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Begin New Search Political Geography Ghana Author Kojo Asante

1. Proposals for Reducing the Size and Cost of Running Government

Author:
Kojo Asante and David Asante Darko
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Ghana Center for Democratic Development
Abstract:
Every other sector of the economy has had to incur substantive inconvenience or financial loss in efforts to return the sovereign debts to sustainable levels. Every other sector of the economy, except government itself. Against this backdrop, this paper reiterates some of the measures that have been proposed to reduce government spending and examines them in more detail. We delve into how the ministerial team might be reduced in size and thereby optimized to cut down government expenditure.
Topic:
Government, Budget, Finance, and Economy
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana

2. Reforming Constitutional Governance in Ghana

Author:
Kojo Asante and Nicholas Opoku
Publication Date:
08-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Ghana Center for Democratic Development
Abstract:
Manifestos are increasingly becoming an important polical contract in Ghana's highly compeve electoral polics. The preparaon of manifestos offers cizens and civil society organizaons (CSOs) a unique opportunity to mobilize and unite behind crical socio-economic and governance issues, and compel polical pares to prescribe reforms or proposals to them, with the view of implemenng such proposals when voted into office. The expectaon is that following this process, cizens and CSOs, working closely with the media, will hold polical pares to account for their proposed reforms to these issues. In line with this, the Ghana Center for Democrac Development (CDD-Ghana) ahead of the 2020 general elecons, embarked on The Manifesto Project with the view of highlighng crical problem areas in ten (10) sectors that hinder naonal development and progress and prescribe soluons for polical pares to comprise in their respecve manifestos. The issues were captured in a report tled 'The Manifesto Project: Promong responsive and responsible manifestos for inclusive development'. As a new government has been formed in 2021 following the outcome of the 2020 elecons, it is our expectaon that government will take steps towards addressing the key sector-specific issues highlighted. In the area of governance, some perennial challenges and gaps persist. This policy brief outlines the key issues idenfied as constung crical problem areas and gaps in Ghana's efforts towards ensuring good governance, with a view to informing and influencing agenda-se ng and policy for inclusive development.
Topic:
Civil Society, Politics, Governance, Reform, and Constitution
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana

3. Democracy Capture and the Rise of the Shadow State in Africa

Author:
Kojo Asante and H. K. Prempeh
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Ghana Center for Democratic Development
Abstract:
Democracy Capture and the Rise of the Shadow State in Africa
Topic:
Democracy, Elites, and State Capture
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana

4. From Manifesto Promise to Policy Implementation: Analysis of Government’s Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program

Author:
Gilfred Asiamah, Awal Swallah, Kojo Asante, and Samuel Baaye
Publication Date:
10-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Ghana Center for Democratic Development
Abstract:
The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) with funding support from the Department for International Development (DFID) under its Strengthening Action Against Corruption (STAAC) program has initiated a project to track the implementation of the government's flagship Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program (IPEP).
Topic:
Government, Poverty, Inequality, State Actors, and Economic Policy
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana

5. Exploring the Mahama-NDC’s Defeat in the 2016 Election: Insights from Pre-election Surveys

Author:
Gilfred Asiamah, Kojo Asante, and E. Gyimah-Boadi
Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Ghana Center for Democratic Development
Abstract:
Ghana’s 2016 presidential elections was closely contested between Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (candidate for the opposition New Patriotic Party) and the incumbent President John Dramani Mahama (presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress). Akufo-Addo emerged as the winner of the election with 5,755,758 votes while his main competitor, Mahama, received 4,771,188 votes, translating into almost a million (984,570) vote difference. Similarly, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) won a decisive majority of the parliamentary seats (169 out of the 275). The National Democratic Congress (NDC’s) 106 seats represented a loss of 42 parliamentary seats it previously held. None of the minor political parties secured a parliamentary seat in the elections. The NDC’s electoral defeat surprised many party members and observers. Among other things, it marked the first time in the Fourth Republic that an incumbent government had lost the elections in the first round, and with such a huge margin. The incumbent president was rendered incapable of taking advantage of the constitutionally sanctioned opportunity to serve two terms. Moreover, the party had mounted a powerful election campaign with the advantage of incumbency which saw a lot of commissioning of projects close to the election period. At the same time, the opposition NPP had been struggling to maintain a united front, which was only resolved by changes to two key leadership positions but with worries of its electoral consequences. This is the backdrop against which an influential member of the NDC described the outcome of the elections as “very difficult and mysterious to understand.” The electoral defeat provoked an acrimonious debate within the party over what and who to blame for this inauspicious development.
Topic:
Elections, Political Parties, and Presidential Elections
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana

6. From Manifesto Promise to Policy Implementation: Analysis of Government’s Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program

Author:
Gilfred Asiamah, Awal Swallah, Kojo Asante, and Samuel Baaye
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Ghana Center for Democratic Development
Abstract:
The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) with funding support from the Department for International Development (DFID) under its Strengthening Action Against Corruption (STAAC) program has initiated a project to track the implementation of the government's flagship Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program (IPEP).
Topic:
Corruption, Government, Poverty, Infrastructure, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana