The future of regional governance in Ghana

This chapter discusses the socio-political features that threaten or support the survival of the regional administration’s relevance in Ghana’s politics. After summarizing the history and significance of regions in Ghana’s territorial governance, the chapter uses an institutional change analysis to highlight three features relevant for attention: 1) the constitutional sources of the legitimacy of regional governance, 2) the political (patronage) significance of regional governments, and 3) civil-society sources of contempt for regional governance. The analyses show how the first two forces favouring a regional government are undergoing a constant strain from the third force waged by civil society that seeks to reduce this feature in Ghana’s public administration. It shows how the long-term outlook of Ghana’s regional government depends on the outcome of the dynamic interaction between these forces and leads to the conclusion that the chances of survival of the regional government’s relevance in Ghanaian politics are bleak.