Citizens Participation in the Decentralization Process in Ghana : A case study of North Tongu District of Volta Region

Participation in decision-making is the root of democratization, as democratization is widely believed to be rooted in decentralization. As such, citizens' participation in the decentralization process will bring governance closer to the local control. The Fourth Republican Constitution of Ghana (1992), together with other legislations has provided the framework for the citizens of Ghana to participate in the administration of government through the decentralization process. However, we do not know how the citizens perceive the programme. We need to find the extent to which citizens are participating in the decentralization process and what factors affect the implementation of the programme in the North Tongu District of Volta region. Therefore, the focus of the study was to explore the views and understandings of citizens about Ghana's decentralization process. The researcher used the case study design for the study. Both questionnaire and interview protocol were used for data gathering. One hundred and six people in the area were conveniently sampled to become respondents in the study. For the method of data analysis, I used tables and percentages.