Human Resource Capacity Needs at the District Assemblies: A Study at Assin South District Assembly in Ghana

Daniel Odoom,Christian Kyeremeh,Ernest Opoku

doi:10.5539/jsd.v7n5

Abstract

The study examined the human resource (HR) capacity needs at the Assin South District Assembly using the descriptive and non-interventional research design. Purposive and quota sampling techniques were used to select 53 respondents with interview schedule and interview guide as the research instruments. The study revealed that the existing institutional arrangements in Ghana’s decentralized government system did not allow the Assembly to properly address its HR capacity needs. Besides, poor staff attraction, low remuneration, poor accommodation facilities and inadequate training and development contributed to the Assembly’s HR capacity needs. The study recommended that the government should decentralize the HR arrangements at the DAs to grant autonomy to the Personnel Management Department at the Assembly to actively address its own HR capacity needs. The government must effectively collaborate with the Assembly to provide adequate logistics, attractive incentives and social amenities so as to attract well-qualified personnel for smooth decentralization.

Highlights

As a concept, decentralization is premised on the conviction that there will be a correlation between governance and citizens’ wellbeing only if there is a transfer of functions and powers, skills and competencies and means and resources to the lowest levels of governance (Ahwoi, 2006; Gyabaah, 2006)
The study revealed that favorable institutional arrangements are a crucial factor in ensuring effective human resource (HR) capacity at the decentralized government system
The study results showed that the existing institutional arrangement regarding the HR capacity at the District Assemblies had contributed to the problematic HR capacity at the Assembly

Summary

Introduction

Decentralization is premised on the conviction that there will be a correlation between governance and citizens’ wellbeing only if there is a transfer of functions and powers, skills and competencies and means and resources to the lowest levels of governance (Ahwoi, 2006; Gyabaah, 2006). Decentralization helps to improve good local governance and delivery of effective public service by increasing ‘allocative’ and ‘productive’ efficiency. This significant assumption depends on its design, the institutional, fiscal and human resource (HR) development capacity arrangements governing its strategic implementation (World Bank, 2003). Effective decentralized system, from systems theory standpoint, requires improved HR capacities at the various levels of government administration (Antwi & Analoui, 2008). In order to strengthen the HR capacity at the DAs, budget and planning officers were posted by the Ministry of Finance (MF) and the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) to some of the districts (Ahwoi, 2006)

Methods

Results

Conclusion