Abstract:
ABSTRACT
The Central Region Development Commission (CEDECOM) was established
in April, 1990 by the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) to
advance the development of Central Region of Ghana through policies and
programmes. Since its inception it has contributed tremendously to the
development of Central Region. However, its contribution is largely ignored in
the literature of economic history of Ghana. For this reason, this thesis sets out
to explore the evolution and contribution of CEDECOM. The thesis
established that CEDECOM was a very significant quasi-government agency
in the development of Ghana. It was governed by a board of directors headed
by an executive director and a secretariat. It had a number of departments and
units that performed various functions that helped it to achieve its core
mandate. The thesis found that CEDECOM undertook activities in tourism
and hospitality, entrepreneurship, vocational skills training, salt production
and a whole range of agricultural activities such as oil palm production,
cassava production and pineapple cultivation. It was also concerned about the
promotion of information and communication technology, health, potable
water supply, education, commerce and security. The funds for all those
activities and operations of CEDECOM largely came from lobbying with
government, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and International
partners. As a regional institution, CEDECOM contributed to the alleviation of
social and economic poverty in the Central Region. However, the commission
was faced with some challenges. The main one being lack of funding leading
to its over-reliance on government subventions and other external donor
partners. The existence of the commission was threatened by the Subverted
Agency Act 2006 (Act 706) which empowered government to withdraw or
close down some public agencies including CEDECOM.
