The role of civil society organisations in local governance: a case study of united civil society organisation of Nzema east district

Abstract

In Ghana, civil societies have played important role in national development in an unco-ordinated manner. The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of United Civil Society Organisation of Nzema East District (UCSOND) to local governance in Nzemaland. The research assessed the activities of UCSOND at the grassroots, for example how its capacity enables it to play its role. The challenges facing the union were also examined. Case study approach was used to assess UCSOND’s contribution to local governance. The principal method used in the analyses of the data was interpretive inquiry. Tables and pictures were used to summarise UCSOND’s activities at the grassroots, its capacity and ability to play its role. Most importantly, the challenges confronting the union were identified and ranked using Kendall’s co-efficient of concordance. The findings were that UCSOND has been instrumental in stimulating popular participation in local governance through civic events. Secondly, it has aggregated citizens voice and influenced policies and programmes. The study also reveals that UCSOND has a low organisational resource base. The conclusions are that the low resource base of UCSOND has impaired its ability to play the ascribed roles effectively. Furthermore, the weak institutional capacity has led to resignation and dwindling of membership. The recommendation is that UCSOND must strengthen its effort for support or resources aimed at institutional capacity development, engage in income generating ventures and collaborate with other civil organisations to gain insight into emerging governance issues.