Local Government Minister Ahmed Ibrahim has disclosed that more than half of Ghana’s Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) failed a recent performance assessment conducted by the government.
According to him, out of the 261 assemblies assessed, 143 failed to meet the benchmark, while only 118 passed. He noted that the pass mark for the evaluation was set at 36 percent.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series in Accra on Monday, April 20, Mr Ibrahim explained that the assessment formed part of efforts by President John Dramani Mahama’s government to restore confidence in Ghana’s decentralisation system after a lapse in evaluations.
He revealed that the previous administration led by the New Patriotic Party was unable to carry out the assessment of district assemblies in 2023, despite conducting similar exercises up to 2022. This, he said, had consequences for Ghana’s relationship with development partners.
“Because of that, all the donor partners who were supporting Ghana’s decentralisation said if you can’t help yourself, we will not help you,” he stated.
The minister said upon assuming office, President Mahama tasked his ministry to conduct an assessment covering the 2024 performance year, describing it as a critical step in resetting the decentralisation framework.
He indicated that the evaluation, completed in 2025, was aimed at measuring how effectively assemblies delivered on their mandates and to ensure accountability at the local level.
Mr Ibrahim described the outcome as a wake-up call for underperforming assemblies, stressing the need for improved governance, efficiency, and service delivery across all districts.
He added that the government will continue to strengthen monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure that decentralisation delivers tangible development outcomes for citizens.
“I am happy to announce to you that in 2025, we were able to reset the decentralisation concept of the district assemblies in 2024, and in the assessment, out of the 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies, 143 of them failed and 118 of them passed. The passed mark was 36/100.”
