Assessing effectiveness of capacity building activities in decentralised local government institutions in the Central Region of Ghana

Abstract

The study set out to assess the effectiveness of capacity building (CB) activities in three selected decentralised local government institutions in the Central Region of Ghana. In terms of methods, the descriptive survey design and mixed method approaches were employed. Multi-stage sampling procedures were used to select a sample of 417 respondents. Purposive sampling was used to select national and regional Directors, and Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) Municipal Assembly and the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District Assembly. Questionnaires, interview schedules, and interview guides were used to collect data. Documentary reviews, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The study found that although a lot of CB efforts have been made in the three study areas, they all focused mainly on training but not on other physical resources such as tools. The CB approach did not involve actors in needs assessment, design of programmes, as well as dearth of monitoring and evaluation of CB programmes. However, the approach influenced commitment, enthusiasm, empowerment, and learning, among others. There were statistically significant association between the comprehensiveness of CB activities and empowerment in the study MMDAs. The study recommends that officials of Local Government Service as well as leaders of the MMDAs should develop a CB framework to guide the approach. Leaders of the MMDAs should involve actors in the CB process to elicit ownership, empowerment, and learning.