibited in the three study areas, the political and technocratic leaders were generally performance. Differences in perceptions of the influence of the leadership approaches on participation and performance in the three study sites were not statistically significant. The Functional Organisational Assessment Tool (FOAT) framework focused on response to policy and legal mandates with little focus on the influence of leadership approaches on performance. It is recommended that leaders of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies should involve their followers to enable them demand accountability to improve leadership and performance. There is the need for collaboration among departments in the Assemblies and to integrate assessment of the leadership approaches into eliciting response to performance requirements in the FOAT framework.