ASSESSMENT OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF NAARA RURAL BANK TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN THE KASSENA-NANKANA WEST AND EAST DISTRICTS BY ADAMU SEIDU ABARICHE (10255687) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE~UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY ADULT EDUCATION DEGREE JUNE, 2010 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ^.307344 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION I. Adarnu Seidu Abariche hereby declare that except for the references to other people’s work which have been duly cited, this work is the result o f my own original research and that this dissertation has neither in whole or in part been presented for a degree elsewhere. ADAMU SEIDU ABARICHE (STUDENT) DR DANIEL ODURO-MENSAH (SUPERVISOR) Date. DR H. B. K. KWASHIE (SUPERVISOR) Date. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my wife and mothers (both biological and adopted) whose immense support led to the successful completion of the thesis. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh I acknowledge all those who contributed their helpful ideas, either directly or indirectly, to successful completion o f this work. 1 cannot fail to mention the thoughtful contributions o f some particular individuals who provided useful guidance prior to and during the development o f the study. My Profound gratitude therefore goes first to my two supervisors, Dr Daniel Oduro- Mensah and Dr H. B. K. Kwashie, o f the Institute o f Continuing and Distance Education for their guidance, contribution, support and encouragement. My heartfelt appreciation goes to Madam Rose Osei-Asibey for her immense support towards the successful completion o f this work. I would forever be indebted to her. I am also indebted to my colleagues and friends like Edward Okine, Ignatius Fenu, Akudugu A. Mahmud, Alhassan A. A. Bajo. Ellen Abaka and David Addae for their encouragement and support, especially, for proofreading the document. The staff o f Naara Rural Bank and the chiefs and people o f the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts who made the study possible by devoting their time and energy deserve special mention. I am particularly grateful to Mr. Sammuel Adakobga (Naara Rural Bank manager), Mr. Agaab Robert, Mr. Eric Kampolo, Mr. Francis Ayine and Mr. Abass Abadi Kwesi for their assistance during the field data collection. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACT The study assessed the contribution o f Naara Rural Bank to community development in the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts o f the Upper East Region. The background o f the study established that past development models implemented during the colonial era in Ghana favoured urban centres to the detriment o f rural communities. To curb this situation, various governments after independence implemented various interventions including the establishment o f rural/community banks to bridge the development gap. It was in this light that the Naara Rural Bank was established in the Kassena-Nankana District as the first rural bank in the Upper East Region in 1982. The objectives of the study were to: identify the programmes that the bank has implemented to facilitate socio-economic development in its service communities; find out the corporate social responsibility projects carried out by bank as part o f its social responsibility; find out the sustainability o f the development projects executed by the bank; and identify the strategies used by the bank to build local capacity for community development. The study was underpinned by the basic needs and open system theories. In terms o f methodology, the descriptive survey design was adopted for the study and the population consisted o f all adults in the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts. The multi­ stage sampling technique was employed for the study. Simple random, purposive and convenient sampling techniques were used at the final stage to sample a total o f 181 respondents for data collection. Primary data was collected using the interview schedule for non-literate respondents and questionnaire for the bank officials. The data collected was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) soft ware and presented in tables and pie charts. The study revealed that Naara Rural Bank promoted socio-economic development in its service communities by facilitating increased agricultural production and economic activities through credit programmes for farmers, women, persons with disability and the youth. The study further established that the bank did not singlchandedly construct a physical project in anyo^f4&^M ge communities as part of its corporate social responsibility but supported social, ^jt'ivities sucfl IV University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh cultural festivals, education, sports and farmers day. It was also found out that the bank built local capacity for development facilitating training on income generating activities and business development and management. Based on the findings, the study concluded that to a large extent, the bank has contributed to development in the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts. The study recommended that the bank should design a corporate social responsibility policy to replace the current ad hoc way o f supporting activities in its service communities in the name o f social responsibility. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENT PAGE DECLARATION....................................................................................................................... > DEDICATION................................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.............................................................................................................. iii ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENT........................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................................. x LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background o f the Study..................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement o f the Problem..................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Purpose o f the Study............................................................................................................. 8 1.4 Objectives o f the Study......................................................................................................... 8 1.5 Related Research Questions................................................................................................ 9 1.6 Significance o f the Study....................................................................................................... 9 1.7 Organisation o f the Study....................................................................................................... 10 1.8 Limitation of the Study......................................................................................................... 11 vi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Theoretical Framework............................................................................................................ 12 2.3 Concept o f Community /Rural Development...................................................................... 16 2.4 Programmes and Strategies for Community Development.................................................. 22 2.5 Organisations Social Responsibility.........................................................................................33 2.5.1 Social Responsibility Strategies......................................................................................39 2.6 Sustainability o f Development Projects...................................................................................41 2.7 Building Local Capacity for Development............................................................................. 46 2.7.1 Characteristics o f Community Capacity...................................................................... 49 2.7.2 Ways o f Building Local Capacity................................................................................ 51 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 56 3.2 Population o f the Study........................................................................................................... 56 3.3 The Sample o f the Study......................................................................................................... 56 3.4 Sampling Design and procedure............................................................................................... 56 3.5 Research Design.......................................................................................................................... 61 3.6 Research Instruments............................................................................................................. 62 3.6.1 Questionnaire.................................................................................................. 62 vii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.6.2 Interview Schedule................................................................................... 63 3.7 Data Collection Procedure........................................................................................................°3 3.8 Validity and Reliability.................................................................................................... 64 3.9 Method of Data A nalysis......................................................................................................... 65 CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF RESULTS 4.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................................66 4.2 Programmes by Naara Rural Bank to Facilitate Socio-economic Development 66 4.3 Corporate Social Responsibility of the Bank...................................................................... 69 4.3.1 Physical Projects Executed by Naara Rural Bank.................................................... 69 4.3.2 Social Activities Supported by Naara Rural Bank.................................................... 71 4.4 Project Sustainability.............................................................................................................. 72 4.5 Local Capacity Building for Development.......................................................................... 75 4.5.1 Activities by Naara Rural Bank as a Strategy to Encourage Communities to initiate Development........................................................................................................................... 75 4.5.2 Suggested Capacity Building Programmes................................................................. 78 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 5.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................. 80 5.2 Programmes by Naara Rural Bank to Facilitate Socio-economic Development 80 5.3 Corporate Social Responsibility of the Bank...................................................................... 89 viii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.3.1 Physical Projects Executed by Naara Rural Bank...................................................... 89 5.3.2 Social Activities Supported by Naara Rural Bank......................................................92 5.4 Project Sustainability.............................................................................................................. 93 5.4.1 Training o f Community Members to Maintain Projects Executed.................................96 5.5 Local Capacity Building for Development.......................................................................... 98 5.5.1 Activities by Naara Rural Bank as a Strategy to Encourage Communities to initiate Development........................................................................................................................... 98 5.5.2 Suggested Capacity Building Programmes.................................................................. 104 CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................ 106 6.2 Summary.................................................................................................................................... 106 6.3 Implication o f the study results for Adult Education Practice........................................... 109 6.4 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................. 110 6.5 Recommendations...................................................................................................................... 111 6.6 Suggestions for Further Studies.............................................................................................. 113 References........................................................................................................................................ 114 Appendix A: Interview Schedule for the Community............................................................. 122 Appendix B: Questionnaire for the Bank Official.................................................................... 128 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Sampled Electoral Areas and Communities and Proportional Sample Sizes 59 Table 4.1 Programmes by Naara Rural B ank ............................................................................... 67 Table 4.2 Programmes Undertaken by Naara Rural Bank (NRB) in Collaboration with other Agencies to Facilitate Socio-economic Development................................................. 68 Table 4.3 Physical Projects Executed by the Bank in Partnership with other Development Agencies as Part o f its Corporate Social Responsibility.............................................. 70 Table 4.4 Social Activities Supported by the Bank....................................................................... 71 Table 4.5 Process o f Community Involvement in Deciding the Type o f Project to Execute... 73 Table 4.6 Activities undertaken by Bank as strategies to Encourage Communities to initiate their own Development............................................................................................................... 76 Table 4.7 Activities o f the Bank that had been Successful in Helping Communities to initiate their own Development...................................................................................................... 77 x University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF FIGURES Figure I Graphical Representation o f the Open Systems Theory................................................ 14 Figure 2 A theory o f rural sustainable economic development................................................... 45 Figure 3 Suggested Capacity Building programmes ..................................................................... 79 xi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background o f the Study Development has been the concern o f man since creation. Since the days o f Adam and Eve, man has been clamoring for improved living conditions and betterment o f life. This quest for development by man was what led to the infamous slave trade and colonialism where the West sought to exploit Africa and, to some extent, Asia to facilitate its development. Perhaps the concept o f development gained prominence after World War II in both developed and developing countries. Conyers and Hills (1984) note that the concern o f the developed World after World War II was only with changes designed either to improve their access to the natural resources o f the developing World, or in few cases, to introduce some o f the more basic characteristics o f 'civilization' including the provision o f a few basic services and conversion to Christianity. Wignaraja (1977) contends that the framework that has influenced the development process in the past assumed that there were 'developed' countries and 'developing' countries and that if the experience o f the former, along with some resources, were transferred to the latter, the gap o f development would be narrowed. The objectives and processes were viewed in economic terms and great reliance was placed on economic factors to achieve results. The framework further assumed that rapid economic growth could take place if there was central planning and control o f the economy as a ‘top-down’ process, with emphasis on industrialization, modernization and urbanization. Capital, the factor in short suppK. was 1 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh conceived as the main input into the process. Internal capital accumulation was to be assisted by inflows o f foreign capital and technology. The cumulative effect o f this kind o f growth in the modem sector were expected eventually either to ‘trickle down’ automatically or at best be handed down in an administrative fashion to the large numbers who in developing countries live predominantly in the rural areas. Material accumulation was expected to solve other human problems. This model of development, according to Wignaraja, was indifferent if not inimical to rural development. In supporting this view, Conyers and Hills (1984) argue that this approach to development in the developing world led to the neglect o f the rural areas. However, development is a holistic process which requires the involvement o f all sectors including rural communities. Vivian and Maseko (1994) contend that rural development deserves much attention since most of the poor reside in rural areas which lack basic amenities. According to the UNDP 2008 Human Development Index report, about 69 per cent o f Ghana’s population lives in rural areas. Rural development therefore represents the only logical way o f stimulating overall development in developing countries. This notwithstanding, developing countries have failed to implement appropriate strategies effectively to achieve rural development. Hence rural communities continue to become poorer and underdeveloped. In Ghana, the need for rural development has been recognized and some efforts have been made by various governments to narrow the gap in development between rural and urban areas. Policies such as decentralization, rural electrification, rural micro-credit schemes. 2 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh capitation grant, school feeding programme and construction o f CHIPS compounds especially in rural communities were all geared towards facilitating rural development. Despite all these efforts, the disparity between rural and urban areas is still wide. For instance, education has been recognized as the key to development but there is a wide disparity in terms o f access to secondary education between urban and rural areas. While about 62.6 percent o f secondary level students in urban areas have access to secondary education, only 28.8 percent o f their counterparts in rural areas have access to secondary education (HDR. 2007). Similarly, 78.5 percent o f urban households have access to good health facilities compared to 42.3 percent of the rural households (GSS, 2003). Again, while 81.0 percent o f urban households have access to electricity only 24.9 percent o f rural households have access to electricity (GSS, 2003). Rural poverty accounts for 63 percent of poverty worldwide reaching between 65-90 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa (Khan, 2001). In Ghana. 25.6 percent o f people in the rural areas live in extreme poverty with 39 percent o f them living below the poverty line of US$1 per day (GMDG report. 2006). This suggests that about 64.5 percent o f people in rural Ghana are poor. According to the UNDP, poverty is one of the key indicators o f underdevelopment. It is therefore obvious that there is still a wide gap between urban and rural development. This situation has attracted many stakeholders to implement various interventions in rural communities to reduce povert\ and unequal development. This explains why there is an influx of NGO activity in the country most of which operate in the rural areas. As part o f its commitment to rural development, government has influenced the establishment o f rural/community banks to serve the special needs o f rural people in order to facilitate the development drive of their communities. 3 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The concept o f rural and community banking in Ghana emerged in the mid 1970s when it was realised that all the traditional licensed banking institutions were concentrated in the cities and urban centres. These traditional banking institutions served the needs of city and urban dwellers, especially, who were engaged in mining and import and export businesses to tine neglect o f rural dwellers (Bank of Ghana, 2008). In seeking to bridge the gap. the government through Bank of Ghana introduced the rural banking system to serve the special needs o f rural dwellers who form the majority of the population, and who are engaged mainly in agriculture. The purpose was to bring banking to the door-steps o f rural communities so as to enhance their socioeconomic development in order to achieve a holistic national development. Nyarkrom Rural Bank in the Agona District o f the Central Region was the first rural bank to be established in Ghana in 1976. The number o f rural banks increased sharply after 1976 to 120 in 2005 (Bank o f Ghana, 2005). Currently, there are over one hundred and twenty nine (129) rural and community banks operating in the country with over four hundred thirtv nine (439) agencies spread over various areas in the ten regions of Ghana (ARB Apex Bank. 2008). The Ashanti region has the highest number o f rural and community banks followed bv the Eastern region. The lowest number of rural banks is in the Northern region. An important development that has occurred in the rural banking system in Ghana is the coming into being of the ARB Apex Bank Limited in November, 2001. The ARB Apex Bank serves as a mini central bank for all the rural and community banks in Ghana and is financed mainlv tha^ugh the Rural Financial Services Project (RFSP) which is a government o f Ghana project aimed at holistically addressing the operational bottlenecks of the rural financial sector through 4 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh broadening and deepening financial intermediation in the rural areas (Gonzalez-Vega. 2005, ARB Apex Bank, 2008). To ensure that it is closer to the rural and community banks so as to serve them better, ARB Apex Bank has outlets in all the ten regional capitals. The Bank o f Ghana notes the nature o f business of a rural bank as performing the following specific functions: i. Mobilizing savings from residents in the local community ii. Ensuring a proper and accurate handling o f all money transactions iii. Accepting cash cheques for the credit o f current and savings account iv. Providing loans and overdrafts to its members v. Accepting securities for safe custody vi. Engaging in any economic activity that will provide social and economic development o f the community vii. Assisting customers in respect o f their activities with a view to consolidate, extend and develop their undertakings It can be inferred from the above functions that rural banks have direct responsibility to facilitate development in their operational communities. This notion is corroborated b\ the assertion of Bank o f Ghana (1985) that rural banks in Ghana are charged with the primary objective o f mobilizing financial resources in the rural communities to support viable economic ventures and social programmes to facilitate rural development. Thus community development is within the purview o f rural banks. The task therefore is for rural banks to adopt appropriate community development strategies and approaches to ensure that they able to fulfill their mandate of facilitating development in the communities in which they operate. 5 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Naara Rural Bank, which is the focus o f this study, is located in the Upper East Region with its headquarters at Paga in the newly created Kassena-Nankana West District. It was established in 1982. Its vision is to be most efficient rural bank and a leading poverty reduction agent in Ghana in terms o f generally accepted standards. The mission o f Naara Rural Bank is to be among the top ten rural banks in Ghana by being efficient and proactive to customers, ensuring disabled friendliness and through the use o f the most modem equipment, well trained and motivated workforce, innovative-products, as well as contributing to the socio-economic development o f the community in which it operates. The Naara Rural Bank currently has three agencies and one mobilization centre. The bank is managed by a nine Member Board o f Directors chaired by Mr. Peter King Aloah with Mr. Samson Adakobga as the Manager. It has staff strength o f 30 including nine females. The ownership o f the Naara Rural Bank lies with its shareholders. The shareholders are mostly residents within the Bank’s catchment areas. The current number o f shareholders stands at 4500 and the total current share capital is GH0527, 546.80. The Bank's total assets portfolio also currently stands at GH02,25O,OOO.OO. With over 12000 customers, its current total deposit stands at GH01,460.000.00. The bank's loan portfolio o f GHc500.000.00 and loan recovery rate o f 87% is deemed as encouraging (Sir Augustine. 2006). Apart from the banks normal banking activities it has also been involved in micro finance activities. Currently, it has initiated a micro finance programme involving GHc66.000 that is benefiting 43 groups with a total membership of 516. Besides, it has been involved in the 6 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh implementation o f external credit facilities that has helped to improve the lives o f the communities within its operational areas. The Naara Rural Bank has made some achievements over the years. According to Sir Augustine (2006). the major achievement o f the bank has been its ability to create a wide banking spirit among the local communities to the extent that the ordinary local petty trader now realizes the importance o f banking. The bank was also declared - Disabled Friendly Bank in 2005 by the APEX Bank (a central Bank for rural banks) because o f its special concern for the disabled in the society. The bank does not only support the disabled in the society, but has also ensured that all its premises are disabled friendly. The Naara Rural Bank ranks very- high among rural banks in the country. In 2006, it was adjudged the fifth best mral bank among the 126 rural and community banks in the county at the time. 1.2 Statement of the Problem Rural banks are not only expected to facilitate rural development by supporting self-initiated development activities but also to initiate development in their operational communities. Naara Rural Bank operates in the Kasena-Nankana West and East Districts and seeks as part o f its mission to contribute to the socio-economic development o f its service communities. It has been operating in the districts for the past twenty eight years yet the districts are rated among the poorest and least developed districts in the Upper East region and the counts at large. The important question that needs to be answered is: How has Naara Rural Bank contributed to the development of communities in its operational area? 7 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.3 Purpose of the Study The purpose o f this study was to find out how Naara Rural Bank has contributed to community development in its operational area. The study thus sought to assess the contribution o f Naara Rural Bank to community development in the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts in the Upper East Region o f Ghana. 1.4 Objectives of the Study The main objective o f the study was to assess the contribution o f Naara Rural Bank towards community development in the Kassena-Nankana Districts o f the Upper East Region. The specific objectives o f the study were to: i. Identify the programmes used by Naara Rural Bank to facilitate socio-economic development in the Kassena-Nankana Districts. ii. Find out the corporate social responsibility projects carried out by Naara Rural Bank in the Kassena Nankana Districts as relates to: a. physical projects executed b. support for social activities. iii. Find out the sustainability of the development projects implemented by Naara Rural Bank: and iv. Identify the strategies used by Naara Rural Bank to build local capacit\ for community development; 8 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.5 Research Questions The research questions o f the study include: i. What are the programmes adopted by Naara Rural Bank to facilitate socio-economic development o f communities in its operational area? ii. Which agencies has Naara Rural Bank collaborated with to facilitate community development? iii. What physical projects has Naara Rural Bank executed as part o f its social responsibilities in its operational area? iv. What social activities has the bank supported as part o f its social responsibilities in its operational area? v. How sustainable are the development projects executed by Naara Rural Bank? vi. In what ways has Naara Rural Bank built capacity local capacity for community development? vii. How successful have these capacity building strategies been in encouraging local development? 1.6 Significance of the Study Among the objectives for establishing rural banks in Ghana is to mobilize savings and extend institutional credit to rural dwellers in their respective areas o f operation. This is to enhance the socio-economic development o f rural communities for improved standard o f living o f local people. However, not much study has been conducted to determine the extent to which rural banks have implemented programmes and strategies to achieve these laudable objectives. This 9 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh study therefore is expected to add to the existing body o f limited literature on the role o f rural banks in community development in Ghana. It would further contribute to adult education practice by making information available to guide adult educators on how to mobilize local communities to access the services of rural banks in order to improve their quality o f life. Finally, based on the findings, the study makes recommendations for policy makers to use as a guide to supervise and streamline the activities o f rural banks in Ghana in terms o f their role in community development. 1.7 Organisation o f the Study The study is organized into six chapters. Chapter one comprises the study background, the problem statement, objectives, justification, organisation o f the study and description o f the study area. Chapter two consists o f the review o f existing relevant literature on the topic in line with study objectives. The review was based mainly on the opinions, views and publications o f experts that have bearing on the topic. Chapter three contains the description of the research design, the sampling technique, the sample size, the data collection procedure and instruments, and the method o f analysis. Chapter four contains the presentation of result from the analysis o f data using tables and charts. Chapter five is where the results of the analysis o f data are discussed with reference to the literature reviewed. Finally, chapter six contains the summary, major findings and conclusion of the study. It further contains the recommendations based on the findings for polic) guidance and future research. 10 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.8 Limitations of the Study Even though the study was successfully conducted, there were a few challenges. One important challenge was that the communities sampled for data collection were remote and far apart. The roads leading to some o f the communities were impassable. The researcher therefore had to incur extra costs to engage the services o f private motor bikes to facilitate visits to the communities for data collection. Another limitation was that the researcher could not speak Kassem and Nankam - the native languages o f the respondents. This situation compelled the researcher to engage the services o f an interpreter to be able to interact with the respondents thereby increasing the cost o f the data collection. II University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 Introduction This chapter focuses on review o f people’s books and research work that are related to this study. The review covers a wide spectrum of sources such as books, articles, journals, reports and the internet. All the sources used have been appropriately referenced and acknowledged. The review was guided by the research problem and the objectives o f the study. Thus literature was reviewed in the following areas: ❖ Theoretical Framework ❖ Concept o f Community/Rural Development ❖ Strategies o f Community Development ❖ Sustainability o f Development Projects ❖ Organizations' Social Responsibility ❖ Local Capacity Building for Community development 2.2 Theoretical Framework The study was guided by the Basic Needs Theory and the Open Systems Theory. The basic needs theory denotes that the best way to improve the quality o f life o f the poorest elements of society is to provide them with basic human needs. Moon (1991), who contributed in popularizing this theory, contends that the needs that are considered basic are those minimally required to sustain life such as food, water, health care, shelter and minimum education. Moon (1991) explains that the provision o f basic needs is necessary for rapid growth in areas where income levels arc low and poverty is high. This is true because as 12 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Okonjo (1986) notes, “true development takes place when there is satisfaction of the fundamental needs o f a population in terms o f food, water, shelter, health, education, and mobility” (p.4). This presupposes that the presence o f unmet basic needs is a barrier to development. This is because when people lack food to sustain themselves or suffer poor health and have no means o f treatment, productivity will be hampered and consequently, development will be severely impeded. According to Moon (1991), the most common indicators o f national achievement o f basic needs are life expectancy, infant mortality, and literacy. This is consistent with the findings o f other authors. For instance, Morris (1979) cited in Moon (1991) has identified five "basic needs” and the indicators conventionally used to assess their leverage on life chances. These needs and their indicators were stated as health (life expectancy, health expenditures, doctors per thousand population, hospital beds), education (literacy, primary school enrollment, education expenditures), nutrition (caloric and protein intake), water supply and sanitation (percent of population with portable water, access to sanitation facilities, infant mortality), and housing (no good indicator available). This implies that one determines whether the basic needs of a locality is satisfied or not by looking at such elements as life expectancy o f the people, literacy rate, access to portable water and sanitation facilities and school enrolment among others. The basic needs theory is appropriate for this study because poverty is high in the Upper East region including the Kasena-Nankana district -- the study area. According to the 2007 Ghana Living Standard Survey, eight (8) out o f every ten (10) in the region live below the povert\ 13 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh line o f $ 1 per day per adult (GSS. 2007). This means about 80 percent o f the people in the region live below the poverty line. In this light, it was expected that the development efforts o f Naara Rural Bank in the Kasena-Nankana West and East districts in the region would be guided by the basic needs theory. The open systems theory was another important theory that guided the study. The open systems theory as noted by Katz and Kahn (1978) depicts that organisations employ resources from their environment as energic inputs, process these inputs (throughput) into finished products (output) and feed them back to the environment in exchange o f new energic inputs to sustain the organisation. On his part, Robbins (1987:9) describes the open systems theory o f an organisation as "An input-output transformation system that depends on its environment for survival". The theory is summarized in Figure I . Figure 1 Graphical Representation o f the Open Systems Theory Environment Energic input —►throughput —* output T 1 t 1 *— «— Feedback *— «— System (organisation) Figure 1 implies that an organisation receives inputs o f energy from its environment without which the organisation cannot survive. Thus the energic inputs are required to activate and reactivate the system (organisation) to ensure its survival. The inputs are then transformed 14 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (processed) into outputs and exported into the environment. The environment receives the outputs and intends supply new inputs to the organisation for the cycle continue. According to Katz and Kahn (1978). the open systems theory begins with the concept of 'entropy' which is the assumption that without continued supply o f inputs, any system (organisation) is bound to rundown or collapse. This makes entropy an integral part o f all organisations including rural banks since they survive on the continuous supply o f energic inputs from their environments. In the case o f rural banks their environments are the communities they serve. They and the communities are interdependent. That is, while the communities serve not only as market for the products o f rural banks but also provide inputs in the form o f human resource to manage the banks, the rural banks also provide the communities with various products and services including microcredit to meet their socioeconomic needs. This means that rural banks must maintain a cordial relationship with the communities in which they operate in order to ensure their continuous survival. They can achieve this by fulfilling their mandate o f facilitating socioeconomic development in the communities and directly executing development projects as part o f their corporate social responsibilities in order to improve the living conditions o f the people. This way. the\ will enjoy the goodwill and good reputation o f the people. When this happens the local people will continue to patronize the products and services o f the rural banks to ensure their continuous survival. 15 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.3 Concept o f Community /Rural Development The concept o f community/rural development is complex and has witnessed varied definitions by various practitioners, researchers, institutions and organizations in the development world. Perhaps, the meaning of the concept can be made clear when the explanation o f the terms ‘community’, ‘rural’ and ‘development’ precedes it. Oduaran (1994) describes a community as a social, ecological, geographical, legal, political and administrative unit which is an equivalent of a society. Onugu (2000) also contends that the Nigerian National Board for Community Banks (NNBCB) defines a community as a group o f people who possess a ‘common bond’ arising from residence, occupation, profession or similar attribute, and who interact fairly frequently in the pursuit o f shared economic goals. It can therefore be concluded that a community is said to exist when a group o f people pursue common goals and problems, acquire a sense o f identity, and have a common sense o f objectives. In this light, a community can be classified into urban community, rural community, occupational community, religious community and economic community among others. Development, on the other hand, is a complex concept which has several connotations. However, Allen (2000) quoted by Pierre (2005) has identified three main meanings in which development is generally used. First, it is conceived as a vision, description or measure of the state of being a desirable society. Second, it is viewed as an historical process o f social change in which societies are transformed over long periods. Third, it is seen as consisting of deliberate efforts aimed at improvement on the part o f various agencies, including 16 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh governments, all kinds o f organizations and social movements. Pierre (2005) endorses this by noting that development is a process of economic, social, political, and cultural change engineered in a given society by the efforts o f all stakeholders, both internal and external - including local communities, the government, the private sector, civil society organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and technical and financial development partners - with a view to improving the conditions o f life o f the population in a sustainable way. Furthermore. Akinpelu (2002) sees development as a process o f changing the personality, equipping it with the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes to conceive, design, and carry out their own self-development. Akinpelu emphasizes that the target o f the development process is the person or human being, and not the material accumulations surrounding them nor the economic progress and growth o f the state. Having highlighted the meanings of community and development it is now possible to examine the concept o f community development. Even though the original definition of community development has undergone many modifications over the period by various writers and practitioners in the field, its original meaning has not changed greatly. The 1948, the Colonial Office Cambridge Summer Conference on African Administration report as captured in Dorvlo (2006:17) defined “community development” as: a movement designed to promote better living fo r the whole community with the active participation, and i f possible on the initiative o f the community, hut i f this initiative is not forthcoming spontaneously, bv the 17 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh use o f techniques fo r arousing and stimulating it in order to secure its active and enthusiastic response to the movement. The report further stated that community development embraces all forms o f betterment and includes the whole range o f development activities in the district whether these are undertaken by government or non-governmental bodies; in the field o f agriculture by securing the adoption o f better methods of soil conservation, better methods o f farming and better care o f livestock; in the field o f health by promoting better sanitation and water supplies, proper measures o f hygiene, infant and maternity welfare; and in the field of education by spreading literacy among adults as well as by the extension and improvement o f schools for children. Summers (1986), however, describes community development as a purposive activity by people to strengthen a “community field” . This implies it consists o f acts by people that open and maintain channels o f communication and cooperation among local groups. On his part, Boateng (1986) captures community development as a process that aims at helping local people to identify and articulate their needs and problems, stimulating the participation o f individuals and families in community affairs, encouraging self-help action and relating “grass-roots" efforts to larger developmental objectives. Mba (2004) endorses this definition by stating that community development is a process o f promoting better living for the whole community with the active participation and on the initiative of the community. He emphasized that development programmes are usually concerned with local communities, hence there is need for participation by members o f the community in efforts to improve their level o f living with as much reliance as possible on their own initiative, and the provision o f technical and other services in ways which encourage more effectiveness. He further states that the scope o f community development includes health, home economics. 18 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh co-operatives, rural industries, housing, recreation and public amenities such as roads, portable water supplies, postal agencies to facilitate communication and schools among others. In another dimension, community development has been largely considered as: A process implying a transition from one approach that emphasises popular participation and the direct involvement o f the population in the process o f development... a programme (that is, a formal organisation with a separate administration and staff), (and as a movement) it represents a philosophy o f development sometimes with an almost religious fervour (UN 1971: 9. cited in Dorvlo.2006:75). This definition does not satisfy our modem world meaning o f community development because it portrays the concept as development that is introduced or initiated by an outsider who then seeks the participation and involvement o f the people. On their part, Indabawa and Mpofii (2006) contend that community development implies qualitatively and quantitatively transforming people, their environment, values and social processes by the people themselves and perhaps, with the help o f others from within or outside their environment. This definition quite mends the defect identified in the UN definition stated earlier. However, its major defect is in the fact that it does not state how the process o f transformation can be achieved by the people. 19 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Indabawa and Mpofu (2006) have cited a four-fold typology o f community development provided by Sanders (1958) and claim it has formed the philosophical backbone o f virtually every conception o f community development since 1958. The typology describes community development as a process, a method, a programme and a movement. Community Development as a process involves progression from one condition or state to the next. It lays more emphasis on the improvement o f the people, both socially and psychologically. As a method, it is essentially community development as a ‘process’ which is managed in a certain way in order to bring about a specific result. In short, community development as a 'method' is a process that is guided to serve a particular objective. Community development as a programme is a combination o f method and content. The method here refers to a stated set o f procedures and content, which means a list o f activities. The emphasis in community development as a programme is on the programme activities rather than on the people involved in the programme. As a movement, it is a programme plus emotional dynamics. In this regard, community development is a crusade and a cause to which people become emotionally attached. A definition that seems to incorporate all four perspectives o f community development is provided by Christenson and Robinson (1980 cited in Ndabawa and Mpofu, 2006). They define community development as a group of people in a community reaching a decision to initiate a social action process (planned intervention) to change their economic, social, cultural or environmental situation. However, Rubin and Rubin (2008) provide yet a more concise but elaborate definition o f community development. They describe the concept as the process of promoting local empowerment through organised groups o f people acting 20 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh collectively to control decisions, projects, programmes and policies that affect them as a community. Local empowerment here implies enhancing local people’s education through acquisition o f knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable them control resources within their environment for improved quality o f life. Local empowerment can be achieved through organised groups and collective action. For purposes o f this study Rubin and Rubin’s definition o f community development will be adopted. Since development must be sustainable it is imperative to modify Rubin and Rubin’s definition to obtain a comprehensive definition o f community development. Thus community development can be defined as the process where a group o f people with common interest, identity, goals and values learn new attitudes, skills and knowledge through education to enable them attain mastery over their environment and use the resources within their environment to bring about sustained improvement in the quality o f their lives. Although they vary in emphasis, the above definitions suggest that community development is about people, their environment and their collective actions and efforts aimed at addressing social, economic, political and cultural problems. It seeks to raise the quality o f life for the people and to improve their conditions for the better. Community development is a joint and collective undertaking. Although community development is the responsibility o f the people, the process can be positively aided or supported by governmental and non-governmental agencies (lndabawa and Mpofu, 2006). It is from this angle of an external agency positively aiding the process of 21 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh community development that this study is focusing on the contribution o f rural/community banks to community development. 2.4 Programmes and Strategies for Community Development Different strategies have been utilised by various practitioners and development agencies to facilitate rural and community development. Perhaps, the most well known strategy has been the ‘bottom-up development’ approach. The concept o f bottom-up development was popularized by Walter Storh (1981) and was fueled by the effects o f structural adjustment policies which were implemented in many developing countries including Ghana during the 1980s and 1990s (Binns et al, 2001). The structural adjustment policy barred governments from implementing development projects directly in local communities and this, by default, imposed the responsibility for development initiatives on local communities (Binns et al. 2001). Implicit within these broad arguments is the notion that communities must seize the development initiative and embark on strategies which might improve their social and economic well-being. Dicklitch (1998) cited in Binns et al (2001) contends that this phenomenon called for the need to ensure that local leadership retains control over development projects. According to Binns et al (2001), the success o f any meaningful development using the bottom-up approach does not only depend on the existence o f a facilitating environment, but also requires certain other factors to be in place, notably usable physical resources, human and social capital and an appropriate external support. Human capital mentioned above encapsulates the skills, talents, leadership capacity and charisma possessed by members o f a community. It is observed that without the ‘right 22 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh chemistry’ o f human capital no locally initiated project would ever take place and certainly could not be sustained (Binns et al. 2001). Hiebert (1999) corroborates this argument by noting that dozens o f top-down development schemes failed due to increased dependency and inadequate human capital to fill the role o f the external body when it withdraws from a project. Social capital on the other hand is defined as features o f social organization, such as trust, norms (customary behaviour), and networks, that can improve the efficiency o f society by facilitating co-ordinated actions (Buckland, 1998). Social capital therefore, measures the degree to which a community can co-operate towards achieving desired results. Hence, Buckland (1998) asserts that trust and co-operation are essential for achieving indigenous efforts at community development. Buckland’s assertion seems to have echoed Evans’ (1996) argument that social capital is not only a critical ingredient for sustainable improvement in the welfare o f the people o f the developing countries but the pre-existing endowments o f it are valuable resources in development. However, the presence o f physical, human, and social capital in itself is not sufficient to ensure the success o f community endeavours because community initiatives are frequently impeded by a fairly standard list o f constraints such as lack o f finance, equipment, technical experts, organisational skills and inadequate knowledge of commercial market in which they are seeking to operate and compete (Stock, 1995). In such scenarios, there seems to be a very clear motivation to try and link external agencies with local initiatives in order to help address the constraints. According to Binns, et al (2001), if local initiatives and community development projects are to become sustainable, such links must be acknowledged and 23 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh predicated on the principles that they avoid dependency, ensure that local leadership is supported, and that appropriate skills training is provided. Within this context, it can be concluded that development programmes and strategies which blend local initiatives with external support o f government or non-govemmental organizations need to be sought. This assertion corroborates Stock’s (1995) suggestion that local initiatives should be supplemented with well-conceived, carefully implemented national programmes and strategies o f development. Perhaps, this explains why as part o f their development strategies governments in the developing world including Ghana backed by the World Bank, rolled out the concept o f rural banking to facilitate the socio-economic development o f rural communities. In assessing rural community development programmes and strategies, Summers (1986) identifies three types o f community development interventions as authoritarian, client- centered and radical reform interventions. Under the authoritarian strategy, an agent (usually external to the community) introduces a change with the belief that it will improve the community and that it is in line with the self-interest o f the community. People are assumed to be rational and therefore willing to adopt the proposed change if it can be rationally justified and if it can be shown by the change agent that the community will gain by adopting the proposed change. The fundamental article o f faith in this approach is the belief that ignorance, superstition, and incorrect information are the chief foes o f improvements in human conditions. Scientific research will expand the knowledge base, and education will free humans from ignorance and superstition. When confronted with an unmet need, basic 24 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh scientific researchers, it is presumed, can and will discover the causal factors and engineer a solution. People in the target community will then follow their rational self-interest and adopt the recommended solution. This development approach also implies certain conditions about the provider-recipient relationship. First, someone decides the recipient needs assistance. Often this is the provider or the project sponsor; seldom is it the recipient. Second, the provider’s knowledge is superior to the recipient’s. Third, there exists a social and political climate in which a provider-recipient relationship can be established. A great many achievements have been made as a result o f authoritative intervention. Improvements in health, nutrition, sanitation, safety, air and water quality, food production, and other consumer product developments have profoundly affected human welfare in the United States o f America (Summers, 1986). However, it can be inferred that the major weakness o f this approach centres largely on the locus of control in the development process. That is, who decides there is a problem in need of a solution and the best course o f action? And, who decides on the availability o f resources? Certainly the deciding voice is an external agent. Thus, authoritative intervention threatens local autonomy and a sense o f community. Client-centered intervention, on the hand, places great emphasis on political equality and popular sovereignty as the means by which citizens control their own lives. In this view, a primary function of the state is to guarantee every citizen's right to freedom o f expression. The most distinctive feature about this intervention strategy is the emphasis placed on the individual citizen; it is client-centered. Under this strategy, all people are believed to be 25 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh inherently active in searching for ways to satisfy their needs. Their behaviour is purposive, and experiences in their daily lives are continually and consciously evaluated for usefulness in satisfying their needs. People learn from their experiences and evolve workable systems of beliefs, values, and behaviours. Thus, this approach emphasizes active client involvement in working out programmes o f change. Hence, the change agent must learn to work in partnership with the client (local people), who actively participate in defining the problem, considering alternative solutions, assessing availability o f resources, and changing a course o f action. The fundamental premise o f radical reform is that it is only through major reformation o f the structure o f the local system, and ultimately o f society, that the objectives o f development can be realized. The strategy operates on the common assumption that the existing system incorporates injustice and inequalities which those in power perpetuate for their own benefits. Another assumption is that persons in power will not accept meaningful reforms willingly. Hence, changes that are necessary for truly significant improvements in human conditions can be achieved only by using power to alter the existing system fundamentally. Change agents committed to this theory' believe that the basis o f contemporary revolutionary movement lies in a proletarian class consciousness. Thus, worker mobilization is the first task o f the change agent pursuing radical reform. This is in line with the principle that when the oppressed are made aware of the true source o f their discomfort and misfortune, thev can be mobilised to challenge the power elite, and if possible, replace them through elections as a necessary condition for correcting major social injustices. The radical reform strategy incorporates a very wide range of tactical styles, from a nonviolent civil disobedience to an 26 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh extremely violent terrorism o f activists. It is based on ideologies which have considerable popularity among the intelligentsia, especially those with an urban orientation, but has very few practitioners in rural communities. It is however worth noting that among the strategies o f rural community development, radical reform is the most unusual. This is because rural community development projects and programmes rarely have been guided by the radical reform strategy. They are more commonly guided by a mixture o f authoritative and client-centered intervention strategies. In writing on strategies for rural integrated development, Kudiabor (1986) also identified three approaches as the "‘Social Amenity Approach”, the “ Increased Agricultural Production Approach” and the “Accelerated Project Implementation Approach” . The Social Amenity Approach lays emphasis on the provision to rural communities o f social services and amenities in the form of good drinking water, better housing, hospital facilities, health centres and posts, and schools among others. This strategy was pursued under various national comprehensive planning and community development programmes in Ghana. A number o f reasons have been advanced in support o f the “social amenity approach”. One such argument is that although rural communities have made considerable contributions to the overall development of the national economies o f developing countries by the production of basic agricultural raw materials for export to earn foreign exchange, they have been completely neglected in the distribution o f the good things o f life (Kudiabor, 1974 cited in Brown, 1986). It is also held that improvement in the health of the rural population through. 27 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh for example, the provision o f good drinking water and health facilities will result in increased productivity in the agricultural sector in rural areas o f the economy, which should eventually lead to overall national development. Brown (1986) confirms the above reason by noting that the provision o f the basic amenities in the rural areas might in the long run not only lead to increased productivity but also serve as a first step towards the achievement o f a balanced urban-rural development. However, it has been argued that as the sole strategy for rural development, the social amenity approach is an expensive one and the constraints o f costs alone will limit the speed with which central government funds can be spent on the provision o f basic social services to the rural communities (Kudiabor, 1970 cited in Brown, 1986). Thus, the sole adoption o f this approach for community development is not sustainable. As the name suggests, the increased agricultural production approach lays emphasis on increased agricultural production. Included in this strategy are elements such as improved feeder road network, better organized co-operative movements, availability o f improved seeds, livestock and farm machinery, and better storage, marketing and processing facilities in the rural areas as well as availability of credit on easy terms to the farmer. This approach was first adopted in Ghana in the early 1970s with the introduction o f the Operation Feed Yourself (OFY) which was aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in agricultural production (Brown, 1986). Cardinal to this approach is the argument that increased agricultural production will result in rising rural incomes which will enable the rural population to provide itself with some o f the basic social amenities and services generally lacking in rural areas. However, it is argued that the high cost o f living and prices o f foodstuffs as well as the under-utilization of land in the country during the implementation o f the programme were all 28 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh indicative o f the fact that as a development strategy, the increased agricultural production approach did not make a meaningful impact on the rural people and Ghanaians at large (Brovvn. 1986). The accelerated project implementation approach emphasizes the establishment o f effective machinery at the regional and district levels to monitor and ensure prompt and efficient implementation o f various projects and programmes outlined in annual budgets for rural community development. It is on record that Malaysia is an excellent example o f a country that has succeeded in making substantial improvements in the rural life in that country through the accelerated project improvement approach. In Ghana, this approach was first tried in 1968 (Brown, 1986). Hence, during this period Regional Planning Committees were established in each region o f the country to create, among other things, the framework w ithin which the execution o f development projects could be effectively monitored in each region (Ghana Government Two Year Development Plan, 1968). These Regional Planning Committees had the basic function o f identifying new opportunities for development, o f strengthening existing economic activities o f the government, o f reporting on progress being made on the execution o f development projects, and finally o f forging a link between the central government and private enterprise. However, Brown ( 1986) notes that the Regional Planning Committees failed to serve as a link in matters o f economic development between the regions and the central planning agency in Accra because they lacked sufficient authority and adequate budget to deal with local development issues transcending sectoral dimensions. This means appropriate structures were not put in place to empower the Regional Planning 29 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Committees to function effectively and deliver on their mandate o f facilitating rural development. A closer look at the activities o f rural banks in terms o f their social responsibilities and credit support for farmers shows that they employ more o f the social amenities and increased agricultural production approaches which are similar to the authoritative and client-centered strategies o f Summers’s (1986) rural community development strategies to facilitate community development in their operational areas. Credit has also been identified by many practitioners as an important tool for rural and community development. According to Nani-Nutako (1998) lack o f financial capital or lack of access to credit is a militating factor against farmers in financing their farm operations and is one o f the major underlying factors of low productivity in Ghana. In corroborating this view, Owusu-Acheampong (1986) notes that credit is one o f the most critical bottlenecks confronting Ghanaian rural farmers. It has been observed that this situation is as a result o f formal financial institutions being reluctant to reach rural people w ith credit because o f their inability to provide collateral security and the institutions perception o f high risks and costs of lending to the poor and small scale operators (Birgegard, 1993; Jones et al, 2000; Masanjala, 2004). This situation necessitated the institution of micro-credit as a strategy to serve the special needs o f farmers and rural dwellers to facilitate rural development. Tanko (2006) confirms this assertion by noting micro-credit and finance have been developed as a strategy for poverty alleviation and income generation for the poor. Miller and Martinez (2006) buttress Tanko’s (2006) point by stating that microfinance institutions located in rural 30 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh areas play an important role o f effectively providing low-cost credit to the rural poor especially women to help transform their lives. Fleschner (2000) also contends that improving access to financial credit for low income households is a vital part o f any rural development strategy, especially one designed to rectify long standing rural inequality and to generate broad-based growth. Besides, micro- credit has been used in some developing countries especially in Bangladesh as a panacea for a spectrum o f problems ranging from poverty alleviation through small enterprise development to shelter development (Memoire, 1998). These assertions all point to the fact that credit plays a vital role in rural development. Owusu-Acheampong (1986) asserts that credit plays the useful role o f a catalyst in the rural development process because with credit the fanner or rural poor can acquire the necessary inputs or resources to improve his farm operations or engage in a successful income generating activity to increase their incomes. Increased incomes lead to increased purchasing power and good nutrition which have desirable effects on the development process. In further stressing the importance o f credit to farming and community development, Owusu-Achampong (1986:97) notes: "Credit is the most critical factor in the Ghanaian rural farm ing situation. With credit, the unproductive traditional farm ing using simple tools and implements can be transformed into modern techniques o f farming. With credit, farmers can acquire or hire the sen ’ices o f farm machinery and equipment that can help them to increase their acreage. With credit, farmers can buy and use essential inputs such as fertilizers, improved seeds, insecticides, weedicides and pesticides. The critical point is that 31 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh with credit the farmer can increase his productivity which in turn would ensure greater farm output and increased income. With proper utilisation o f the increased income, the farmer can bring out considerable improvement in his welfare and living conditions. Thus, the individual farmers collectively can bring about considerable improvement in the community in which they live. ” It can therefore be deduced that credit especially micro-credit schemes if well administered to farmers and the rural poor can serve as a powerful instrument for rural development because it will facilitate increased production, increased incomes, better nutrition and consequently personal and community development. Perhaps, it is the recognition o f the vital role o f credit in community development that rural and community banks have been established and made to operate in rural communities to mobilized funds and give credit to farmers and rural dwellers under flexible conditions. Rural banks also collaborate with other agencies and institutions that are concerned with rural development as a strategy to facilitate community development. The partnership of development agencies such as District Assemblies, non-governmental organisations, central government and international aid agencies with rural banks is in view o f the strategic position and close relationship o f rural banks with rural communities. The partnership, in mam instances, has resulted in improved social and economic conditions o f local communities. For example, the Enhancing Child Nutrition through Animal Source Food Management (ENAM) project, an international programme coordinated by the University o f Ghana Collece of Agriculture is collaborating with three rural banks in Ghana to provide credit to rural 32 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh communities. The three rural banks include the Akyempim Rural Bank at Gomoa Dawurampong, the Fiagya Rural Bank at Nkuranza and the Naara Rural Bank at Paga in the Upper East Region. The main objective o f the project is to use credit to achieve increased animal protein in children's diet to reduce childhood malnutrition and enhance children's growth, health and cognitive development (University o f Ghana News File, 2008). This undoubtedly has the potential o f improving the health and income status o f beneficiary communities immensely. The project intervention is a great relief to beneficiary communities since poverty and malnutrition are quite high in rural areas compared to urban centres. 2.5 Organizations’ Social Responsibility All organizations, companies and businesses operate in a certain physical and social environment. They obtain resources (inputs) such as manpower, raw materials, land and even market (in terms o f clients and customers) from the environment in which they operate. This enables them to produce to ensure their survival. To achieve this, organizations and enterprises tend to maintain very cordial relationship with the societies or communities in which they operate by implementing certain programmes and projects aimed at improving the living conditions o f the people. These activities and projects implemented voluntarily to help improve upon the living conditions o f people in the communities in which they operate may be termed the Social Responsibilities o f organizations. According to Hess and Siciliano (1996) social responsibilities means that "organizations are expected not only to provide society with goods and services but also to contribute to the social well-being o f the communities where they operate". In some cycles, especially in the 33 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh business world, it is termed Corporate Social Responsibilities. Stuart and Steve (2007) quoting from the British Department o f Trade and Industry Corporate Responsibility Group, define corporate social responsibility as the management o f an organization’s total impact upon its immediate stakeholders and upon the society within which it operates. Le Jeune (2004) cited in Stuart and Steve (2007) on his part view corporate social responsibility as an umbrella term ‘for a positive relationship between an organization and the societies/stakeholder communities in which it operates.” Stuart and Steve (2007) argue that corporate social responsibility does not only impact positively on the reputation of an organization but also help to build goodwill amongst key stakeholders especially the community in which it operates. It can be inferred that a comprehensive corporate social responsibility programme can be used as a defense for an orginization in the event o f crisis between the organization and its operating community. Seventy per cent o f Chief Executives globally agree that corporate social responsibility is vital to profitability (Global CEO survey, 2002 in Stuart and Steve, 2007). This indicates that implementing development projects or activities for communities in which an organization operates does not only impact positively on its reputation and enhance goodwill but also, enables it earn the desired profit. Currently, there is little doubt that the ever conscious public at large expects businesses and other organizations to act with genuine social responsibility. Thus, as Schermerhom, (1996:57) notes: "The demands o f our complex social and economic climate all point toward ever-increasing expectations for organizations to integrate social responsibility into their core values and daily activities". The expectation o f society that 34 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh businesses and organizations need to pursue genuine social responsibility for the general good o f the people is summed up best by the comments o f Keith Davis as follows: Society wants businesses as well as all other major institutions to assume significant social responsibility, social responsibility has become the hall mark o f a mature, global organization. The business which vacillate or choose not to enter the arena o f social responsibility may fin d that it generally will sink into customer and public disfavor (Keith Davis in Schermerhorn. 1996:5 7). It can be inferred therefore that social responsibility does not only bring enormous benefits by way o f goodwill and favourable public opinion to businesses and organizations but also, is an exercise that society expects them to undertake to secure its unwritten license to operate. Business organizations therefore are increasingly expected to balance concerns for profit with considerations o f what is good for society. It is worth noting that it is not only society that expects businesses and organizations to be socially responsible to their operational areas but also governments are increasingly becoming interested. Stuart and Steve (2007:98) confirm this by contending that: "Governments across the world have encouraged corporate social responsibility activity but are however, hesitant in enacting and implementing stringent measures to ensure compliance by businesses and organizations ". Government’s interest in corporate social responsibility is due to its complementary role in local and national development. Consequently, examples o f social responsibility are everywhere, and are appearing at an ever-increasing rate. As part o f their corporate social 35 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh responsibility GHACEM Ghana Limited, donates thousands of bags o f cement annually to schools and communities across the country. The donations are meant for the construction of classrooms, toilets and other developmental projects. Another obvious example is the contribution o f $20 million by the leading Telecommunication Company in Ghana, MTN, to help solve the water problem in the Greater Accra Region as part o f their corporate social responsibility (Ali-Nakyea, 2008, GNA, 2008). There are many actions domain in which social responsibility can be pursued by organizations and other types of business firms. These include concerns for ecology and environmental quality, truth in lending and consumer protection, aid to education, service to community needs, employment practices affecting minorities and general corporate philanthropy (Schermerhom, 1996). In Ghana, the main areas that have received attention in terms o f social responsibilities by organizations include education, health, sanitation and environment, energy in terms o f rural electrification and water supply in the form o f drilling of bore holes especially in the rural areas. In a survey carried out by Laughbough University for the Economics in 1991, 1,800 British business people were asked what qualities contributed to a good, positive reputation o f companies and organizations. They came up with a list which includes community and environmental responsibility (Harrison. 1995). Similarly, in a survey conducted in 1993 among opinion leaders in the City o f London, the top six qualities o f the ‘ideal’ company could all be said to reflect corporate social responsibility. Among the qualities was high standard o f corporate ethics and respect for community contribution (OLR, 1993). I'he results o f the two research results clearly indicates that organizations and companies that design and implement valuable social 36 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh responsibility projects in communities in which they operate enjoy good will, good reputation, favourable public opinion and power. Harrison (1997; 130) endorses this assertion by noting that “if organizations wish to maintain their positions o f power in a pluralistic society, they must accept their societal responsibilities.” There are. however, two constricting views on social responsibility prevailing in academic and public policy circles. As cited by Schermerhom (1996), the classical view holds that management's only responsibility in running a business is to maximize profits. This view is supported by Milton Friedman who argues that “the very foundations o f our free society would be undermined if corporate officials’ accepted any social responsibility other than to make as much money for their stockholders as possible” (Friedman, 1982 in Harrison, 1997:130). Among the reasons advanced by critiques against social responsibility are: loss of profits, increased costs, and lack o f business accountability to the public. In contrast, the social economic view holds that every organization must be concerned for the broader social welfare, and not just for corporate profits. This broad-based model is supported by Samuelson (1971) and Davis (1967), a distinguished economics and a respected management theorist respectively. Samuelson states: “A large corporation these days may not only engage in social responsibility, it had damn well better try to do so" (Samuelson 1971 cited in Schermerhom, 1996: 57). On his part Davis argues that “the corollary to no responsibility is “no power” (Davis cited in Harrison 1997: 130). This implies that organizations must accept their social responsibilities in order to gain power to operate effectively in their operational areas. Arguing in favour o f social responsibility, Harrison (1997:129) contends that “companies ignore corporate social responsibility at their own peril”. Some reasons stated for 37 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh social responsibility by proponents are: Long-run profits, better public image, improved quality o f life in communities, better environment, less government intervention and good reputation. The inability o f governments to enforce stringent measures for compliance has been attributed to their concern about frightening companies and organizations away from investing in their countries, and all the associated implications for jobs and regional policy that this would have (Stuart and Steve. 2007). Rural banks have a legislative mandate to provoke the participation o f rural people in banking so as to improve the rural economy and for that matter enhance rural development. To achieve this mandate rural banks need goodwill, favourable public opinion, good reputation and trust o f the communities they serve. Since one sure way o f achieving all the above mentioned factors is engaging in corporate social responsibility, rural banks cannot afTord to ignore it. Sir Augustine (2006), Past Board Chairman o f Naara Rural Bank corroborates this assertion by noting that: Rural banks are not ju st there to benefit their shareholders but they also owe some social responsibility to the communities within which they operate. The Naara Rural Bank is conscious o f this social commitment and has over the wars endeavoured to live up to expectation within its small profit margins (p. 22). This implies that major players within the rural bank industry are very much aware of their development role in their operational areas and will not shirk that responsibility for any reason. Wiredu-Peprah (2008) corroborates this view by contending that rural banks in Ghana have adhered to corporate social responsibility in their catchment areas in the provision of schools, street lights and sponsorship o f brilliant but needy students in various 38 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh institutions. In view o f this, some rural banks in Ghana have supported development projects in their operational communities. For example, the Amanano Rural Bank constructed a four classroom block for Nyinahin Catholic Junior High Shool in the Ashanti Region (GNA, 2006) while Wamfie Rural Bank constructed a public library for the Wamfie community in the Brong and Ahafo Region (GNA, 2009). In addition, Assinman Rural Bank in Assin Manso in the Central Region o f Ghana donated generators to the Manso Health Centre for the preservation o f vaccines during power outages and connected electricity to the District Assembly's Junior High School to facilitate the use o f computers in the school as part o f its social responsibility to the district (GNA, 2009). 2.5.1 Social Responsibility Strategies The success o f every task or activity to be executed will depend on the strategy employed to execute it. The strategy to be adopted is also dependent on the objective o f the activity, the environment in terms o f competition and above all, the time o f execution o f the activity or project In implementing social responsibility programmes in communities, organizations need to employ effective strategies to achieve success. Several strategies abound for selection in implementing corporate social responsibility o f organizations. Schermerhom (1996) provides four (4) strategies o f social responsibility. They include the obstructionist strategy, defensive strategy, accommodative strategy and the proactive strategy. An obstructionist strategy reflects mainly economic priorities; hence, social demands lying outside the organization’s perceived self-interests are resisted. Therefore, if the organization is criticized for wrong doings, it can be expected to deny the claims. A defensive strategy of social responsibility, on the other hand, seeks to protect the organization by doing the minimum 39 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh legally required to satisfy expectations. If criticized, intentional wrongdoing is likely to be denied, but a legally acceptable response will be made. An organization following a defensive strategy will probably meet the criterion of legal responsibility, but often only because o f outside pressure. Organizations pursuing an accommodative strategy accept their social responsibilities. They try to satisfy criteria o f economic, legal and ethical responsibility. Corporate behaviour at this level is congruent with society’s prevailing norms, values, and expectations, but it may only be so at times because o f outside pressures. Finally, the proactive strategy is designed to meet all the criteria o f social performance, including discretionary performance. Corporate behaviour at this level takes preventive action to avoid adverse social impacts from company activities, and it even anticipates or takes the lead in identifying and responding to emerging social issues. The question which needs redress at this moment is "which strategy and at which level o f corporate behaviour do rural banks operate to implement their social responsibility? It is anticipated that as organizations that are expected to influence rural development, rural banks will employ both accommodative and proactive strategies in implementing social responsibility programmes in their operational areas. This is because both strategies are useful in helping organizations to meet all criteria of social performance. Thus anything that is inimical to society is avoided whilst programmes deemed beneficial to society are undertaken. 40 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.6 Sustainability o f Development Projects The concept o f sustainable development came to the fore when it was realised that the natural resources of the world were being depleted indiscriminately for present need without regards to the needs o f the future. The depletion o f natural resources is quite serious in developing countries since resources such as gold, diamond, timber, bauxite, petroleum and wildlife among a host o f others abound in most o f these countries. The developed world, since the colonial period, has been dependent on developing countries for natural resources for their development purposes (Converys and Hills, 1984). Since the developing countries after independence also desired to attain economic growth similar to the developed world they have tended to harvest and export more o f their natural resources to obtain much foreign exchange to meet their developmental needs. However, the way and manner these resources are being exploited for export and other economic gains are without any provision for future needs. Seeing this trend as a danger and threat for the survival o f future generations, international bodies such as the United Nations (UN), the World Bank and international non­ governmental organisations (NGO) raised concerns which culminated in the concept of sustainable development in the early 1990s. Perhaps the 1992 Earth Summit of the United Nations held in Rio de Janeiro was an important milestone in the history o f sustainable development (Commonwealth Youth Programme, Module 13, 2001). The summit which witnessed over hundred Heads o f State and one hundred and seventy eight representatives o f nations as well as countless representatives o f non-govemmental organisations was very strong on its call for sustainable development. The summit came out with a major action agenda called ‘Agenda 21' which 41 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh was a blueprint on how to make development socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. Some o f the strategies outlined in the agenda to achieve sustainable development include: i. Environmental protection should constitute an integral part o f any development process and should not be isolated from it. ii. Poverty eradication in order to decrease the disparities in standards o f living. iii. Strengthening endogenous capacity building. iv. Providing opportunity for all including local people to participate effectively in decision making processes in development v. Encouraging full participation o f women and the youth in environmental management and development vi. Effective mobilization o f the creativity, ideals and courage o f the youth vii. Peace promotion Apart from the Agenda 21 o f the Rio de Jeneiro Earth Summit, some development writers have also recognised local participation as a strategy for ensuring sustainable development projects. For example, Oakley and Marsden (1984) argue that participation is not only an end in itself but also a fundamental pre-condition for a successful and long-lasting development. According to them, if local people are actively involved in any community project, they will commit themselves to the support of the project for its success and sustainability. This implies that without effective involvement o f local people in development projects and programmes implemented by rural banks in their operational areas, their success and sustainability cannot be assured. 42 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In discussing how local participation can be enlisted Rifkin (1990) cited in Sylvester (2008) has identified five levels o f participation by local people in community development. According to Rifkin. the first level is where local people participate minimally or most passively in the benefits o f projects in the form o f service or education. At the second level, local people can participate in programme activities such as support for health facilities through in-kind or cash contributions and assuming roles as health providers or workers. The third level involves implementation, where local people assume managerial responsibilities including decision making about how activities are to be managed. The fourth level concerns programme monitoring and evaluation. The fifth level, according to Sylvester (2008), is the most important level o f participation because at that level local people are offered the opportunity to participate in planning as well as in the translation o f their own felt needs into true grassroots development. It can be inferred that the latter type o f Rifkin’s levels o f participation demonstrates a higher level o f community participation in local development. This is because it has the potential o f equipping local people with the ability to initiate and implement development projects on sustainable basis. Cohen et al (1980) seems to endorse this assertion by noting that participation in planning and evaluation by local people is the most important o f all kinds o f local participation because it offers local people a sense of empowerment and ownership o f projects. This implies that local participation in planning and evaluation leads to project sustainability because a community that is empowered and sees a project as its own will work to ensure the continuity o f that project. Another important element that impinges on sustainable community development is the extent to which communities are organized. A well organized community is most likely to 43 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh plan, initiate, implement and manage development projects and programmes sustainably for the benefit o f its members. This is consistent with Weinberg (2000)’s argument that a well- organized community is one that is able to define what it wants to accomplish and is able to do so to the extent that it is well organized. This shows that communities can only succeed in defining what they want to accomplish if they are able to engage in effective planning and consultation. Effective planning, on the other hand, is achievable if communities are well organized. This is in view o f the fact that it is easy to carry out consultation and build consensus on development issues which shall be accepted by all and viewed as their own in well- organized communities. When communities view a project as their own other than that o f a funding agency they are more likely to manage it well to ensure its long life and, for that matter, its sustainability. Inherent in well- organized communities is the presence o f local mobilization. Thus local mobilization also matter in sustainable community development. This is because, as Flora et al (1997) notes, local mobilization firstly depersonalizes controversy, thereby allowing communities to engage in the conflicts necessary to solve problems without fractionalizing. Secondly, it solicits participation from a diversity of individuals and institutions, thereby helping to mobilize the available resources within a community; and thirdly, it assists in the formation o f community networks, linking groups internally to one another and linking the community to regional and national networks. It can be inferred therefore that local mobilization helps to foster unity among community members and increase the potential resource base o f the communities. Since resources are crucial in community project management and survival, local mobilization brings about sustainability of community development projects. 44 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Weinberg's theory o f Rural Sustainable Economic Development confirms the role o f local mobilization in sustainable community development. The theory states that effective local mobilization in the presence o f enabling elements will create high-road industries which would lead to sustainable community development (Weinberg, 2000:184). Figure 2 diagrams the theory : , jtfY Qc Processes Local mobilization T Incentives Enablers Goal Entrepreneurial Economic Social «-* Capacity Infrastructure I I Social Chance High —► Road - Industries Outcome Sustainable Community Development Figure 2: A theory o f rural sustainable economic development Source: Adopted from Weinberg, 2000 As shown in Figure 1, local mobilization is the first most important step towards sustainable community development. Incentives play a major role in the process o f local mobilization as they encourage communities to believe that things can be done. Incentives also help local people to have hope and therefore get motivated to engage in local mobilization activities. The incentives can be financial or intangible such as seeing that mobilization will pay off. Figure I further shows that enabling factors such as entrepreneurial social infrastructure (ESI), economic capacity and social chance are required in addition to local mobilization to create High-Road Industries for the achievement of sustainable community development. Entrepreneurial social infrastructure (ESI) refers to certain kinds o f interactions and manners 45 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of collectively approaching problems that represent an additional ‘bundle’ o f factors contributing to a locality’s ability to respond to challenges in a rapidly changing context (Flora et al, 1997). Capacity on the other hand implies availability o f resources for development purposes while social chance is defined by Sibeon (1999:84) as the “contingent and indeterminate phenomena that are unplanned and which do not extend widely across time and / or social space.” Weinberg (2000) states an example o f social chance in community development as the presence o f an active person, an expert, and an organization or institution interested in an intended developmental activity. High-Road industries are described by Harrison (1997) as producers that employ the best workers and the latest technology to yield products o f a high value. Production in High-Road industries as carried out in smaller facilities where workers and managers can concentrate on mastering a small range o f tasks. In Ghana, High-Road industries are likened to small and medium scale enterprises and cottage industries. Weinberg (2000) has identified three elements that are essential for a successful creation o f High - Road industries as human capital, physical infrastructure, and adequate financing. Adequate financing for successful creation and operation o f High-Road industries in rural communities in Ghana is within the purview o f rural banks. Rural banks are expected to live up to expectation in this direction. 2.7 Building Local Capacity for Development The primary responsibility for economic and social growth and survival has gradually shifted from the national government to communities and their local governments. In Ghana, this shift begun with the operationalization o f the decentralization concept in 1988. The shift also 46 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh resulted in the introduction o f a development strategy commonly referred to as locality-based development or self-development which Foster (1991) notes has become the objective of many communities. As a result, building the capacity o f community has become the prime determinant o f socio-economic development and thus, governmental performance (McGuire et al. 1994). However, the rapid devolution o f legal powers and administrative responsibilities to sub national units o f government such as the district assemblies in Ghana as enshrined in the decentralization processes has, according to Liner (1989), left some localities ill-prepared and unequipped to meet the demands placed on them to develop themselves. It has been observed that the issue o f insufficient development capacity is more prevalent in rural communities than in urban areas (Sears et al, 1992). This implies that agencies that are interested in rural development must endeavour to first solve the issue o f insufficient development capacity in rural communities. This can be achieved through capacity building o f local people as well as organizations and institutions concerned with local development efforts. Community capacity building is based on the premise that community sustainability can be improved over time. The issue o f capacity building for local development is critical and the scale o f need is enormous, but the appreciation o f the problem, especially in developing countries like Ghana, is low. This may be due to the narrow meaning ascribed to the concept o f capacity building as staff development through formal education and training programmes. However, Williamson et al (2003) notes that the term capacity building has many different meanings and interpretations depending on the context in which it is used even though it is generally related to education, training and human resource development. 47 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In adopting a definition from the workshop on capacity building in Land Administration for Developing countries in Netherland. Groot and Van Molen (2000) cited in Rajabiford and Williamson (2004:2) contend that capacity building is: "The development o f knowledge, skills and attitudes in individuals and groups o f people relevant in design, development, management and maintenance o f institutional and operational infrastructures and processes that are locally meaningful" Although this is a broader approach to the concept, it still focuses mainly on education, training and human resource development. Based on this definition, local capacity building may be referred to as improvements in the ability o f all involved parties such as community' members, chiefs, assembly members, non-governmental organisations, rural banks and community-based organisations to perform appropriate tasks to bring about development in the community. According to the UNDP (1998) cited in Rajabiford and Williamson (2004). capacity is the ability o f individuals and organizations or organizational units to perform functions effectively, efficiently and sustainably. This definition indicates that capacity is not a passive state but is part o f a continuing process which brings about efficiency and sustainable development. However, Frank and Smith (1999) views community capacity as ways and means needed to do what has to be done. According to them: Capacity is referred to as including the following components: People who are willing to he involved: skills, knowledge and abilities, wellness and 48 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh community health; ability to identify and access opportunities; motivation and the wherewithal to carryout initiatives; infrastructure, supportive institutions and physical resources; leadership and the structures needed fo r participation; economic and financial resources; and enabling policies and systems (p. 10). It can be inferred from this definition that the presence o f an organization and effective leadership in a community is indicative o f capacity for development in that community. In this regard, the presence o f rural banks in rural communities in Ghana is a sign of development capacity o f rural communities. However, it is not yet known whether the presence o f Naara Rural Bank in the Kasena-Nanakana Districts is an indication of development capacity for its service - communities. 2.7.1 Characteristics of Community Capacity It is important to determine the characteristics that show that a community possesses a development capacity or not. According to Frank and Smith (1999). capacity or the lack o f it is reflected in the people, economy, environment, culture, attitude and appearance o f the community. Hence they observe that an indication that capacity is developing within a community is when: • People in the community are active, interested and participating in what is going on. • They are questioning, challenging and debating what should be done but not complaining that nothing will ever change. 49 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh • More and more people are getting involved in community matters, identifying key issues and taking action. They further contend that the results o f building or increasing capacity can be measured. They have outlined the following as the outcomes o f community capacity building: > Stronger community relation: healthier people, carrying families and welcoming communities; > An increased number o f community-based opportunities identified; > The enhanced ability o f community members to share their ideas on a course of action: > Increased competency in setting and realizing common goals; > An enhanced respect for limited resources, including people so that shortages. duplications or waste are minimized; > An increased awareness o f the importance o f protecting, advocating for and improving the conditions for economics and environments; > Skilled leadership; > An increased interest from young people to become future leaders; and > An increased ability to handle disappointment, threats and hazards to community pride and well-being. The Naara Rural Banks efforts to build local capacity can therefore be measured against its contribution towards ensuring the occurrence of these outcomes in its service communities. 50 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.7.2 Ways o f Building Local Capacity There are several ways by which local capacity building for community development can be achieved. According to UNESCO, mobilizing resources in schools and communities is the first step for improving local capacity building. In addition, community involvement in planning activities and providing services such as education, health, and skills training is crucial for building local capacity; hence space should be created for meaningful participation and empowerment o f all groups in the local society (file://H:\ UNESCO Bangkok Local capacity building community development.htm). This implies local participation and empowerment are crucial in building capacities o f rural communities to facilitate community development. This therefore calls for the need for rural banks to strive to secure the participation o f their service communities in all their development activities as well as roll out products and services that will empower the local people to be able to engage in personal and community development. McGuire et al (1994) provide three broad factors that generate community capacity for development as: citizen participation, community structure and development instruments. Citizen participation Citizen participation is comprised o f three important indicators namely: the ability to accept change and controversy as part o f the development process, recognition o f the community's strengths and weaknesses, and the presence o f effective mechanisms for generating participation from community members. Communities with capacity in citizen participation have regular community-wide meetings or discussions o f development issues; use these 51 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh meetings and other public institutions to resolve conflict and controversy, and gain consensus on how to capitalize on the community's development strengths. On the other hand, communities without capacity in this area easily explode over controversies and divide during times o f crisis. Community Structure Community structure addresses management in governmental institutions, formal linkages with other communities and higher levels o f governments and participation in development activities. It is thus measured with indicators that address the dispersement o f community leadership roles, the presence o f a strategic vision or direction for development, linkages with other communities and government, and the involvement o f local community groups and organizations (McGuire et al, 1994). This assertion implies that the presence o f dispersed leadership, where formal and informal leadership positions are rotated so that “more than one person” is at the forefront o f local development concerns as well as shared vision for development in a community are indicative of local capacity for development. It further implies that communities whose leaders endeavour to establish cordial relationship with other communities that are successful in development in order to learn from them show that they have capacity for development. Furthermore, an important component of high-capacity communities is the presence o f well developed horizontal and vertical linkages. A community involved in multicommunity development efforts, either formally through intercommunity partnership and regional development organisations or informally by seeking out "project-specific know-how" from neighbouring communities is viewed as possessing adequate horizontal linkages (Cigler, 52 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1991 in McGuire et al, 1994). On the other hand, communities have vertical linkages if they have connection or direct relationship with development agencies and higher levels of government. In addition, a community is also viewed to have a high capacity for development if it possesses a lead agency and fosters the involvement o f local groups and organizations. According to Gittel (1990), a lead agency acts as the organizing agent in local economic development and is the dominant institution responsible for organizing and co­ ordinating the development efforts o f the community on a day-to-day basis. Development Instruments Development instruments as capacity factor measure the degree to which appropriate and effective policy tools are used by communities. There are three indicators for this factor. The first, according to Rodale and Lehman (1991) is the presence and enthusiastic promotion o f activities that enhance community spirit such as festivals. The second is improvements to the physical infrastructure (roads and water), institutional infrastructure (schools and medical facilities), and civic infrastructure (parks and community centres) o f the communities (Gillis, 1991). The third is the success o f major business expansions or start-ups and an appropriate development focus (McGuire et al, 1994). The first indicator shows that festivals are capacity building tools that local communities can use to promote their development. This assertion is corroborated by Nukunya (2003) and Bonye (2006). According to Nukunva (2003). traditional festivals are used by rural communities as platforms to dialogue with policy makers and politicians for development projects. Bonye (2006:5) on his part assert that: Traditional authorities and service providers use festivals as fo ra to give account o f their actions in relation to development activities and also make a 53 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh passionate appeal fo r and on behalf o f the community to governments, non­ governmental organizations and politicians on development policies that border on them. The general outcomes fo r both traditional and contemporary roles are to enhance and initiate community development programmes. He further notes that during festivals, the chiefs and people appeal for funds for such development projects as schools, libraries, health centres and provision o f streetlights. This implies that festivals and community meetings serve as platforms where communities mobilize both human and material resources to initiate development. Chinwe (2006) contends that Africare’s (an International non-governmental organisation based in Uganda) model for capacity building o f local non-governmental organisations can also be adopted for building capacities o f local leaders. This model involves training in proposal writing, budget formulation, project implementation systems, fund raising, accessing credit, performance monitoring, report writing, network building and advocacy skills. Although this capacity building model is designed for non-govemmental organisations, some aspects o f the training such as proposal design, fund raising, accessing credit, network buildings and advocacy skills can be organized for communities especially community leaders to enhance their competencies in mobilizing resources for development efforts. According to Counterpart International, another essential mechanism for capacity building is partnership development because partnerships give a local non-governmental organisation access to knowledge and skills, innovative and proven methodologies, networking and 54 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh funding opportunities; replicable models for addressing community needs and management resources; options for organizational management and governance; and strategies for advocacy, government relations and public outreach(//H:/Defining Capacity Building.htm). This assertion by Counterpart International seems to corroborate Africare’s capacity building model for local non-governmental organisations. It is envisaged that Naara Rural Bank in particular and rural banks in general are facilitating the training o f their service communities and local non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations in this direction to promote local development. On their part, Rubin and Rubin (2008) note that capacity building is achieved through participatory' meetings. They argue that: Meetings are about expanding collective involvement in social change work. Information shared at meeting increases the competence o f people to act. More specialized meetings build capacity by presenting knowledge on techniques. At decision making meetings organization members and leaders come together to work out action strategies (p. 213). This means that the presence o f regular meetings in a community to discuss development issues is an indicative o f development capacity. Therefore agencies concerned with rural development such as rural banks are expected to encourage their serv ice communities to hold regular meetings to deliberate on their development concerns. This way they will be seen to be contributing to building local capacity for development. 55 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction This chapter outlines the various steps and procedures taken to carry out the study. It identifies the population and sample o f the study. It further describes the research design, the sampling technique, the data collection instruments and procedure and the method o f data analysis. Issues o f validity and reliability are also addressed in this chapter. 3.2 Population o f the Study The population o f the study is considered as the total number o f all units o f the phenomenon to be investigated that exists in the area o f investigation (Kumekpor. 2002). The target population for this study consisted o f all adults (18 years and above) in the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts including the Naara Rural Bank’s management and staff, customers and non customers o f the bank and opinion leaders o f the communities. 3 3 The Sample o f the Study One hundred and eighty one (181) respondents were selected for the study. One hundred and eighty (180) respondents were drawn from a total o f 1,786 adults from ten randomly selected communities in the two districts in addition to the manager o f the bank. 3.4 Sampling Design and Procedure Probability or random sampling design was employed to draw the sample for data collection. This is because in a survey study probability sampling is more likely to yield a sample that 56 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh truly represents the population (Neuman, 2007) to allow for generalization to the population. Specifically, the multi-stage random sampling technique was adopted. The multi-stage sampling involved selecting a sample for investigation in stages where more units o f the population were excluded at each stage thereby making the final sample less scattered for easy reach (Kumekpor. 2002). The multi-stage sampling technique was used because the population o f the study area was large and scattered over a large geographical area. It was also selected to help reduce distance between samples in order to reduce transport cost and travel time. The first stage o f the sampling process involved the random selection o f ten electoral areas from fifty four (54) electoral areas in the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts. Five electoral areas each were selected from the two districts. The names o f the electoral areas in each district were compiled and serially labeled on pieces o f paper. They were put into a container and reshuffled. Five electoral areas were then randomly picked in each district. In the case o f the Kassena-Nankana West District the electoral areas selected were Gunwonko (Sirigu), Budunu, Aboania, Paga Nania and Nakolo whilst the selected electoral areas in the Kassena-Nankana East District included Gia, Vunania, Doba. Nayagenia and Korania. Table 3.1 shows the ten electoral areas that were selected. The second stage o f the sampling process involved the random selection o f one community each from the ten selected electoral areas for the purpose o f collection. The names of the communities in each selected electoral area were compiled and serially labeled on pieces of paper. The pieces o f paper were put into a container and reshuffled. One community was 57 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh then randomly picked from each of the electoral area to constitute ten communities where data was collected. Table 3.1 shows the names o f the ten communities that were selected. The list o f the electoral areas and their communities was obtained from the Budget and Planning Department o f the Kassena-Nankana West and East District Assemblies and used as the sampling frame for the random selection of the electoral areas and the communities. The third and final stage involved the selection o f subjects from the ten selected communities. Due to the uneven nature o f the population o f the ten selected communities, proportionate allocation technique was adopted to select 10 percent sample size from each community. The 10 percent proportional allocation o f subjects and the sample size for each selected community is shown in Table 3 .1. 58 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 3.1 Sampled Electoral Areas and Communities and Proportional Sample Sizes Name o f Sampled Electoral Area Name of Sampled Community Adult Population in Sampled Community 10% Proportion Sample Size Kassena Nankana West District Gunwonko (Sirigu) Puwelingo 299 10/100x299 30 Budunu Nyania 78 10/100x78 8 Aboania Nayenia 97 10/100x97 10 Paga Nania Chanyono 319 10/100x319 32 Nakolo Kassili 95 10/100x95 10 Kassena Nankana East District Gia Gia Nangwao 253 10/100x253 25 Vunania Wusango 118 10/100 x 118 12 Doba Kandago 57 10/100x57 6 Nayagenia Yibanabia 150 10/100 x 150 15 Korania Yogbania 320 10/100 x 320 32 Total 1,786 180 After the proportionate sample size was determined as shown in Table 3.1, four categories of respondents were identified and sampled for data collection in each community. The four categories o f respondents included the chiefs. Assembly men, clients and non-clients o f the bank. The researcher identified the four categories o f respondents in order to ensure that the views of the different groups in the communities were captured. Equal numbers o f clients 59 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and non-clients o f the bank were selected as respondents in each sampled community except for Gia Nongwao and Yibanabia communities where the number o f the selected bank clients was one more than the non-clients. This was made possible because the bank has clients in all communities in the districts. The chiefs and Assembly men/women were purposively selected in each community due to their unique nature. The non-clients o f the bank were also accidentally selected due to the absence o f a list o f non-clients in the selected communities. However, the lists o f clients of the bank for the selected communities were obtained from the bank and used as sampling frames for the random selection o f the client respondents. The lottery method o f the simple random sampling technique was used. The names o f all the clients in each sampled community were written on pieces o f paper. The pieces o f paper were put into a container and shuffled. The pieces o f paper were picked from the container one after the other without replacement until the sample size o f clients for each community was obtained. The pieces o f paper in the container were reshuffled after each picking to ensure that every member had an equal chance o f being selected. For instance, in the Puwelingo community where a proportional sample size o f 30 was allotted, the chief and assemblyman were purposively selected while 14 non-clients o f the bank selected accidentally. In addition, 14 clients o f the bank were randomly selected to constitute 30 respondents for the Puwelingo community. The Naara Rural Bank was also purposively selected as key respondent to provide relevant information on the topic. In all, one hundred 180 community respondents (comprising 10 chiefs, 10 assemblymen, 79 non­ 60 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh clients o f the bank and 81 clients o f the bank) and the bank itself constituting a total o f 181 respondents were sampled for the purpose o f data collection for the study. 3.5 Research Design The research design adopted for the study was the descriptive survey method. Survey involves the collection o f primary data to measure variables and to answer questions concerning the immediate status o f the subject matter under focus. Survey also asks many people called respondents about their beliefs, opinions, experiences, characteristics, knowledge and past or present behaviour (Neuman, 2007). This design was adopted because it enabled the researcher to gather primary data from a large number o f people by asking them questions to tap their opinions, experiences and knowledge to measure the contribution o f Naara Rural Bank to community development in the Kassena-Nankana Districts. The choice o f the survey design for the study is consistent with Kreuger and Neuman (2006) and Neuman’s (2007) assertion that survey researchers measure many variables, test multiple hypotheses, and infer temporal order from questions about past behaviour, experiences, knowledge, opinions, or characteristics. The adoption o f the descriptive survey is further consistent with Kerlinger (1973) and Fraenkel and Wallen's (2003) notion that descriptive survey method is the most appropriate means o f obtaining data on personal and social facts when studying large populations and when the study involves selecting and studying samples chosen from the population to discover the relative distributions and interrelations of variables. The survey design therefore enabled the researcher to generalize the findings obtained from the sample to the whole population. 61 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.6 Research Instruments The main instruments for data collection for the study were questionnaire and interview schedule. The self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from the manager of Naara Rural Bank since his literacy level was very high. On the other hand, the interview schedule was used in a face-face interaction to illicit responses from community members because they were predominantly non-literates. 3.6.1 Questionnaire The questionnaire contained 19-items. It was divided into four sections - A, B, C and D in line with the objectives o f the study. Section A dealt with programmes for community development. In this section, a question was posed for Naara Rural Bank to indicate the programmes it has implemented to facilitate socio-economic development in its service communities. Section B focused on the corporate social responsibility o f the bank whilst section C touched on sustainability o f projects executed by bank. Section D dealt with how local capacity could be built to facilitate community development. The questionnaire was constructed to consist o f both closed and open-ended questions. The closed-ended questions enabled respondents to give straight-forward answers by selecting from a list o f options provided by the researcher. It also made it easy to code and analyse. This is consistent with the assertion by Fraenkel and Wallen (2003) that surveys rely on closed-ended questions to measure opinions, attitudes and knowledge o f people for easy quantitative analysis. The open-ended questions on the other hand afforded respondents the opportunity to express their opinions on some key issues. 62 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.6.2 Interview Schedule The interview schedule was designed for the community members because they were largely non-literates. It also consisted o f four sections - A, B, C and D but with 14-items. It was designed in the same order and pattern like the questionnaire. It also contained similar questions like the questionnaire except that some questions posed in the questionnaire for the bank were not posed in the interview schedule for the community members. 3.7 Data Collection Procedure Permission was granted by the Kassena-Nankana Central and West District Assemblies for the researcher to go into the communities and collect data after he presented an official letter from the Institute o f Continuing and Distance Education, University o f Ghana, Legon. A similar letter was presented to the Naara Rural Bank manager and permission was granted to administer the questionnaire to him. The chiefs and opinion leaders in the selected communities were also contacted with the help of some natives for permission before data was collected. This gave the researcher the privilege to have easy access to data from the people in the communities. After the random selection o f the respondents they were located individually in their homes and at work places to respond to the interview schedule. An introduction was first made by the interviewer in a way as to establish rapport with the respondent. After establishing the rapport, the questions in the instrument was read to the respondent in the local language (Kasem) for him or her to answer while the interviewer recorded the answers. Due to lack of 63 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh time, five research assistants who were fluent in Kasem were recruited and trained to assist in the data collection. Besides the primary data, secondary data was also collected. Data from documentary materials on the bank's activities such as annual and evaluation reports was sourced. In addition, observation o f physical projects executed by the bank in the some communities was carried out to gather data. In-depth informal interview with some community respondents was also conducted to collect data. 3.8 Validity and Reliability The validity o f the data collection instruments was achieved by ensuring that the self­ administered questionnaire was administered to only literate respondents and face-to-face interview schedules used to collect data from non-literate respondents. In addition, the researcher ensured that the research assistants recruited were adequately trained in the concepts used in the instrument which enabled them to interpret the questions appropriately to the understanding o f the respondents to illicit the right responses. They were also trained on how to record responses from respondents. Furthermore, very simple language was used in wording the questions to facilitate easy understanding by both the interviewers and the respondents. This ensured that the instrument elicited responses that measured variables that it intended to measure. The instruments were given to colleagues for editing and later, to the supervisors o f the study for final editing and confirmation o f its suitability. The instruments were pre-tested in the 64 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh service-communities o f Bonzali Rural Bank in Tamale. This was because the operations of Naara and Bonzali Rural Banks were similar and the characteristics o f their service communities were also similar. The service communities o f both rural banks are engaged in subsistence farming and small scale businesses. The results o f the pre-test were used to rephrase difficult, vague and ubiquitous questions in order to make the instruments more reliable to illicit the desired responses from the respondents. The reliability o f the results was ensured by subjecting the field data to thorough editing to remove contradictions, errors and inconsistencies before analyzing. The variety o f data collection methods used such as questionnaire, interview schedule, observation and data mining from documents also assisted in cross-checking and editing wrong answers from respondents which enhanced the reliability o f the results. 3.9 Method o f Data Analysis The primary data from the field was edited to remove errors and inconsistencies before coding. The coded data was then fed into a computer and quantified using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The results obtained from the analysis were presented using tables and charts. The descriptive method was used to analyze the qualitative data obtained from the open- ended questions. The responses from the open-ended questions were analyzed by grouping them into themes and sub-themes. Major findings from the analysis were noted and used for discussions in chapter five. 65 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FOUR PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF RESULTS 4.1 Introduction This chapter focuses on the presentation of results o f analysed data obtained from the respondents. The results o f the study are presented under the following headings: programmes for socio-economic development, corporate social responsibility, project sustainability and local capacity building for development. 4.2 Programmes by Naara Rural Bank to Facilitate Socio-economic Development This section presents results on programmes undertaken by Naara Rural Bank alone as well as those implemented in collaboration with other agencies to facilitate socio-economic development in its service communities. Respondents were asked to indicate the programmes undertaken by the bank to facilitate socio-economic development in their communities. The purpose was to enable the researcher determine the type o f programmes employed by Naara Rural Bank to facilitate socio-economic development in its service communities. Table 4.1 shows the summary o f the responses on undertaken solely by the bank. 66 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.1 Programmes by Naara Rural Bank Programmes Executed by the Bank Frequency Percent Farmers loan support 168 92.8 Linking farmers to extension officers for technical support 139 76.8 Organising unemployed people and supporting them with micro-credit to go into income generating activities 181 100 Linking communities to other agencies for development support 37 20.4 Child education promotion through savings 90 49.7 Source: Field Survey, 2010 Total Respondents = 181 Results are in multiple responses Table 4.1 reveals that a large majority o f the respondents believe the two most important programmes that Naara Rural Bank implemented to facilitate socio-economic development in its service communities were farmers’ loan support (92.8 percent) and organising unemployed people and supporting them with micro-credit to go into income generating activities (100 percent). Table 4 .1 further shows that very few o f the respondents constituting 20.4 percent indicated that the bank linked its service communities to other agencies for development support. A further question was posed to the bank to enumerate the programmes it has implemented in collaboration with other agencies to facilitate socio-economic development in its service communities. Table 4.2 shows the response o f the bank 67 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.2 Programmes Undertaken by Naara Rural Bank (NRB) in Collaboration with other Agencies to Facilitate Socio-economic Development Collaborative Agency o f NRB Programme Executed Year Beneficiary Community IFAD Micro-credit for farmers for food security 1993 Navrongo, Paga, Chiana LACOSREP Micro-credit for the informal sector 1996 Sandema, Navrongo, Bolga OXFAM Micro-credit for the informal sector 2002 Chiana, Paga Social Investment Fund Micro-credit for the informal sector 2004 Sirigu, Kandiga, Paga Felix Foundation Micro-credit for women in the informal sector 2004/ 2007 Chiana, Tongo, Bongo FABS \ icro-credit for farmers for food security 2005 All communities in the Kassena-Nankana District TRIAS Credit with Education for women in the informal sector 2007 Gia, Korania. Bonia ENAM Project Promotion o f nutrition to reduce under-5 mortality 2008 Gia, Wuru, Bonia Source: Field Data, 2010 Table 4.2 reveals that the Naara Rural Bank has collaborated with a number o f agencies to implement various programmes in several communities to facilitate the socio-economic development of its service communities. For instance, the bank collaborated with IFAD in 68 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1993 and the Ghana Government Farmer Budgetary Support (FABS) project in 2005 to implement a micro credit scheme for farmers in Navrongo, Paga, Sandema, Chiana, Sirugu, Gambibgu, Yaragabisi and their environs. Table 4.2 further shows that the bank collaborated with LACOSREP in 1996. OXFAM Ghana in 2002, Social Investment Fund in 2004, Felix Foundation in 2004 and 2007 and TRIAS in 2007 to implement credit schemes for people in the informal sector, especially women in various communities in the Kassena-Nankana districts. The bank also collaborates with the ENAM project since 2008 to date to implement a programme to promote enhanced nutrition to reduce under-5 mortality in some communities in the Kassena-Nankana district. 4 3 Corporate Social Responsibility of the Bank This section presents data on the physical projects executed by the bank and social activities that the bank had supported in its service communities as part o f its corporate social responsibility'. 43.1 Physical Projects Executed by the Bank A question was posed for the respondents to indicate the physical projects the bank has executed so far in its service communities as part o f its corporate social responsibility. This was to enable the researcher establish whether or not the bank has contributed to infrastructural development in its service communities. Table 4.3 shows the physical projects executed by the bank. 69 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.3 Physical Projects Executed by the Bank in Partnership with other Development Agencies as Part o f its Corporate Social Responsibility Physical Project Executed Partner Agency Year Beneficiary Community Frequency Percent Construction o f apprenticeship learning centre for training in basket weaving and batik tie and dye making CBRDP 2008 Gunwonko 31 17.1 Drilling o f bore holes and Rehabilitation o f an irrigation dam FABS 2008 Gambibgu, Asonge I 0.6 No project executed 149 82.3 Total 181 100 Source: Field Data, 2010 The data in Table 4.3 indicates that the bank has not constructed a single physical project all by itself. Instead, it partnered with other development agencies to execute projects in some target communities. Table 4.3 further shows that the bank executed three projects in three communities as part of its corporate social responsibility. According to the respondents (17.1 percent), the bank constructed an apprenticeship learning centre in partnership with Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) in Gunwonko in Sirigu in 2008. The learning centre was constructed to train apprentices in basket weaving and batik tie and dye making. The bank also collaborated with Parmer Budgetary Support (FABS) project to drill a bore hole at 70 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Gambibgu and rehabilitated an irrigation dam at Asonge. These two projects however were executed outside the study area at Gambibgu in the Balgatanga Municipality and at Asonge in the Talensi Nabdam District. The majority (82.3 percent) o f the respondents however gave no response because no project was constructed in their communities. 43 .2 Social Activities Supported by the Bank A question was asked for respondents to indicate the social activities the bank has supported in their communities as part o f its corporate social responsibility in order to boost socio­ economic development in the service communities. Table 4.4 shows the summary o f the responses. Table 4.4 Social Activities Supported by the Bank Social Activity Frequency Percent Cultural festivals 70 38.7 Support for needy students 100 55.3 Supply o f learning materials to schools 65 35.9 Support for sporting activities 93 51.4 Support for health programmes 0 0 Support for District Farmers’ Day Awards 103 56.9 Support for provision o f water -------------------------------------------------------------------- 99 54.7 Sourcc: Field Data, 2010 Total Respondents - 181 Results are in multiple responses 71 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.4 reveals that majority o f the respondents believed the bank supported three main social activities as part o f its corporate social responsibility. These include support for needy students (55.3 percent). District Farmers’ Day celebration (56.9 percent) and provision of water (54.7 percent). However, there was no support for any health programme by the bank in the study area as shown in Table 4.4. 4.4 Project Sustainability This section presents analysed results on involvement o f communities by the bank and its partners in deciding the type o f project to execute, how communities were involved, stage o f projects where communities were involved, training o f communities to maintain projects executed and the effect o f the training on the condition o f the projects. To determine whether communities participated in deciding on projects executed, respondents were asked to indicate whether or not the bank involved their communities in deciding the type o f project to execute as part o f its corporate social responsibility. This was done to establish whether the projects executed met the felt needs o f the communities. The results revealed that all the 31 respondents who indicated that the bank constructed the only physical project (apprenticeship training centre) in Gunwonko intimated that the community was involved by the bank in deciding the type of project to execute. Respondents from Gunwonko were asked further to indicate how their community was involved by the bank. This was to enable the researcher determine whether the level of involvement of the community by the bank was adequate enough to facilitate project 72 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ownership by the community. The results o f the study revealed that the community was involved through various stakeholders in the community as illustrated in Table 4.5. Table 4.5 Process o f Community Involvement in Deciding the Type o f Project to Execute Communities were involved through Frequency Percent The chief 31 100 Opinion leaders 27 87.1 The Assembly Member 31 100 Youth groups 0 0 The District Assembly 19 61.3 The whole community through a durbar 31 100 Source: Field Data, 2010 Total Respondents =31 Results are in multiple responses From Table 4.5, 100 percent o f the respondents indicated that the community was involved through the chief, Assembly member and the whole community through a durbar. The other stakeholders stated were the district assembly and opinion leaders. Youth groups were however not engaged in the process. The stage at which a community is involved in a project is very crucial to the sustainability o f that project. Respondents from Gunwonko were therefore asked to indicate the stage o f the project at which their community was involved by the bank. This was to find out whether the community was involved at all stages o f the project or not. The responses generated from the respondents revealed that the bank involved the community throughout all the stages of the 73 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh project. That is, all (100 percent) respondents from Gunwonko indicated that their community was involved in the project at the decision making, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation and management stages. The sustainability o f a community project further depends on how the project is maintained. Hence, respondents from Gunwonko were asked to indicate whether or not some community members were trained by the bank to maintain the facility. This was to find out whether the capacity o f the community was built to maintain the facility. It was clear from the responses that some community members were trained to build their capacity to maintain the facility. Hundred (100) percent o f the respondents indicated yes to the question. A follow-up question was asked for respondents to state how community members who were trained to maintain the facility were selected. This was to establish whether the selection process was participatory and democratic. According to the responses, all the respondents said community members who were trained were appointed by community leaders. Another follow-up question was posed for respondents to indicate the effect o f the training offered to some community members by the bank on the maintenance and condition o f the facility. This was to establish whether the training had helped in achieving effective maintenance and sustainability o f the facility. The responses obtained indicated that the training had a positive effect because the facility was still in a good condition. 74 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.5 Local Capacity Building for Development This section presents analysed results on the activities that Naara Rural Bank had undertaken as a strategy to encourage communities to initiate their own development, those activities that had been very successful and suggestions for capacity building programmes that can be adopted by the bank to further boost the development process o f the communities. 4.5.1 Activities by Bank as a Strategy to Encourage Communities to initiate Development Respondents were asked to indicate the activities undertaken by Naara Rural Bank as a strategy to encourage communities to initiate their own development. This was aimed at establishing whether the bank had built the capacities of local communities to enable them initiate their own development. Table 4.6 shows the summary o f the responses. 75 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.6 Activities undertaken by Bank as strategies to Encourage Communities to initiate their own Development Activities Frequency Percent Encouraging communities to organize festivals and durbars 175 96.7 Facilitating training programmes for community leaders on community mobilization and development 20 11.1 Facilitating training o f community members on income generation activities 181 100 Facilitating training o f community members on business development and management 181 100 Training community members on gender issues and group dynamics 99 54.7 Source: Field Data, 2010 Tolai Respondents = 181 Results are in multiple responses Table 4.6 depicts that Naara Rural Bank undertook three main activities as a strategy to build the capacity o f communities to initiate their own development. A large majority of respondents stated these activities as: Encouraging communities to organize festivals and durbars (96.7 percent); facilitating training of community members on income generation activities (100 percent); and facilitating training o f community members on business development and management (100 percent). Effective mobilization o f people and resources by local leaders is central to community development. However, from Table 4.6, a very small number o f respondents (11.1 percent) 76 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh indicated that the bank facilitated training programmes for community leaders on community mobilization and development. A follow-up question was asked for respondents to indicate the activity o f the bank that had been successful in helping communities to initiate their own development. Table 4.7 shows summary o f the responses. Table 4.7 Activities of the Bank that had been Successful in Helping Communities to initiate their own Development Successful Activities Frequency Percent Encouraging community members to attend community meetings and durbars 14 8 Facilitating training for community members on income generating activities 95 53 Facilitating training for community members on business development and management 70 39 Total 181 100 Source: Field Data, 2010 Tabic 4.7 depicts the views o f respondents on capacity building activities o f the bank that have been successful in helping communities to initiate their own development. From the Table, majority (53 percent) o f the respondents stated that facilitating training for 77 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh community members on income generating activities while another slight majority (39 percent) o f the respondents noted that facilitating training for community members on business development and management were the programmes that had been successful in helping communities to initiate their own development. That is, the training enabled them to generate enough income from their businesses to undertake development activities individually and collectively. 4.5.2 Suggested Capacity Building programmes to be undertaken by the Bank to boost the Development Process o f Communities A question was asked for respondents to suggest other capacity building programmes they thought the bank should undertake to further boost the development process o f their communities. This was to enable the researcher find out whether there were other development capacities that the communities lacked and wanted the bank to help them build. Figure 3 shows the responses obtained from the respondents. 78 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh KEY ■ Functional literacy training I ■ Artisanary skill training ! ■ Tra in ing on im proved animal rearing ; ■ Sanitation and hom e ! m anagement training i Source: Field Data, 2010 From Figure 3, majority (44 percent) o f the respondents suggested that the bank should organize training on improved animal rearing for community members while another large number representing 32 percent requested for functional literacy training. They believed that training in these areas will help build their capacities to contribute to the development o f their communities. Respondents also suggested for capacity building in artisanary skill acquisition and sanitation and home management. Figure 3 Suggested Capacity Building programmes 1 79 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FIVE DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 5.1 Introduction This chapter discusses the results o f the study. Essentially, the discussion entails the logical analysis and interpretation o f the findings in the context o f relevant literature. The discussion of the results is presented under the major headings: Programmes by Naara Rural Bank; corporate social responsibility o f the bank; project sustainability; and local capacity building for development. 5.2. Programmes by Naara Rural Bank to Facilitate Socio-economic Development in its Service Communities This section focuses on discussion of results on programmes undertaken by Naara Rural Bank as well as those implemented in collaboration with other agencies to facilitate socio­ economic development in its service communities. The results revealed that Naara Rural Bank implemented programmes that: Supported farmers with loans; linked farmers to extension officers for technical support; and organized unemployed people into groups and supported them with micro-credit to go into income generating activities. Agriculture is described as the main stay of the economies o f many developing countries including Ghana. About 90 percent o f the population especially in the rural areas in Ghana derives their livelihood from agriculture (Bank of Ghana, 2008). Thus agriculture is the predominant economic activity in rural communities in Ghana. However, the high level of poverty among farmers coupled with their inability to access credit from commercial banking 80 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh institutions makes it practically difficult for them to finance their farming activities thereby resulting in low production. According to Nani-Nutako (1998) lack of financial capital or access to credit is a militating factor against farmers in financing their farm operations and is one o f the major underlying factors o f low agricultural production in Ghana. This situation often leads to lower incomes and food insecurity among farmers and low standards o f living. It is therefore imperative that any organisation that is involved in facilitating socio-economic development especially in rural communities where a vast majority o f farmers live should focus on easing the difficulties faced by farmers in the agricultural sector. Owusu- Acheampong (1986) identifies credit as one o f the most critical bottlenecks confronting Ghanaian rural farmers. On this basis, it is commendable that Naara Rural Bank has implemented programmes that support farmers with loans to increase agricultural production in the Kassena-Nankana East and West Districts. The results revealed that 92.8 percent of the population intimated that Naara Rural Bank had implemented programmes that supported commercial and small scale farmers within its service communities with loans to finance their farming operations. In addition, 76.8 percent o f the population indicated that the bank linked farmers to extension officers for technical support. The pursuance o f these programmes implies that the bank recognises the fact that one o f the surest ways to promote socio-economic development in rural communities is to implement programmes that would facilitate increased agricultural production by easing the bottlenecks facing farmers. It is therefore important that the bank has helped ease one o f the critical difficulties of farmers by extending credit to them on easy terms to finance their farm 81 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh operations. It has been observed that formal financial institutions rarely reach rural people with credit not only because o f their inability to provide collateral security but more significantly because o f the institutions' perception o f high risks and high costs o f lending to the poor and small scale operators (Jones et al, 2000; Masanjala, 2004). However, discussions with the bank's programmes officer revealed that Naara Rural Bank encourages farmers to form groups and uses the group solidarity as collateral to grant credit to them. According to him. this strategy has not only helped farmers to get credit to finance their farm operations but has also helped the bank to achieve a very high loan recovery rate. Linkage o f farmers by the bank to extension officers for technical support in the form of education on improved methods o f farming is another major problem facing farmers that the bank is helping to resolve. Adoption o f improved methods o f farming by farmers combined with the availability o f credit led to high y ields, increased incomes, better standards o f living and ultimately socio-economic development. The Naara Rural Bank's bid to promote socio-economic development in its service communities by facilitating increased agricultural production concurs with Kudiabor's (1986) increased agricultural production approach to rural community development. Kudiabor (1986) noted that rural community development can be achieved through increased agricultural production. He asserted that increased agricultural production will result in rising rural incomes which will enable the rural population to provide itself with some o f the basic social amenities and services in the communities. He further argued that for this approach to be su c c e s s fu l , efforts must be made to ensure the existence o f such elements as improved 82 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh feeder road network, improved seeds and livestock, availability o f farm machinery, better storage and processing facilities and most importantly, availability of credit on friendly terms to farmers. The provision o f credit on friendly terms by the bank to farmers enabled them to acquire some o f the other elements such as improved seeds and livestock, farm machinery and storage, marketing and processing facilities among others. Credit on friendly terms here means low interest rates, flexible repayment system and no collateral security is required. The credit provided on friendly terms to farmers to boost agricultural production implies that the bank is using the increased agricultural production approach to facilitate socio-economic development in its service communities. The results o f the study also indicated that the Naara Rural Bank had programmes that supported various groups o f people with credit in its service communities to engage in various economic activities. For instance, the bank had a programme that organized unemployed people into groups and supported them with micro-credit to undertake income generating activities. This programme of the bank is consistent with the contention o f Miller and Martinez (2006) that microfinance institutions located in rural areas play an important role o f effectively providing low-cost credit to the rural poor especially women to help transform their lives. Further probing o f the bank manager and records obtained from the programme officer revea led that majority o f the beneficiaries o f this programme were women, persons with 83 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh disability and the youth. This programme therefore did not only help to transform the lives of the beneficiaries but also the lives o f their families. It is particularly important in transforming the lives o f families because women who are the majority o f the beneficiaries are largeh the breadwinners o f their families in the Upper East Region. Hence, any programme that seeks to empower women economically means better living conditions for their families especially the children. This is confirmed by a statement made by one respondent during the face-to-face interview session: 77»t’ banks credit has helped me and my fam ily a lot. Now I can buy fo o d to fe ed my fam ily in the lean season. In fact, we are now fo od secured. Not only that, from my fish mongering business which I got a loan from the bank to start I have been able to buy school uniforms and books fo r my children as well as paid their fees fully. Even two o f my children now wear pairs o f boots to school. I am happy because in this village not many children are lucky to get shoes to wear to school. I am truly grateful to the bank and the credit officer who comes here every week to ach'ise us and to colled the weekly loan repayment (Field data, 2010). Another unique feature o f the bank’s programme o f organising unemployed people into income generating groups is the inclusion of persons with disability in the target groups. Informal discussions during the face-to-face interview revealed that the Paga, Kajelo. Saaka and Pinda disabled groups were some of the beneficiaries o f the programme. The programme thus helped to empower them and take them out o f the street for begging. It can therefore be inferred that the programme sought to alleviate poverty and reduce unemployment especially 84 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh disability and the youth. This programme therefore did not only help to transform the lives of the beneficiaries but also the lives of their families. It is particularly important in transtorming the lives o f families because women who are the majority o f the beneficiaries are largely the breadwinners o f their families in the Upper East Region. Hence, any programme that seeks to empower women economically means better living conditions for their families especially the children. This is confirmed by a statement made by one respondent during the face-to-face interview session: The hanks credit has helped me and my fam ily a lot. Now I can buy fo o d to feed my fam ily in the lean season. In fact, we are now food secured. Not only that, from my fish mongering business which 1 got a loan from the bank to start I have been able to buy school uniforms and books fo r my children as well as paid their fees fully. Even two o f my children now wear pairs o f boots to school. I am happy because in this village not many children are lucky to get shoes to wear to school. I am truly grateful to the bank and the credit officer who comes here every week to advise us and to collect the weekly loan repayment (Field data, 2010). Another unique feature o f the bank's programme o f organising unemployed people into income generating groups is the inclusion of persons with disability in the target groups. Informal discussions during the face-to-face interview revealed that the Paga. Kajelo, Saaka and Pinda disabled groups were some of the beneficiaries o f the programme. The programme thus helped to empower them and take them out of the street for begging. It can therefore be inferred that the programme sought to alleviate poverty and reduce unemployment especially 84 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh among the youth, women and persons with disability in the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts. The provision o f micro-credit to various categories o f people by the bank in its service communities to engage in income generating activities as a strategy to facilitate socio­ economic development agrees with Tanko’s (2006) assertion that micro-credit and microfinance have been developed as a strategy for poverty alleviation and income generation for the poor. It further corroborates Fleschner’s (2000) contention that improving access to financial credit for low income households is a vital part o f any rural development strategy, especially one designed to rectify long standing rural inequality and to generate broad-based growth. Earlier. Memoire (1998) also noted that micro-credit had been used in some developing countries especially in Bangladesh as a panacea for a spectrum o f problems ranging from poverty alleviation through small enterprise development to shelter development. This achievement was possible because access to credit is the most vital element in poverty alleviation and income generation activities. Credit thus plays a very important role in rural development. It plays a catalytic role in the development process (Owusu-Acheampong, 1986). With credit the farmer or rural poor can acquire the necessary inputs or resources to improve his farm operations or engage in a successful income generation activity. The crucial point is that with credit, the farmers or rural persons engaged in income generating activity in the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts increased their productivity which in turn ensured greater output and increased income. Indeed, increased 85 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh incomes lead to increased purchasing power. As noted by Owusu-Acheampong (1986) both good nutrition and increased purchasing power have desirable effects on the development process. Hence, with proper utilisation o f the increased income, the rural people can achieve considerable improvement in their welfare and standards o f living in terms o f better nutrition, better access to health care, education and accommodation. This was confirmed by responses generated during informal discussions with some beneficiaries o f the banks micro-credit scheme. The> noted that through income generating activities which the bank's credit enabled them to go into, they were able to pay their children schools, register with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to access health service, buy their personal effects and contribute towards community development activities. This means through increased incomes, the individual members o f the rural community collectively can bring about considerable improvement in their community by coming together to provide themselves with basic amenities such as schools, bore-holes and clinics. Results of the study showed that Naara Rural Bank collaborated with a number of governmental and non-governmental agencies to implement various programmes to facilitate socio-economic development in its service communities. The bank collaborated with agencies such as IFAD, LACOSREP, OXFAM, Social Investment Fund. Felix Foundation and TRIAS to implement mainly micro-credit programmes for various categories o f people including farmer and women groups. The results revealed that the bank collaborated with IFAD in 1993 and Farmer Budgetary Support (FABS) project in 2005 to implement a micro- credit scheme for 359 and 52 farmers' groups respectively in the Kassena Nankana West and East Districts. According to the Naara Rural Bank manager, the main objective o f that 86 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh programme was to assist farmers to increase food production in order to enhance their livelihoods as well as to achieve food security in the two districts. The collaboration to implement credit schemes for farmers was relevant and beneficial because as noted by Owusu-Acheampong (1986: 97): "Credit is the most critical factor in the Ghanaian rural farm ing situation. With credit, the unproductive traditional farm ing which involves using simple tools and implements can be transformed into modern techniques o f farming. With credit, farmers can acquire or hire the services o f farm machinery and equipment that can help them to increase their acreage. With credit, farmers can buy and use essential inputs such as fertilizers, improved seeds, insecticides, weedicides and pesticides. The critical point is that with credit the farmer can increase his productivity which in turn would ensure greater farm output and increased income. With proper utilisation o f the increased income, the farm er can bring out considerable improvement in his welfare and living conditions. Thus, the individual farmers collectively can bring about considerable improvement in the community in which they live. " This assertion by Owusu-Acheampong ( 1986) implies that credit is an important factor which when granted to farmers has the potential of increasing farmers’ outputs and incomes. This assertion means that when credit is extended to farmers, two critical components of development such as food security and enhanced incomes can be achieved. Thus, the collaboration of Naara Rural Bank with IFAD and FABS to implement a micro-credit 87 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh scheme for farmers in the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts was crucial and relevant in facilitating socio-economic development. The results further revealed that the bank collaborated with LACOSREP in 1996, OXFAM Ghana in 2002. Social Investment Fund in 2004, Felix Foundation in 2004 and 2007 and TRIAS in 2007 to implement credit schemes which benefited thousands o f people in the informal sector, majority o f whom were women. According to the bank manager, the credit schemes enabled beneficiaries to acquire financial capital to go into income generating activities and to expand their businesses. This kind o f support for the informal sector is vital for community development because a large majority o f the people in the Kassena-Nankana Districts operate in the informal sector. The operation o f a large number o f people in the informal sector can be attributed to the low literacy rate o f 27.6 percent compared with the national average o f 53.4 percent (GSS, 2003). Credit for the informal sector creates self-employment, enhances incomes and reduces unemployment. Perhaps, the credit schemes implemented by the bank in collaboration with other agencies for the informal sector in addition to other interventions explain why the unemployment rate in the Kassena-Nankana District was lower than the regional and national averages. According to the Ghana Statistical Service (2003) the Kassena-Nankana District recorded the lowest unemployment rate of 0.5 percent in the Upper East Region compared with the regional and national averages o f 13.2 percent and 5.4 percent respectively. Therefore, it can be argued that the credit schemes implemented by the bank in collaboration with other agencies for the informal sector have been crucial in creating employment. 88 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh enhancing incomes and ultimately facilitating socio-economic development in the Kassena- Nankana Districts. Even though it is important that the bank recognised the fact that it cannot singlehandedly facilitate a holistic socio-economic development in it service communities and therefore collaborated with other agencies to do so, the collaboration was mainly geared towards economic development. Collaboration by the bank to provide social amenities would greatly enhance the development process in the service communities. The bank should therefore consider fostering collaboration with other development agencies to provide social amenities for its serv ice communities. 5 3 Corporate Social Responsibility of the Bank This section presents discussions on the physical projects executed by the bank and social activities that the bank has supported in its service communities as part o f its corporate social responsibility. 5.3.1 Physical Projects Executed by the Bank as Part of its Corporate Social Responsibility The results o f the study revealed that the bank has not singlehandedly constructed a physical project in any o f its service communities as part o f its corporate social responsibility for the past 28 years. This finding is in sharp contrast to the assertion by Wiredu-Pepra (2008) that rural banks in Ghana have adhered to corporate social responsibility in their catchment areas in the provision o f schools and street lights. It is further contrary to what other rural banks 89 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh have achieved in terms o f executing physical projects in their service communities as part of their corporate social responsibility. For example, the Amanano Rural Bank constructed a tour classroom block for Nyinahin Catholic Junior High Shool in the Ashanti Region (GNA, 2006) while W'amfie Rural Bank constructed a public library for the Wamfie community in the Brong Ahafo Region (GNA, 2009). Naara Rural Bank needs to take a cue from these rural banks because physical projects executed as corporate social responsibility enhances corporate image and good will o f corporate entities. As Stuart and Steve (2007) suggested, corporate social responsibility does not only impact positively on the reputation o f an organisation but also helps to build good will amongst key stakeholders especially the community in which it operates. In supporting Stuart and Steve (2007) suggestion, Davis (1967) cited in Schermerhom (1996: 57) states that: “The business which vacillate or choose not to enter the arena o f social responsibility may find that it generally will sink into customer disfavour." Also, arguing in favour o f executing projects as corporate social responsibility, Harrison (1997: 129) contends that “companies ignore corporate social responsibility at their own peril." Kitchen (1997) further endorses this assertion by stressing that, organisations which wish to maintain their positions o f power in a pluralistic society must accept their social responsibilities. Goodwill and positive image o f an organisation in its environment means high patronage of the organisation's products and services and consequently increased profits. Physical projects well executed and labeled in a community, especially those that deliver services to a large number of people, by an organisation enhances its corporate image much faster than the non­ physical ones. Thus, it is important for Naara Rural Bank to commit resources in executing 90 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh physical projects in its service communities not only to enhance its corporate image and profit but also to contribute to the development of its service communities. The results showed that even though the bank did not singlehandedly construct a physical project, it partnered other development agencies to construct infrastructure in some communities as part o f its corporate social responsibility. It partnered with Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) to construct an apprenticeship learning centre at Gunwonko as the only physical project constructed in the study area. This project was meant to train apprentices in basket weaving and batik tie and dye making to provide employment especially for the youth as well as to boost tourism attraction in the community. The initiative o f the bank and its partner has been o f enormous benefit to the community in terms of providing employment in addition to its rippling effect o f enhancing incomes and preventing migration of the youth to the cities (‘Kayaye’) to look for non-existing jobs. However, as a financial institution operating in an environment like the Upper East Region and for that matter, in the Kassena-Nankana Districts, where poverty is high (GSS, 2007) the Naara Rural Bank could have replicated this project in other service communities as well as execute other projects such as construction o f school blocks, clinics and drilling o f bore-holes to meet the basic needs o f the people. This view is in line with Moon’s (1991) basic needs theory which denotes that the best way to improve the quality o f life o f the poorest elements of society is to provide them with basic human needs such as food, water, health care shelter and education. Moon (1991) emphasised that the provision o f basic needs is necessary for rapid growth in areas where income levels are low and poverty is high. Okonjo (1986) earlier 91 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh observed that true development only takes place when there is satisfaction o f the fundamental needs o f a population in terms o f food, water, shelter, health, and education. This observation implies that as an institution which is expected to facilitate socio-economic development in its service communities, the bank should have executed physical projects which will provide services that will meet some o f the basic needs o f the people. The absence o f these projects by the bank was confirmed by majority (82.3 percent) o f the of the study population. 5.3.2 Social Activities Supported by the Bank as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility The results showed that a slight majority o f the population related that the bank supported needy students to attain higher education (55.3 percent), gave support for Districts’ Farmers Day Awards (56.9 percent) and provided support for water supply (54.7 percent). However, records obtained from the bank revealed that the support in these social activities by the bank was minimal, narrow in scope and unsustainable. This is because the bank only supported the Navrongo and Paga palaces with GH05OO.OO each in 2005 and 2006 respectively to celebrate their traditional Fao festival and two medical students with GH06OO.OO each in 2006 and 2007 to pay their school fees. The minimal and unsustainable support for the above mentioned social activities coupled with the bank’s inability to singlehandedly execute physical projects implies that the Naara Rural Bank has no corporate social responsibility policy in place to facilitate infrastructural and social development in its service communities. It can therefore be argued that the unsustainable nature o f support for social activities by the bank is a defensive strategy to cover its inability to design and implement a comprehensive and sustainable corporate social responsibility policy. This view corroborates 92 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Schermerhom's (1996) assertion that some organisations adopt a defensive strategy of social responsibility to protect the organisation by doing the minimum legally required gesture to satisfy expectations. This is against the proactive strategy where an organisation designs a social responsibility policy to meet all the criteria of social performance and in which the organisation takes the lead in identifying and responding to emerging social issues. Thus, an institution like Naara Rural Bank which has the mandate to facilitate socio-economic development in its service communities should adopt a proactive social responsibility strategy where it develops a comprehensive policy to support infrastructural and social programmes rather than the defensive strategy. The nature o f the bank’s support for social activities is also contrary to what other rural banks in the country have for their service communities. For instance, Assin-Manso Rural Bank instituted a corporate social responsibility policy where it supports five (5) brilliant but needy students every year in senior high schools (SHS) and tertiary institutions in its service communities (GNA, 2008). The Naara Rural Bank can emulate Assin-Manso Rural Bank by designing a corporate social responsibility policy not only for education but for all social activities especially health, water supply and festivals. S.4 Project Sustainability This section presents discussion of results on the involvement of communities by the bank and its partners in deciding the type o f project to execute, communities' involvement in the various stages o f the projects, training of communities to maintain projects executed and the impact o f the training on the condition o f the projects. 93 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Local participation has long been recognised by many writers and development practitioners as a strategy for ensuring sustainable development. Oakley and Marden (1984) intimated that local participation is a fundamental pre-condition for a successful and long-lasting development. They assert that if local people are actively involved in any community project, they would commit themselves to the support o f the project for its success and sustainability. This assertion presupposes that without effective involvement o f communities in development projects executed by external agents like rural banks, their success and sustainability cannot be assured. It is in the light o f this view that respondents were asked to indicate whether or not Naara Rural Bank involved communities in deciding the type of project to execute as part o f its corporate social responsibility. The results o f the study revealed that the Gunwonko community where the bank constructed an apprenticeship training centre in partnership with Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) was involved in deciding the type of project to execute. This was confirmed by the bank officials. The involvement o f the end-user community by the bank implies that the bank appreciates the fact that community participation is crucial to project sustainability. The results also showed that the bank involved the end-user community (Gunwonko) in the project it executed through stakeholders such as the chief, Assembly man, opinion leaders. District Assembly and the whole community at a durbar. Youth groups were however not specifically contacted. Further probing revealed that the youth were not completely left out because they were in attendance at the durbar where the whole community was contacted. The involvement o f almost all the stakeholders in the community project means that the bank followed the appropriate process to enlist the support and commitment o f the community in 94 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the project. This process placed the community at the centre o f development and helped to engender project ownership by the community members. This process consequently would lead to sustainability o f the project since the project is still on-going. Indeed, community ownership of projects ensures that community members are willing and ready to contribute at all times, either in cash or kind in the form o f labour and other human resources, in the maintenance o f the project. This ensures that the project lasts longer and continues to provide the desired benefits to the community’s present and future generations. This is consistent with the view o f Harvey et al (2003) that sustainability is a process whereby facilities are maintained in conditions which ensures a reliable and adequate supply o f benefits which would be realised by all users over a prolonged period o f time. The stage at which a community is involved in a project is very crucial for its sustainability. The results obtained revealed that the bank involved the Gunwonko community throughout all the stages o f the project, from decision making, planning, implementation, through to monitoring, evaluation and management stages. The involvement o f the community at all levels o f the project was crucial in motivating and empowering the community members to sustain it. This is evident in the statement o f some members o f the community during an informal discussion that anytime members were asked to come out to help mend a cracked wall, they came out in their numbers to do so. This implies that the community members view the project as their own rather than that o f the bank. Cohen et al (1980) stress that the crux o f participation is empowerment and ownership. Hence, the community will manage the project well to ensure its long life and sustainability. 95 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh However, some experts have differed as to which o f the stages o f community participation is relevant in engendering ownership and sustainability. In the view o f Cohen and Uphoff cited in Macdonald (1993). participation in decision making, implementation, benefits and evaluation are the most important stages. On their part, Cohen et al (1980) intimated that participation in planning and evaluation are the important kinds o f participation because they offer empowerment and ownership. Rifkin (1990) and Sylvester (2008) have also disagreed on which stage o f community involvement in a project is a higher level o f participation. While Rifkin (1990) contends that participation in planning demonstrates a higher level o f community participation Sylvester (2008) views community participation in decision making as the one at the higher level. With these discerning views in mind, it can be argued that the bank involved the Gunwonko community in all the important stages and levels of participation in the apprenticeship training centre project it executed in the community. This implies that the community will own and maintain the project to ensure its sustainability. 5.4.1 Training of Community Members to Maintain Projects Executed by the Bank Regular and effective maintenance o f facilities ensures their long life and durability. However, effective maintenance hinges on the knowledge and skill o f the people put in charge o f the facilities. In view of this, respondents were asked to indicate whether or not some community members from Gunwonko where the apprenticeship training centre was constructed were trained by the bank to maintain the facility. The results revealed that some community members were trained to maintain the facility. Thus, the Gunwonko community was involved in the maintenance o f the facility. 96 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Although some community members were selected to take charge o f the day to day running and maintenance o f the facility, it would receive regular and effective maintenance if the whole community were involved. Hence, it is the responsibility o f the community members nominated to mobilize the rest of the community to support the maintenance process. However, the ability o f the selected members to win the support o f the rest o f the community for the maintenance of the facility depends on how they were chosen. If the selection process was participatory and democratic and the whole community was involved then the community would lend its support to those selected for the maintenance o f the facility. This is because the participatory and democratic nature o f the selection process would motivate community members to give those selected the necessary support to achieve effective maintenance and sustainability o f the facility. On the other hand, if the selection process was not participator)' and the rest o f the community perceived those selected to be imposed on them, they would be reluctant to support the maintenance effort. In the light o f this preamble, a follow-up question was asked for respondents to state how community members who were trained to maintain the facility were selected. The results o f the survey revealed that the community members who were selected and trained to maintain the training centre were appointed by the community leaders. This implies that the whole community was not involved in the selection process. It can therefore be presumed that the selection process was not participatory and democratic and those selected may not get the support o f the rest o f the community in terms o f labour and cash contributions among others for the proper maintenance of the facility. However, the selection process has not negatively affected the maintenance of the facility provided by the bank to 97 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the Gunwonko community since community members have so far participated actively in its maintenance. Another follow-up question was posed for respondents to indicate whether the training of some community members had any effect on the condition o f the facility. The results showed that, to some extent, the training had a positive effect on the maintenance and condition of the facility . This is because majority (81 percent) o f the respondents said in their opinion, the training had a positive effect because the facility was still in a good condition. Probing further, many o f the community respondents said they believed community members would continue to support the maintenance of the facility to ensure its sustainability. However, the bank still had the responsibility to continue to engage the community regularly to encourage its members to support in the maintenance of the facility to ensure its long life. 5.5 Local Capacity Building for Development This section presents discussion of results on the activities that Naara Rural Bank has undertaken as a strategy to encourage communities to initiate their own development, those activities that have been successful and suggestions for capacity building programmes that can be adopted by the bank to further boost the development process of the communities. 5.5.1 Activities by Bank to Encourage Communities to initiate their own Development Poor infrastructural, social and economic development in communities is associated, among other factors, to low development capacity. However, the issue o f insufficient development capacity is more prevalent in rural communities than in urban areas (Sears, 1992). This 98 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh therefore means that organisations and institutions which are involved in rural development must implement programmes and activities that would build the capacity o f rural communities tor development. It was against this background that respondents were asked to indicate the activities undertaken by Naara Rural Bank to encourage communities to initiate their own development. The results o f the study show that among the activities undertaken by the bank to build local capacity for community development, two were regarded by the whole population as the most important. These activities were facilitating training on income generating activities as well as on business development and management. The other activities were supporting chiefs and people o f the communities to organize and celebrate festivals, training programmes for community members on gender issues and group dynamics, encouraging community members to attend meetings and durbars and linking communities to other agencies for development support. The use o f training as a tool for local capacity building by the bank is in tandem with the description o f what capacity building is by Williamson et al (2003) and Groot and Van Molen (2000) cited in Rajabiford and Williamson (2004). According to Williamson et al (2003), capacity building is generally related to education, training and human resource development. Groot and Van Molen (2000) cited in Rajabiford and Williamson (2004:2) on their part noted that: 99 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The development o f knowledge, skills and attitudes in individuals and groups of people relevant in design, development, management and maintenance o f institutional and operational infrastructures and processes which are locally meaningful is local capacity building. Although this is a broader approach to the concept, it still focuses mainly on education, training and human resource development. The adoption o f training by the bank as a capacity building strategy for community development was therefore appropriate. What is even more significant was the areas where the training was offered. To facilitate training on income generating activities as well as on business development and management for communities in a region that is characterized by endemic poverty, high illiteracy and unemployment rates, and a very large informal sector has made the strategy even more appropriate. This is because the training in income generating activities and business development and management would encourage business creations and expansions. McGuire et al (1994) corroborates this view by intimating that the success o f major business expansions or start-ups and appropriate development focus is an important measure o f capacity for development. Thus, the training in the two areas was crucial in encouraging self-employment, enhancing incomes and raising standards of living o f communities. Festivals and community meetings have also been recognised by development literature as useful strategies for local capacity building for development. These two social activities enhance community spirit and the presence o f community spirit in a community is indicative of capacity for development. Hence, promoting these social activities means building local capacity for development (Rodalc and Lehman, 1991). In supporting this assertion. Rubin 100 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and Rubin (2008) emphasise that capacity building is achieved through participatory meetings. According to them: Meetings arc about expanding collective involvement in social change work. Information shared at meeting increases the competence o f people to act. More specialized meetings build capacity by presenting knowledge on techniques. At decision making meetings organization members and leaders come together to work out action strategies (p. 213). Thus, regular meetings in a community to discuss development issues are indication of development capacity. Nukunya (2003) and Bonye (2006) have also stressed on how festivals and community meetings have served as platforms for communities to demand or initiate development. According to Nukunya (2003), traditional festivals are used by rural communities as platforms to dialogue with policy makers and politicians for development projects. Bonye (2006:5) on his part asserts that: Traditional authorities and service providers use festivals as fo ra to gh ’e account o f their actions in relation to development activities and also make a passionate appeal fo r and on behalf o f the community to governments, non-governmental organizations and politicians on development policies that border on them. The general outcomes fo r both traditional and contemporary roles are to enhance and initiate community development programmes. He further notes that during festivals, the chiefs and people appeal tor tunds for such development projects as schools, libraries, health centres and provision o f streetlights. This implies that festivals and community meetings serve as platforms where communities mobilize both human and material resources to initiate development. 101 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Thus, festivals and community meetings are important instruments for building community capacity for development. It is in the light of the above that the encouragement and support o f chiefs and people of some communities to organize and celebrate festivals as well as encouragement of community members to attend meetings and durbars is seen as important strategies adopted by Naara Rural Bank to promote local capacity for development in its service communities. However, according to the results o f the study the bank’s support in these areas were minimal since it supported only the Navrongo and Paga chief palaces with GH05OO.OO each in 2005 and 2006 respectively to organize their festivals. This effort o f the bank in relation to the value o f festivals and community meetings as capacity building tools for community development is highly inadequate. Hence, if Naara rural Bank is committed to building local capacity for development it should carry out activities that would encourage its service communities to organize and celebrate local festivals. Another important capacity building tool which has the potential of facilitating community development is offering training for community leaders on community mobilization and development. However, it seems the bank overlooked this very important capacity building tool because the results o f the study revealed that an insignificant number (11.1 percent) o f the population indicated that the bank facilitated training tor community leaders on community mobilization and development. This result implies the bank did very little in terms of facilitating training for community leaders on community mobilization and d ev e lo pm en t . In most cases, resources abound in local communities but they are unable to 102 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh harness them for development. This is usually due to lack o f capacity o f local leaders to mobilize both the people and other available resources to initiate development. The missing link lor development in many rural communities is therefore lack o f capacity o f local leaders to mobilize resources for development. Hence. Naara Rural Bank could facilitate training for community leaders in its service communities on action research to build their capacities to be able to identify and harness resources in their communities to facilitate development. It could also adopt the Africare model for building capacity of local non-government organizations for community leaders. Chinwe (2006) notes that the Africare model involves training in proposal writing, budget formulation, project implementation systems, fund raising, accessing credit, performance monitoring, report writing, network building and advocacy skills. Thus, some aspects o f this model, if not all, such as training in fund raising, proposal writing for projects, report writing and project implementation systems could be facilitated by the bank for community leaders to enhance their competencies in mobilizing resources for development efforts. It may be argued that this type o f training would not be appropriate for community leaders because of the non-literate nature o f majority of them. However, it is important to note that in this era of enlightenment where there are educated persons in every village, it is possible to co-opt some of the educated citizens to assist the local leaders to benefit from such trainings. A follow-up question was asked for respondents to indicate the capacity building activity of the bank that had been successful in helping communities to initiate their own development. The results showed that majority (95 percent and 70 percent) of the population believed that 103 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the bank’s programme o f facilitating training on income generating activities and business development and management were the most successful and beneficial ones. According to them, the training helped them to be successful in their income generating activities and businesses, and this helped them to meet their needs as well give cash contribution towards development activities in their communities. This view o f the population is perhaps as a result o f the high level o f poverty in the Upper East Region including the study area. That is, in an area where poverty is high and the informal sector is dominant, income generation activities and business development and management backed by easy access to credit on flexible terms becomes one of the most feasible strategies to create employment, enhance incomes, and hence facilitate development. 5.5.2 Suggested Capacity Building programmes to be undertaken by the Bank to boost the Development Process o f Communities A question was asked for respondents to suggest other capacity building programmes they thought the bank should undertake to further boost the development o f their communities. From the results, the two most important areas identified were functional literacy and training on improved animal rearing. Upon further probing, respondents explained that functional literacy training would help them to understand the various training offered them by the bank as well as help them to conduct and keep records of their businesses very well. They also explained that due to the erratic nature o f the rains in recent years, crop farming had been resulting in heavy losses due to crop failure; hence animal rearing was a better alternative. Therefore, training on best practices in animal rearing backed by credit especially in the form of the supply o f improved breeding stock o f small ruminants like sheep, goats and pigs would 104 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh be beneficial. Other suggestions mooted by the respondents were artisanary skill training and training on sanitation and home management. It is important for Naara Rural Bank to include the suggested areas in its future capacity building programmes in order to meet the training needs of the communities. 105 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER SIX SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 6.1 Introduction This chapter covers the summary, conclusion and recommendations o f the study. The summary entails brief statements o f the background of the study, statement o f the problem, research objectives, review o f related literature, methodology and results o f the study. The recommendations were also made based on the major findings o f the study and the conclusions drawn. The chapter further considers the implications o f the findings o f the study for policy and adult education practice as well as suggestions for further studies. 6.2 Summary The study assessed the contribution of Naara Rural Bank to community development in the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts o f the Upper East Region. The background o f the study established that past development models implemented during the colonial era in Ghana favoured urban centres to the detriment of rural communities. The industrialization and economic growth models for instance resulted in the rapid modernization and urbanization o f capital towns and cities to the total neglect o f the rural areas especially in northern Ghana. To curb this situation, various governments after independence implemented various interventions to bridge the development gap between rural and urban centres. One o f such interventions is the promulgation of a law to establish rural/community' banks to serve the special needs o f rural people to facilitate the socio-economic development drive of rural communities. It was in this light that the Naara Rural Bank was established in the Kassena- Nankana District as the first rural bank in the Upper East Region in 1982. Thus, the bank has 106 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh been operating in the district for the past twenty eight years. On the basis o f this background, the statement o f the problem was designed to find out how the bank has contributed to the development o f communities in its operational areas in the two districts. In order to ascertain the contribution o f the bank to development in its service communities, four objectives were established. The first objective was to identify the programmes that the bank had implemented to facilitate the socio-economic development o f its service communities. The second was to find out the corporate social responsibility projects carried out by bank in the study area. The third was also to find out the sustainability o f the development projects implemented by the bank. The final objective was to identify the strategies used by the bank to build local capacity for community development. Based on the above objectives, literature was reviewed in related areas such as the concept o f community development, strategies o f community development, sustainability of development projects, social responsibility o f organisations and local capacity building for community development. The study was underpinned by the basic needs and the open system theories. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study and the population consisted o f all adults (18 years and above) in the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts. The multi-stage sampling technique was employed for the study. Simple random, purposive and convenient samplings were used at the final stage to sample a total o f 181 respondents for data collection. Primary data was collected using two main instruments. That is. the interview schedule and questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to the bank while the schedule was used in a face-to-face interview to collect data from the largely non-literate 107 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh community respondents. The data collected was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) soft ware and presented in tables and pie charts. The study revealed the following major findings: • Naara Rural Bank promoted socio-economic development in its service communities by facilitating increased agricultural production through credit programmes. ■ The bank linked farmers to extension officers for technical support. ■ The bank facilitated socio-economic development by supporting various groups of people in the informal sector including women, persons with disability and the youth w ith credit to engage in economic activities. • The bank collaborated with agencies such as IFAD, LACOSREP, OXFAM. Social Investment Fund, Felix Foundation and TRIAS to implement mainly micro-credit programmes for various categories of people including farmer and women groups to facilitate socio-economic development in the study area. • The bank did not singlehandedly construct any physical project in any o f its service communities as part of its corporate social responsibility. The only physical project (an apprenticeship training centre) it constructed at Gunwonko was done in collaboration with Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP). • As part of its corporate social responsibility, the bank gave minimal support towards social activities such as cultural festivals, education, sports and farmers day. ■ The bank took the necessary steps to ensure that the only project it constructed in collaboration with Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) at Gunwonko in Sirugu is sustained. 108 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ■ It involved the community at all levels o f the project; that is in decision making, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and management, and this was necessary for sustainability o f the project. ■ The bank undertook certain activities as a strategy to build local capacity for community development paramount among which were facilitating training on income generating activities as well as on business development and management. • The other capacity building strategies implemented were supporting chiefs and people of the communities to organize and celebrate festivals, training programmes for community members on gender issues and group dynamics, encouraging community members to attend meetings and durbars and linking communities to other agencies for development support. • Finally, the two most important capacity areas suggested for the bank to consider in order to further build local capacity for development were functional literacy and training on improved animal rearing. 6-3 Implication of the Study for Adult Education Practice and Policy Adult education as a discipline is concerned with the development o f the human being and his environment and therefore covers a wide range o f areas including health, education, sanitation, community development, human resource development and gender. It uses education as the main tool to empower people and communities to effect development. However, adult educators can only empower people and communities to effect development only if they have adequate information about the needs and challenges o f the people and communities concerned. In view o f this background, the results o f the study as summarized 109 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh above would serve as guide for adult educators to design appropriate educational programmes to empower communities in the study area to effect development. For example, the results o f the study revealed that respondents identified functional literacy and improved methods o f animal rearing as the most important areas they need training in to enhance their capacity for community development. This information therefore would help adult educators operating in the Upper East Region in particular and the country at large to design functional literacy programme as well as training programmes on improved methods o f animal rearing for the communities in the study area to empower them for development. Furthermore, adult educators can use the results o f the study as a guide to engage the Naara Rural Bank in particular and rural banks in general, to do more especially in the area o f corporate social responsibility to fulfill their mandate o f facilitating socio-economic development in their service communities. In terms o f policy, the results o f the study would help government and other policy makers to promulgate a policy that would constantly monitor rural banks to ensure that they deliver on their mandate o f facilitating socio-economic development in rural areas. In this respect, rural banks which would be found to be doing more in facilitating socio-economic development in their serv ice communities especially in the form of corporate social responsibility' should be recognised and rewarded to motivate others to emulate their example. 6.4 Conclusion The main purpose of the study was to find out how Naara Rural Bank has contributed to development in its service communities in the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts in 110 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the Upper East Region. The results o f the study established that the bank implemented credit programmes solely and in collaboration with other agencies for farmers which facilitated increased agricultural production resulting in food security and increased incomes. It further created self-employment by organising unemployed people, including women and persons with disability, into groups and supporting them with credit to set-up businesses or go into income generating activities. Even though development is sometimes seen as the availability o f social amenities such as school buildings, clinics, bore-holes and other infrastructure, the study established that the bank did not singlehandedly construct a physical project or provide social amenities in its service communities. It however supported social activities such as cultural festivals, education, sports and farmers day. The bank took the necessary steps to ensure that the only project it constructed in collaboration with Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) at Gunwonko in Sirugu is sustained. Besides, the bank implemented strategies to build local capacity for development. Development sometimes means food security, availability of self-employment and increased incomes as well as empowerment through training. On this basis, it can be said that Naara Rural Bank to a large extent, has contributed to development in its operational areas in the Kassena-Nankana West and East Districts. What is required of the bank now is to emphasize on providing social amenities for its service communities. 6.5 Recommendations Based on the major findings, the following recommendations are made to so that Naara Rural Bank in particular and rural banks in general is effective in facilitating socio-economic development in its service communities: 11 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1 ooking at the enormous benefit of the credit programmes in promoting self- employment and increased agricultural production, the bank should intensify its awareness education campaign to attract more people to access credit to enhance their socio-economic activities. This can be done through programmes such as community durbars, radio broadcasts and discussions, and announcements during cultural festivals and District Farmers Days. The bank should identify charitable non-governmental organizations and other development agencies and guide communities to write proposals for development support. This is in view of the fact that the bank alone may not be able to raise enough resources to meet the development needs of its service communities. The bank should design a corporate social responsibility policy to replace the current ad hoc way o f supporting activities in its service communities in the name of social responsibility. This policy may include a scholarship package for at least ten brilliant but needy students every year. It could also include a package to provide infrastructure like a school block, clinic or bore-hole in deprived communities. If a policy o f this nature is adopted, within five years the bank would be seen to be contributing significantly towards the development o f its service communities and this would improve its image and good will in the study area and beyond. Government should put in place a policy to direct rural banks to invest at least one percent of their net profit every year on corporate social responsibility in their catchment areas. Such a policy should direct the banks to invest the money on the supply o f social services such as sanitation and water supply, education and health which are the major challenges faced by most rural communities. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh • The bank should intensify its capacity building programmes for communities such as facilitating training on business development and management, income generating activities, gender issues, group dynamics, sanitation and health to empower communities more for development. • The bank and all rural banks in general should further facilitate training for community leaders on community mobilization and development to boost the ability o f local leaders to mobilize their people and resources to initiate development in their communities. 6.5 Suggestions for Further Studies The study assessed the contribution o f only one out o f the four rural banks in the Upper East Region to community development in its service communities. It is suggested that an assessment of the contribution o f all the four rural banks in the region to socio-economic development in their service communities should be conducted in future to see which o f them has adopted the best strategies to facilitate development in its service communities and how the others can learn from its example. In addition, further research on the same topic could be carried out but with a sampling o f five communities from each electoral instead of one in order to get a more representative sample for the study. 113 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh REFERENCES Akinpelu. L. K. T. (2002). Philosophy and Adult Education. Stirling-Harden Publishers Limited. Ibadan. Nigeria. Ali-Nakyea. (2008). ‘Allowable Tax Deductions and Social Responsibility o f Corporate Bodies'. In: The New Legon Observer, Ghana Society fo r Development. Dialoque Publication. Vol. 10. June 12, 2008. Allen. T. (2000). ‘Meaning and Views o f Development’. 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Your responses shall be accorded the highest degree of confidentiality that it deserves. Please, kindly help complete the interview schedule by providing the appropriate responses to the questions. Questionnaire for Naara Rural Bank Section A: Programmes for Community Development 1. Has your bank implemented programmes that have contributed to the socio-economic development o f its serv ice communities? a) Yes[ ] b) [ ] 2. If no. vv hv ? ......................................................................................................................................... 122 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3. Tick as many as applicable from the table below the programmes employed by Naara Rural Bank to facilitate socio-economic development in your community? Farmers loan support Organising unemployed people into groups and supporting them with micro credit iii to go into ingenerating activities iv Linking communities to other agencies for development support Linking farmers to extension officers for technical support vi Others (state)............................................................................................................................. _L 4. Apart from the bank’s initiated programmes, has it collaborated with other agencies to implement programmes that facilitated socio-economic development in its service communities? a) Yes [ ] b) No [ ] 5. If no, why?..................................................................................................................... 123 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 6. If yes. state the agencies and the type of programmes executed in the service communities through such collaborations in the table below: Collaborative Agency Programme Executed Year Beneficiary Community Section B: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the Bank 7. State the physical projects that your bank has executed in its service communities as part o f its support to community development in the table below: Physical Project Executed Year Beneficiary Community 124 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 8. Apart from the physical projects listed above what other social activities has the bank supported as part o f its corporate social responsibility in its service communities?................................................................ SECTION C: Project Sustainability 9. Before development projects mentioned in Q.(8) above were initiated, was the community involved by the bank in deciding the type of project to execute? a) Yes [ ] b) No [ ] 10. If no, why?.................................................................................................................................... 11. If yes, how was the community involved? Through: a) the chief b) opinion leaders [ ] c) the assembly member [ ] d) Youth groups [ ] e) the district assembly 0 the whole community through durbar [ ] g) Others (state): 125 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 12. At what stage o f the project(s) was the community involved? a) Decision making stage [ ] b) Planning stage [ ] c) Implementation stage [ ] d) Monitoring and evaluation stage [ J e) project management stage [ ] 0 Others (state)................................................................................................................................................... 13. Were some community members trained to maintain the facilities provided? a)Yes [ ] b) No [ ] 14. If no. how are the facilities maintained?....................................................................... 15. If yes, how were the members selected? 16. What has been the effect o f the training on the condition o f the facility?. 126 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 17. Indicate the activities that the bank has undertaken as a strategy to encourage communities to initiate their own development. a) Encouraging communities to organize festivals and durbars. b) Facilitating training programmes for community leaders on community mobilization and development c) Facilitating training o f community members on income generating activities d) Facilitating training o f community members on business development and management e) Others (state)................................................................................................................................ Section D: Local Capacity Building for Development 18. Which o f the activities selected in Q.( 12) above have been very successful in helping your community to initiate its own development projects?....................................................... 19. What other capacity building programmes will you suggest the bank should undertake in order to further boost the development process o f the communities?...................................... Thank you for your co-operation. 127 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh APPENDIX B INTERVIEW SCHEDULE FOR THE COMMUNITIES Dear respondent. This interview schedule is designed to elicit your views on the contribution o f Naara Rural Bank to community development in the Kassena-Nankana Districts. The study is purely an educational venture and is conducted in partial fulfillment o f the requirements for the award of Master o f Philosophy Degree in Adult Education at the University o f Ghana, Legon. Your co-operation and frank responses are needed for the success o f this exercise. Your responses shall be accorded the highest degree o f confidentiality that it deserves. Please, kindly help complete the interview schedule by providing the appropriate responses to the questions. Interview schedule for the Community 128 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Section A: Programmes for Community Development 1. Tick as many as applicable from the table below the programmes employed by Naara Rural Bank to facilitate socio-economic development in your community? i Farmers loan support [ ] Organising unemployed people into groups and supporting them with micro credit [ ] ii to go into ingenerating activities [ ] iii Linking communities to other agencies for development support [ ] iv Linking farmers to extension officers for technical support [ ] V Others (state)............................................................................................................................ [ ] vi ....................................................................................................................................................... Section B: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the Bank 2. Indicate the physical projects you know Naara Rural Bank has executed in its operational communities as part o f its support to community development in the table below . Physical Project Executed Year Beneficiary Community 129 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3. Apart from the physical projects listed above which of the social activities below has the bank supported? a) cultural festivals [ ) b) support for needy students [ ] c) supply of learning materials to schools [ 1 d) support for sporting activities [ 1 e) support for health programmes [ ] 0 others (state).......................................................................................................................................... SECTION C: Project Sustainability 4. Before development projects mentioned in Q.(3) above were initiated, was the community involved by the bank in deciding the type o f project to execute? a) Yes [ ] b) No [ ] 5. If no, why?.................................................................................................................................. 6. If yes, how was the community involved? Through: a) the chief b) opinion leaders [ ] c) the assembly member [ ] d) Youth groups [ ] e) the district assembly 0 the whole community through durbar [ ] g) Others (state): 7. At what stage o f the project(s) was the community involved? a) Decision making stage [ ] b) Planning stage [ ] c) Implementation stage [ ] d) Monitoring and evaluation stage [ ) e) project management stage [ ] f) Others (state)........................................................................................................................................... 130 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 8. Were some community members trained to maintain the facilities provided? a)Yes [ ] b) No [ ] 9. If no. how are the facilities maintained?..................................................................................... 10. If yes. how were the members selected? 11. What has been the effect o f the training on the condition o f the facility?. Section D: Local Capacity Building for Development 12. Indicate the activities that the bank has undertaken as a strategy to encourage communities to initiate their own development. a) Encouraging communities to organize festivals and durbars. b) Facilitating training programmes for community leaders on community mobilization and development c) Facilitating training o f community members on income generating activities d) Facilitating training of community members on business development and management 131 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh e) Others (state) 13. Which o f the activities selected in Q.( 12) above have been very successful in helping your community to initiate its own development projects?............................................................... 14. What other capacity building programmes will you suggest the bank should undertake in order to further boost the development process o f the communities?......................................... Thank you for your co-operation. 132 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh