Abstract:
The pre- colonial development gap between the North and the South still persists even though
there havebeen several attempts by governmental and non-governmental interventions to bridge
the gap. This has created a net migration of Northern youth to the South for menial jobs. The
movement of people to urban centres poses some challenges to the development of rural areas in
that in most rural areas, the impact of rural-urban migration is the rapid deterioration of the rural
economy which then leads to poverty and food insecurity. The 1992 constitution empowers the
District Assemblies to provide governance at the local level, especially in communities, and to
help in the economic development of the people by formulating and implementing strategic plans
to bring about total economic development in their various Districts. Promoting the welfare of
rural people is at the heart of the local government. One of the key components of the National
Decentralization Policy and Action Plan is that it providesfor district assemblies to facilitate
economic development at the local level.is Local Economic Development (LED). This study
attempts to identify various ways LED can contribute to reducing the North-South migration in
Ghana using the Sankpala community in the Central Gonja District of the Northern Region of
Ghana as a case study. One hundred questionnaires were administered in the community while
for the community youth leader, the Regional planning office, and the district planning office in-
depth interview were conducted. Results show generally that the concept of LED has not caught
on well with the district assembly. However, respondent were of the view that if LED was fully
implemented rural-urban migration is likely to reduce considerably. It was recommended that the
Government speeds up implementation of the SADA programme and also build the capacities of
district assembly staff on LED.
