In a move to enhance local governance and accountability, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has instructed Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to hold town hall meetings twice a year. This initiative, known as the MMDA Accountability Series, aims to provide a structured platform for MMDCEs to account to citizens for the implementation of government policies and programmes at the local level. The directive was issued by the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.
The MMDA Accountability Series builds on Mahama's regional accountability tours, which have already taken the president to various districts to report directly to residents on government performance. The new directive instructs Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) to coordinate and monitor the local version of the exercise, ensuring participating assemblies fall in line and assessing how inclusive and thorough each session turns out to be. This move is expected to increase citizen engagement and oversight at the local level.
MMDCEs have been told to cover a wide range of issues at their town halls, including performance against each assembly's Medium-Term Development Plan, implementation of flagship government programmes, and how the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) and Internally Generated Funds (IGF) have been spent. Other topics to be discussed include sanitation, education, health, security, disaster management, youth employment, and support for persons with disabilities. Citizens will have the opportunity to ask questions and seek clarification on how their assembly is performing.
The directive requires MMDCEs to personally lead the engagements and insists that the sessions be broad-based, drawing in traditional authorities, MPs, assembly members, religious leaders, organised labour, civil society groups, market associations, youth and women's groups, and the media. Citizens must be given adequate opportunity to participate and engage with their local assemblies. This initiative is expected to increase transparency and accountability at the local level.
For most Ghanaians, interactions with government happen far more often at the assembly level than at the presidency. A twice-yearly town hall would, in principle, give residents a direct channel to question how DACF and IGF money is being spent in their own district, rather than relying solely on national-level accountability sessions. This move is expected to bring governance closer to the people.
The directive does not spell out what happens if an MMDCE fails to hold the required sessions, leaving open the question of how the policy will be enforced across assemblies that have historically struggled with funding and capacity. MMDAs have been directed to begin preparations immediately and to hold their accountability sessions within a period to be communicated by their Regional Coordinating Councils. Assemblies have also been told to make budgetary provisions for the sessions within their existing approved budgets.
The MMDA Accountability Series is expected to be implemented nationwide, with no specific date given for when every district must complete its first round of town halls. The initiative is a significant step towards increasing transparency and accountability at the local level in Ghana. President Mahama's directive is aimed at enhancing citizen engagement and oversight, and ensuring that local assemblies are accountable to the people they serve.
Key points
- President Mahama directs MMDCEs to hold biannual town halls for accountability
- The MMDA Accountability Series aims to increase citizen engagement and oversight at the local level
- The initiative is expected to bring governance closer to the people
