Hybrid entrepreneurial urban governance in post-colonial Ghana: an analysis of Chinese funding of the Kotokuraba market project in Cape Coast

Abstract

ABSTRACT Conventional forms of entrepreneurial urban governance are characterized by strong municipal urban governments, who have the autonomy to use and decide over innovative financing instruments and public–private partnerships, and whose decisions are not overly influenced by the national political interests of central government authorities. This article examines the extent to which this conceptualization applies in an African context, particularly Ghana. Drawing on a case study of Chinese funding of market infrastructural redevelopment in Cape Coast, we demonstrate that the existing conceptualization is inadequate to understand the framework and dynamics of entrepreneurial urban governance in Ghana, where mayors are appointed by Presidents, can “only” secure large-scale funding with the support of the central government, and are obliged to protect the political interests of the President and the ruling political party. Consequently, we argue that a new concept – hybrid entrepreneurial urban governance – is crucial to denote the Ghanaian variant of entrepreneurial urban governance and to analyze the multi-scalar mechanisms and local politics of urban governance in post-colonial Ghana. We argue that hybrid entrepreneurial urban governance thrives on a strong relationship between local and national politics. This article recommends that there is the need to strengthen multi-scalar collaborations not only in securing large-scale funding for capital infrastructure but also through to the subsequent stages of pricing and repayment.