• Decentralisation Reforms in Ghana: The Experiences of the Fifth and Sixth Governments of the Fourth Republic

    What were the decentralisation reforms? What did they consist of? What were their origins? Who authorised them? What were their outcomes? What Impact have they had on the local governance and decentralisation landscape In Ghana?

    The answer to the first question is that they were new initiatives and innovations designed to accelerate the pace of and improve upon decentralisation implementation in Ghana.

    The answer to the second question is that they consisted of a National Decentralisation Policy Framework and a National Decentralisation Action Plan I (2010-2014) and II (2015-2019), an Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCC), an expansion in the number of districts, a consolidated Local Governance Act, a re-branding of the Office of the Head of Local Government Service, the operationalisation of the Local Government Service and the introduction of a system of Inter-Service/Inter-Sectoral Collaboration and Cooperation. It also covered the enactment of National Development Planning (System) Regulations and a Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, the introduction of a Regional Integrated Budget System (RIBS) and blueprints for an Inter-Governmental Fiscal Framework (IGFF) and an Inter-Governmental Fiscal Transfer (IGFT) system.

    The answer to the third question is that the reforms were traceable to the 2008 manifesto of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the party which won the Presidential and Parliamentary elections of 2008 and 2012 and therefore formed the Fifth and Sixth Governments of the Fourth Republic.

    The answer to the fourth question is that the reforms were authorised by Presidents John Evans Atta Mills and John Dramani Mahama who successively were Presidents of the Fifth and Sixth Governments of the Fourth Republic.

    The answer to the fifth question about outcomes is the new structures, procedures and processes for decentralisation implementation, the improved quality of human resources in the local government sector, and the more efficient systems of checks and balances in the sector.

    The answer to the sixth question lies in the District Assemblies (MMDAs), the better service delivery by the Metropolitan, Municipal and of service delivery, the renewed interest in local governance by the citizenry and the claro Si rate reforms such as the elections of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDC Wand making the MMDAs partisan.

    These and answers to other questions posed by the reforms are answered in this book by the two people who should know, namely, the authors Professor Kwamena Ahwoi and Dr Callistus Mahama.

    Professor Kwamena Ahwoi is the longest-serving Minister of Local Government and Rural Development in Ghana (1988-2000). He was the Chairman of the High Level Strategic Task Force that produced the Decentralisation Policy Frameworks and Action Plans, He chaired the Legislative Review Task Force that resulted in the enactment of the Local Governance Act, 2016, Act 936 and was consultant to both the Ministry of Local Government and the IMCC during the period.

    Dr. Callistus Mahama was a member of the High Level Strategic Task Force, a member of the Legislative Review Task Force, the Executive Coordinator of the IMCC and the Head of the Local Government Service during the period.

    The two authors therefore write from a position of knowledge and experience and this is reflected in the contents of the book.

  • Local Government and Decentralisation in Ghana

    Developments since the publication of the First Edition of this book in 2010 have compelled the revision and publication of this Second Edition.

    In 2011, the Fifth Government of the Fourth Republic launched a new ‘National Decentralisation Policy Framework’ (NDPF 1) and an accompanying National Decentralisation Action Plan’ (NDAP 1). The Local Government Service was operationalised in the same year, resulting in the migration of over 30,000 civil servants from the Civil Service to the Local Government Service.

    Prior to these, the Local Government Departments of District Assemblies) (Commencement) Instrument, 2009, L.1. 1961, had been enacted, allowing for the conversion of the de concentrated Departments at the district level into devolved Departments of the District Assemblies. The Local Government (Urban, Zonal and Town Councils and Unit Committees) (Establishment) Instrument, L.1. 1967, was enacted in 2010. The long-awaited Composite Budget was introduced in 2012.

    With the expiry of the NDPF 1/NDAP I in 2014, a new NDPF 11/NDAP 11 was launched in 2015 for the period 2015-2019.

    A new Local Government (Sub-Metropolitan District Councils of Metropolitan Assemblies (SMDCs)) (Establishment, Composition and Functions) Instrument, 2015. 11. 2223, was enacted to provide for uniform composition and functions for the SMDCs in all the six Metropolitan Assemblies.

    A National Development Planning (System) Regulations, 2016, enacted to support the National Development Planning and Act, 1994, 148. A Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016, Act 925, was passed to establish a Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority and to devolve the Department of Country Planning to the MMDAs.

    The disparate laws on local government were consolidated into one Local Governance Act, 2016, Act 936. A new Sports Act 2016, Act 934 and a new decentralised National Youth Authority Act 939 were also enacted.

    It is these reforms that the Second Edition of the book has sought to capture, in addition to some elaborations on some of the theoretical underpinnings of local government and decentralisation in Ghana. The sections of Acton Civil Society Organisations and Non-State Actors and Women in Local Governance have been improved. Some aspects of the proposals of the Constitutional Review Commission on local government and decentralisation have been used. Some textual changes have also been made.

  • Africa: A Continent on Bended Knees

    Not content with debating his peers on diverse platforms to articulate his critical concerns on the Pan-African agenda, outspoken Son of the Soil, Femi Akomolafe has produced this development reference book.

    Africa: A Continent on Bended Knees weaves together a collection of thought-provoking articles, which must entice anyone blessed with a black skin and a conscious soul.

    How can Africa unleash its power to a world that is in need of the continent’s energies and authenticities? Focusing on Ghana, where the author is based, if he is not in the Netherlands, the publication explores the socio-economic development of Africa. Presenting detailed scrutiny on the most imperative issues, the observations, analysis and reflections advocate for one thing – change. Be it history, culture, education, entrepreneurship or good old politics, the issues are clinically diagnosed, and the prescriptions laced with the tonics of thinkers such as Sartre, Foucault, Diop and Nkrumah.

    The beauty of this volume is that the writer does not pretend to brandish the silver bullet to change the fortunes of nations. He only lifts up a compass to show that the Destination is possible.

  • Crossing the Bar: The Story of Daniel Opong Amoafo (DO)

    This book chronicles the life of Daniel Opong Amoafo or DO, as he is referred to by friends and shares in some intriguing details from his early life to adulthood. There are lessons to be gleaned from what he has seen and experienced. He counsels young people to strive to work hard. He cautions against procrastination and advises that everyone should put their God-given talents to good use while it is day. Whatever happens, never give up.

    “Writing with the skill of an accomplished author of eight previous books, Kofi Otutu Adu Labi’s ninth book delightfully chronicles the life history of 90 year old D.O. Amoafo in this easy to read book. The author’s description of the ups and downs of DO’s life showing his rise from a potential illiterate farmer which his father wanted him to be, to a famous academic, emphasises the importance of perseverance, determination and above all trusting in God in all we do. I highly recommend this book to all.” – Brig. General Dan Frimpong (Rtd), Former CEO, African Peace Support Trainers Association (APSTA) Nairobi, Kenya; Council Chairman, Family Health University College, Teshie, Accra, Ghana

  • The Fear of Failure: An Autobiography

    From Agomanya in the Eastern Region of Ghana, a 65 year old J. P. Adjimani narrates his life and how his fear of failure spurred him on instead of derailing him. In his autobiography, the biochemist unravels why he was never promoted to be a professor despite having a 28-year admirable career in Ghana’s premier university, University of Ghana.

  • Reflections of A Hopemonger

    Reflections of A Hopemonger is a carefully crafted work that will inspire in every man and woman the desire to do better with this gift called life. With a message as compelling as the inner voice, the book directs the seeker of self-improvement towards the diamond of their endeavour. Page after page, the God factor becomes non-negotiable.

    Tracing the joys, disappointments, triumphs and challenges of her own life and sharing lessons with the reader, Aba convinces us to pay attention to the ideals that matter.

    Reflections of A Hopemonger demonstrates that from the undercurrent swellings of doubt and despair springs the fountain of hope.

  • 1947-1957: The Story of Ghana’s Independence

    “I never realized what a prolonged battle I would have with the politicians, chiefs and people of the Gold Coast in order to give them the independence for which they have been clamouring all these years. Now they are going to have it whether they like it or not” – Sir Charles Arden-Clarke (Governor of the Gold Coast, 1949-1957)

    What would have influenced the above statement by the last Governor of the Gold Coast, which reveals the complicated, frustrating and tortuous trajectory of the last decade in the struggle for Ghana’s independence? This book, 1947-1957: The Story of Ghana’s Independence, not only answers this question but critically examines the roots of the nationalist movement and the role plays by several individuals, including Arden-Clarke himself and the various political organizations that led to the independence of the Gold Coast from British rule on March 6, 1957.

  • Sharing Knowledge and Experience: A Profile of Kwabena Nketia – Scholar and Music Educator

    Kwabena Nketia was a renowned scholar, linguist, composer, poet, researcher, teacher and musicologist in Ghana. His writings have become standard reference works on African musicology, and his work spanned many countries and interests. Nketia maintained a strong interest in Afro-American concerns, African musical traditions and Africans and blacks in the diaspora; and he worked tirelessly on establishing a theoretical framework of African music; consciousness of African identity in music; and to produce publications representing his own musical culture.

    This biography concentrates on the educational and research aspects of Nketia’s work, assessing the importance of his contribution to African musicology, thought on music education, and practical application of ethnomusicology and composition in teaching method, and exercises in African rhythm.

  • The African Predicament: Collected Essays

    This collection of Kofi Awoonor’s writings comprises essays written over a period of three decades, and includes several previously unpublished pieces. According to the author himself: ‘[they] reflect a life-time of engagement in literature and politics, my two passions…’

    Kofi Awoonor addresses a diverse range of subjects from an African perspective: the slave trade, post-independence history, globalisation, and the fate of the African continent given the twin scourges of poverty and HIV/AIDS. Literary criticism considers the legacy of W.E.B DuBois, and in a contemporary context, Kofi Anyidoho’s poetry. Further essays are reflections composed during the author’s long sojourns in the US: on Negro, Afro-American, black, African-American and African and identities. Further essays cover historical and political topics, such as the overthrow of Nkrumah, and the UN in relation to Africa in the post-Cold War period.

  • Kwame Nkrumah: Africa’s Man of the Millennium

    This book seeks to review various presentations made about the life of the man who led this country in her march towards independence and caught the imagination of the entire continent in the 1960s as he advocated and pushed the frontiers towards continental unity.

    The man at the centre of it all – Kwame Nkrumah – is captured in all his facets; his humble beginnings, studies abroad, his return home to work with the UGCC, his political agitations, tenure of office as Leader of Government Business, Prime Minister and President, his removal from office and the role played by internal and external forces, his days in exile, his death and other aspects of his life. These are all presented with a view to enable the reader learn some history as well as good lessons of life.

    Interestingly, though largely seen as the first universal African of the 19th Century, Kwame Nkrumah was actually a man of two halves; much loved and much hated all at the same time. How a single personality could be viewed in that manner is better appreciated by reading the book.

  • International Relations: An Introduction (AsanteBrako Political Series)

    International Relations: An Introduction provides a broad and comprehensive account of issues encountered in the discipline for both under-graduate and graduate students, as well as beginners who are interested in the study of the discipline. Crafted in a lively, clear and highly accessible introduction to international relations and the key concepts in the discipline, the book is designed systematically to build a solid foundation and an effective understanding of concepts, principles, practices and theories of international relations.

  • Hilla Limann: Scholar, Diplomat, Statesman – A Biography

    Prof Ivan Addae-Mensah’s biography of Dr. Hilla Limann is a masterpiece.  It comprehensively fills a gap in a period of our history that not much has been written on. For those scholars, students, politicians, researchers, interested in the governance, political history, economic development and international relations of Ghana, this is a must read. — His Excellency D.K. Osei (Former Ghana Ambassador to Denmark and the Scandinavian Countries, Former Secretary to Ex- President J.A. Kufuor and Diplomat in Residence, Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy) 

    The greatest value of this biography lies in the fact that this is a contribution by a person who was first and foremost a friend, and also worked closely with him before, during and after his presidency. Addae-Mensah’s Hilla Limann validates the ancestral saying that: “life is lived but understood backwards.” It contributes toward finding leadership and governance in Africa. To be African is to derive pain from this biography. It shocks and traumatizes. Who are we? Was independence worth it? What was the struggle about and for? Reading this biography shows the urgent need for an energizing vision to get rid of the demons of despair and redeem the worth of Africa for Africans. — Nana Kobina Nketsia V (Senior Lecturer in History, University of Cape Coast and Omanhen of Essikado Traditional Area) 

    We should honour those who have laboured hard for Ghana and not for self. It is no use preaching against corruption when those who are not corrupt have nothing but penury to show when they leave office. The example of Dr Limann would be of no avail unless it strengthens our will to establish an appropriate pension for retired presidents. — Ambassador K.B. Asante (Public Servant, Diplomat, Educationist, Politician)

  • Polished Manners

    Age Range: 10 years and above

    Polished Manners was born out of observing moral decadence in our society for the past 30 years.

    Polished Manners is a book on etiquette and manners for all ages. It is an A-Z guide to becoming a total person with a conduct worthy of the highest societal acceptance and respect.

    Polished Manners would help you build a better business relationship with your workers and clients. It would build better homes and better nations.

     

    Polished Manners

    22.0030.00
  • Ahwene Pa Nkasa: Standing with JDM

    Standing with JDM is quite clear in this title that it does not intend to undermine the former president’s image but to burnish it. What is not clear is whether it was written to coincide with the 2020 Election Year.
    It is in two parts, “The Homeland Briefs” and the “Diplomatic Briefs”. Independent of each other, they are held together by what the author calls the “Mahamarabilia” thread – a word he invented to describe his privileged proximity to the 4th president of the 4th Republic of Ghana.
    Part One has 42 chapters that highlight events like Dumsor, Gitmo 2, Montie 3, Cheating at Elections, Lying and Blaming it on Mahama, Destroying friends and Family and much, much more…It also has intellectual discourses on Traditional Governance and the Ballot Box, Kigali (dangers that could be awaiting Ghana in this Election Year), Ebola and Covid-19 and the history of Ghana’s “coodetas” in new lights that would surprise and reveal…
    Part Two, with 25 chapters, is devoted entirely to the author’s diplomatic service and reads sometimes like a coursebook on practical diplomacy and other times like a travelogue with intriguing insights. We come across his encounter with a sex change person (man to woman) and how his life was nearly cut short when his official car and ostrich crashed into each other on the highway from Windhoek to Gaborone. Part Two is so suffused with humour that it is difficult to tell whether he is pulling the reader’s leg or stating facts.
    Most of the chapters are illustrated with unique pictures that could stand on their own as stories. It is a beautifully designed book, well laid out reader-friendly. For the first time, a modern version of adinkra, called adinshia, has had a public airing in the book…
    Whatever your political persuasion is, your intellect will make you love this beautiful book on Mahama.

Main Menu