Democracy International (DI) conducted a Democracy and Governance Assessment in Ghana to provide the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in Ghana with a comprehensive analysis of the needs and realistic opportunities for assisting the consolidation of democratic rule in Ghana utilizing the four-step approach and methodology of USAID’s newly revised DG Strategic Assessment Framework (SAF).

Democracy International (DI) fielded a team to conduct this assessment in Ghana in late January and early February 2011. The team consisted of Leslie Fox, Barak Hoffman, and, local Ghanaian expert, Amos Anyimadu. Michael Keshishian, a senior officer from USAID’s Economic Growth Office also joined the team through-out its field work and participated in team deliberations. The team gathered information for the assessment from interviews conducted during a three-week stay and from available documents and published reports.

The team cited the constitutionally designed executive dominance as the major challenge to democracy in Ghana because it results in a lack of accountability, transparency, and responsiveness. It also carries over and affects the administrative accountability and effectiveness of those actors, largely local governments and de-concentrated ministries, responsible for the delivery of public goods and services to Ghanaian citizens throughout the country.The team recommended focusing on local governance and civil society organizations to promote more accountable governance and to improve both the supply and demand of good governance.