The DLT is a simple ranking tool showing national progress toward delivering development across Ghana’s 216 districts.

The district assemblies are assessed for their compliance with administrative and statutory requirements, with the DLT focusing on Ghana’s actual progress in improving development and wellbeing across the country as a whole, breaking down the indicators to the district level.

The key indicators for the DLT include education, sanitation, rural water, health, security and governance.

The meeting with the Greater Accra RCC is the first in the series of briefings of RCCs by CDD – Ghana and UNICEF on the status of each district in the Region the 2016 DLT report.

The Greater Accra Region placed second with 62 per cent; while the Ashanti Region came first with 63 per cent.

The percentage scores for each of the rest of the regions are Brong Ahafo, Upper East and Western 61 each; Upper West 60; Central 59; Eastern 56; Northern 55 and Volta 54.

The report, which was nationally launched in December 2016, revealed that of the 16 district assemblies in the Greater Accra Region, the La Nkwantanang-Madina Municipal Assembly (LNMMA) was adjudged the best performing District Assembly for 2016 with a score of 77.8 per cent.

The other top four performing district assemblies in the Region were the Tema Metropolis, Ashaiman Municipal, Shai-Osudoku District and Accra Metropolis.

These districts had scores between 7.2 and 18.9 percentage points above the national average of 58.9 per cent and between four and 15.8 percentage points above the regional average of 62 per cent.

On the other hand, Ga Central Municipal, Ledzoku-Krowor Municipal, Adentan Municipal, Ada West West District and Ga South were at the bottom of the regional league table in terms of ranks.

These districts had scores between 1.3 and 10 percentage points below the national average of 58.9 per cent and between 4.4 and 13.1 percentage points below the regional average of 62 per cent.  

Ms Mavis Zupork Dome, a Research Officer of CDD Ghana, said the DLT was an initiative of CDD - Ghana and UNICEF Ghana in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD).

She said the DLT aimed at increasing accountability between decision-makers and citizens, which was crucial in Ghana for improving both the demand for and supply of quality public service delivery in education, health, security, rural water, sanitation and governance.

She explained that the DLT, which was started in 2014, was an independent tool for promoting social accountability, showed national progress towards delivering development across Ghana's 216 Districts and it was produced on an annual basis.

“With the data available for approximating progress made on the provision of proper sanitation services the District’s Community Certification for Open Defecation Free (ODF); it is evident that though districts are making progress, there is still more to be done since no district in Ghana is certified ODF,” she said.

Ms Sarah Hague, Chief of Social Policy and Monitoring and Evaluation, UNICEF Ghana, said there was evidence of improvements in some district’s ranking, however, most districts saw their ranks drop.

She said districts that had shown remarkable improvements were Kpone Katamanso District and La Dade-Kotopon Municipal.

Madam Dorothy Onny, Director Research, Statistics and Information Management, MLRD, urged traditional rulers and district chief executives to see the DLT as a simple tool to facilitate development, adding that: “It is not a name and shame matter”.

She called on CDD Ghana and UNICEF to intensify public education on the findings of the DLT.

Nii-Amarh Ashitey, the Director – Human Resource Management, Greater Accra RCC, urged on Districts, Municipal and Metropolitan Assemblies to take the findings of the DLT very seriously; so as to guide them in their policy formulation.

On education, he said the ranking must also take into cognisance the fact that some districts had better private basic schools than others; hence their performance at the Basic Education Level  being better than those with more public basic schools.

Dr Callistus Mahama, the Acting Head of the Local Government Service, in a statement read on his behalf by Nii-Amarh Ashitey, said the DLT must be used to promote accountability for development and service delivery primarily with the Central Government.

He said public education was needed to remove all misconceptions about the DLT; stating that poor performing districts must learn from the success stories of their peers.