THE ROLE OF CITY GOVERNANCE IN REDUCING URBAN POVERTY-A CASE STUDY OF KUMASI, GHANA

1. THE ROLE OF CITY GOVERNANCE IN REDUCING URBAN POVERTY-A CASE STUDY OF KUMASI, GHANA Prepared by Dr. Kwabena Darko

2. WHAT IS GOVERNANCE? • Governance is the way in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources for development. For a city, governance is the exercise of power to manage a city’s socio-economic development

3. DOES IT MEAN GOVERNMENT? • Governance is a broader notion than government. • Involves governments but also civil society.

4. GOVERNANCE IN THE URBAN MANAGEMENT CONTEXT • In the urban management context, governance refers to all the laws, regulations, frameworks systems and processes that shape the way in which the local government operates. These frameworks, processes and systems may be formal or informal.

5. GOOD GOVERNANCE From a local government perspective good governance means: • Involving the community in identifying their wants and needs . • Developing policies and approaches to meet community needs with the involvement of the community in the process.

6. GOOD GOVERNANCE (cont’d) • Making sure that all levels of the government system understand their roles and responsibilities (and the community should also know what each level of government is responsible for). • Developing effective intergovernmental relationships.

7. GOOD GOVERNANCE (cont’d) • Ensuring that the allocation of resources across levels of government is fair and equitable. • Encouraging innovation management that contributes to successful outcomes for the community.

8. GOOD GOVERNANCE (cont’d) • Determining ethical standards of behaviour for those working within government (as politicians or administrators) and monitoring people’s performance to make sure they do meet those standards. • A sound public – private partnership; • Effective government and citizen interaction.

9. KUMASI • Kumasi is Ghana’s second city. • Has a long and proud history • Centre of the Asante kingdom . • Population is estimated at just over one million. • Often regarded as the commercial capital of Ghana. • Its Kejetia market rivals Onitsha in Nigeria as West Africa’s largest open-air market.

10. POVERTY IN KUMASI • High level of poverty in Kumasi. • The poor in Kumasi tend to be : • Unemployed • Unskilled labourers • Petty traders • Hawkers, porters, single mothers, street children, refugees from outside Ghana, elderly, and low-wage workers.

11. FACTORS AFFECTING URBAN POVERTY IN KUMASI • The structural adjustment programme and the economic performance of the country. • Democratization and decentralization. • City governance. • Sub-metropolitan government and relationships with the community.

12. FACTORS AFFECTING URBAN POVERTY IN KUMASI (CONT’D) • Service responsibilities and performance. • The mobilization and use of the city’s financial resources. • No clear policy or strategy for poverty reduction and many of its policies adversely affect the poor.

13. FACTORS AFFECTING URBAN POVERTY IN KUMASI (CONT’D) • No clear policy in relation to informal settlements. • Another factor is the charging policies • Weak civil society

14. COUNTERVAILING FACTORS • The role of traditional authorities in land allocation. • Housing in the form of communal tenement blocks.

15. COUNTERVAILING FACTORS (cont’d) • Donor involvement. • The tolerating of informal access and regulation contravention. • Supportive ethnic networks.

16. CONCLUSION Governance in Kumasi is partly responsible for the high level of poverty in Kumasi. The situation could have been worse if the counter-prevailing factors did not exist.