Prospects and challenges of citizen participation in development planning: A case study of Ga West municipal assembly

Abstract

Ghana’s decentralisation policy has the agenda of socio-economic transformation which stimulate democracy, political equity and people's active participation at the local level. Local level development planning plays an important part in the decentralisation process. This study set out to examine the prospects and challenges of citizen participation in development planning in the Ga West Municipality. The study was based on both primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data were collected from 120 household heads and 10 key informants by using interview schedules. A multi-stage sampling technique comprising quota sampling, random sampling and purposive sampling was used to select respondents. Secondary data were gathered from books, journals and reports from Municipal Assembly. The main findings of the study are that the municipality is faced with various developmental concerns, citizen participation has both prospects and challenges, and though citizen participation in the development planning is limited women representation and participation in the Ga West Municipal Assembly are low. It is recommended that the MLGRD, NCCE and CSOs should carry out regular education about the local government processes, The main stakeholders in development planning should develop a comprehensive capacity-building programmes to ensure more women participate in local governance.