…But will power really leave the presidency?
Cabinet has approved direct elections for district chief executives. On paper, this ends presidential appointment. In practice, the devil remains in the details.
Dr Gameli Kewuribe Hoedoafia, executive secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCCoD), broke the news. The new National Decentralisation Policy and Strategic Framework (2026‑2030) will amend Article 243(1) of the 1992 Constitution.
The change: MMDCEs will be “elected by the people”. No more presidential nominees seeking two‑thirds assembly approval. A clean break or so the government wants voters to believe.
After consulting Afrobarometer data, the government has chosen a non‑partisan model. Local elections free from party colours. Many Ghanaians favour this. But sceptics recall that “non‑partisan” in Ghana often means ruling party operatives running as independents with discreet backing from above.
The real test is not the ballot box. It is whether elected DCEs will control local budgets, lands, and appointments. The presidency has never been keen to let go.
A constitutional amendment bill is promised before Parliament by the end of 2026. Referenda and implementation will stretch from 2027 to 2029. Dr Hoedoafia suggests President Mahama’s current appointees will be the last of their kind.
That is a convenient pledge. But constitutional amendments require a referendum and history shows Ghanaians are cautious about changing the basic law. The last attempt at electing MMDCEs (under the previous NPP administration) died in Parliament.
The reforms also include a new Local Governance Act to replace Act 936, which has shown weaknesses after a decade. A local accountability platform modelled on Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee will force DCEs to answer to citizens. In theory.
Also proposed: stricter criteria for the 30% government nominees to assemblies. Technical expertise, not party patronage. And a gradual increase of the District Assemblies Common Fund from 5% to 7.5% well below the Constitutional Review Commission’s 10% recommendation.
Elected DCEs could transform grassroots governance if they are given real power and real resources. But the presidency is unlikely to surrender control easily. Watch the fine print of the constitutional amendment. Watch whether the referenda are properly resourced. And watch
By Philip Antoh