A History of the Central Region Development Commission (Cedecom): 1990 to 2012

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.