Abstract:
Ghana implemented a decentralized development planning system in 1988. This has resulted
in the proliferation of ‘independent’ and ‘autonomous’ local government areas. However, the
practice of constantly creating new local government areas of jurisdiction has resulted in a
fragmentation of large metropolitan areas. More importantly, while the existing Local Government
Act calls for adjoining local government areas to work hand-in-hand, there is no enabling
legislation to foster such cooperation among municipal and metropolitan authorities.
Using the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) as a case study, this paper argues that
the proliferation of autonomous local government areas within the context of urban sprawl
and other challenges have inhibited metropolitan-wide development planning.