Answer to Question #221727 in Political Science for Isaac Osei Sarpong

Question

With the aid of an example, briefly explain how decentralized local governance can help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Eleven (SDG - Goal 11) in Ghana.  

Answer 1

The UN Sustainable Development Goal Eleven aims to achieve sustainable cities and communities by making them safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable. Decentralized local governance in Ghana can drive towards achievement of SDG 11 by facilitating the mobilization of local resources in support of the sustainable development process of immediate towns and communities and by enabling value-added contributions to provision of services and development efforts. This raises the development achieved from the limited sources available. Decentralized local governance would also benefit Ghana by creating a greater scope for local and community management and by facilitating a wider diversity of innovations and increasing government flexibility thus mainstreaming citizens who were previously excluded. This inclusivity would broaden the potential for societal capacity building and ameliorate communities. A participatory style of decentralized local governance in Ghana would make cities and communities safer by creating a conducive environment for long-standing prejudices and conflicting interests between local communities. For example, if Ghana's central government decentralized power to the districts, each district would be in full charge of the management of its towns and communities thus mobilizing and managing resources and making suitable sustainable development efforts.