Dormaa West Tops Bono Region And Attains 4th Position In Ghana --In Latest District Level Performance Assessment And Ranking By ILGS
Freeman Koryekpor 
THE Dormaa West District Assembly with Francis Kwadwo Oppong, the District Chief Executive (DCE) has been declared as the best in the Bono Region in the latest 2023 District Level Performance Assessment and Ranking.
A report by the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS), indicates that the Dormaa West District Assembly has score 75.3 percent to top the Bono Regional Ranking of Local government index 2023 and 4th in the whole country.
The top five ranked MMDCEs were Mpohor District, Dormaa West District, Cape Coast Metropolitan, Akyemansa District, and Kwahu East.
A Local Government Index (LOGIN) was designed to provide a comprehensive and holistic assessment of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) from the perspectives of residents who interact with them.
And this, was conducted by the ILGS in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development (MLGDRD) and the Office of the Head of Local Government Service (OHLGS) with financial support from the State Secretariat of Economic Affair (SECO) of Switzerland.
The LOGIN used residents’ score cards to rank the 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) on seven local governance performance areas and forty-seven indicators.
The seven LOGIN areas were Quality of administrative services, Quality of leadership exhibited by the District Chief Executive (DCE), Quality of representation by Assembly Members and Quality of professionalism exhibited by the staff of the District Assembly.
The rest included Quality of social services provision, Quality of opportunities provided by the Local Government (LG) for residents to participate in their local governance and decision-making as well as Quality of opportunities provided by the LG for Local Economic Development
According to the report, the overall performance also shows that nine other districts out of the 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, scored 71 per cent and above that indicates excellent.
Also, fifty-three districts scored between 61 to 70 percent whereas 109 districts scored between 51 to 60 percent.
The report said, the New Public Management (NPM) principles have compelled public sector organizations to manage government businesses differently from the way they have administered them in the past.
“The principles offer directions on reforms that will make the provision of public services more responsive, effective, efficient, equitable and accountable. Nevertheless, because there is no nationwide assessment mechanism that takes into consideration the perspectives of residents, an impression is created that their voices are not considered, hence the need to use the residents” the report pointed out.
The Dormaa West District Assembly which came fourth is one of the twelve districts in Bono Region, Ghana.
Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Dormaa District on 10 March 1989; until the southwest part of the district was split off to create Dormaa West District on 28 June 2012; thus the remaining part was later elevated to municipal district assembly status and has been renamed as Dormaa Central Municipal District.
The district assembly is located in the western part of Bono Region and has Nkrankwanta as its capital town.
In an interview with some of the residents at Nkrankwanta, the capital town of Dormaa West District Assembly they praised the DCE for this mile stone and for bringing the name of the district higher in the country.
For his part, the visibly happy DCE described the Assembly attainment of fourth position in Ghana and first of the Bono Region in latest district level performance assessment and ranking as a very good works he and his workers are doing in the Assembly.
According to him, the fact was that this survey was independently being done when many of them were completely absence.
"I am very happy that the residents/people in the district have given details accounts of what they have seen the Assembly is doing to promote socio-economic development and growth in the district," the DCE noted.
The DCE asserted that the outcome of the ranking of the Assembly best in the Bono Region and fourth in Ghana has actually reflected on the actual works his outfit is doing in the various electoral areas without the district.
Mr Oppong stated that last year, the Dormaa West District Assembly has topped the Bono Region as the overall best in the district level performance assessment and ranking in a independent survey conducted by the Local Government Service.
"So the latest ranking of the Assembly as fourth in Ghana and first in the region had confirmed every good things we are doing in the Assembly since l assumed office. In fact when the news broke out that Assembly was fourth in Ghana and first in the region in latest district level performance assessment and ranking, we all happy and said it is a good news to us.
"l and my workers were all happy because l have always advised my workers in the Assembly to do right things which would make the Assembly progress," he noted.
He disclosed that"Even yesterday l have reiterated my advises to them to continue to demonstrate their skills and knowledge to always do the right things which are expecting from the people in the district."
Additionally, "the DCE stressed that I told them yesterday that we did not know that someone is assessing our works which we are doing; so now the latest 2023 district level performance assessment and ranking had reflected what you and l are doing then they should take it up."
"I am happy for the performance because l have received several calls via telephone from my colleagues congratulating me after the report was released by the Institute of Local Government Studies," the joyful DCE told Soireenews.com in an interview on Thursday May 23, 2024.
Looking at the grade from the latest district level performance assessment and ranking, the DCE indicated it shows that it was the DCE relationship towards the Assembly members that was why l got tenth in the whole country.
In this sense, Mr Oppong assured to devise innovative measures to work hard in the expectations of the constituents to help the Assembly to be ranked national overall best in
the next coming District Level Performance Assessment and Ranking.
"Our vision is to be declared as overall best performing Assembly in Ghana in the up-coming District Level Performance Assessment and Ranking like the Mpohor District Assembly," the NDC assured.
