Information use and policy decision making by district assembly members in Ghana

Abstract

This study investigates information utilization for policy decision making by assembly members in Ghana’s local government system. The survey method using questionnaires was used to collect data from 200 respondents drawn from a sample of 278 (72 percent response). The study revealed that the information needs of assembly members were related to their legislative and policy-making tasks within the assembly. It was found that policy makers in the assembly system of Ghana had little access to relevant and reliable information when making decisions about policies, programmes and policy implementation. Decisions were therefore often made based on what could be remembered. The study made a number of recommendations, including: the presentation of information sources in appropriate formats for assembly members; enhancing the capability of assembly members through training; the establishment of district assembly libraries and information centres; the provision of adequate funding by assemblies to support subscription to relevant information sources; and the effective dissemination of information by ministries, departments and agencies to the district assemblies.

Land Use Scenario Modeling Based on Local Knowledge for the Provision of Ecosystem Services in Northern Ghana

“…About 55.4% of households in Bolgatanga are residents of urban areas, while only 7.5% of households in Bongo live in urban areas [27]. Each district has individual political, administrative, and developmental decision-making power, according to a decentralization program initiated in 1988 [32].…”

E‐governance in Africa's local governments: Do district assemblies in Ghana optimize the use of websites and social media?

“…Other studies have explored the nature of adoption of e‐government, benefits, and challenges associated with its implementation in some selected government agencies, all excluding local government structures like MMDAs (Addo, ; Osei‐Kojo, ). Findings of these studies come to the consensus that e‐government has tremendous potential for making government institutions more efficient in the execution of their mandate (Alemna & Sam, ; Fiankor & Akussah, ; Misuraca, ).…”

“…In spite of evidence on the use of websites among other strategies as channels of information by MMDAs in Ghana, there are still concerns that these institutions have not been proactive in taking advantage of e‐government revolution (Fiankor & Akussah, ). In view of this lacuna, this study aims to assess the extent to which e‐government has been used as channels of information exchange and avenues for citizen participation in MMDAs in Ghana.…”

Information sources and profile of informed citizens

“…Wilson's (1997) model notes that the individual's social role is another determinant of information behavior. Fiankor and Akussah (2012) present empirical evidence from 200 survey responses indicating that information needs of assembly members in Ghana are associated to the individual's role or tasks. Niu and Hemminger (2011) report similar findings on role-related factors and information behavior based on a sample of 2,063 academic researchers in the United States.…”

“…Garcia-Cosavalente et al, 2010;Fiankor and Akussah, 2012). This tendency raises some questions about the representativeness and generalizability of the evidence provided.…”