Endogenous Regional Policy and Development Planning in Ghana

Sam C.M. Ofori

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000177190
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politica e relazioni internazionali
• Subtopic: Politica pubblica di pianificazione locale e regionale

This book examines regional development and planning in a poor administrative region of Ghana, assessing the effectiveness of the programmes and projects initiated toreducepoverty, disadvantage and deprivation.

The author analyses the local context of institutions, planning legislation, broad external (exogenous) and internal (endogenous) influencing factors and forces. He thenassesses how they have impacted the effectiveness of regional policy interventions aimed at social and economic development. Using applied planning principles, the book proposes policies to address the challenges of Local Economic Development (LED), urban regeneration and conservation, housing regeneration and regional sustainability in the developing world.

This book will be of interest to students, scholars policy-makers and regional planning practitioners in urban and regional development and planning, geography and African Studies.

1 Introduction

Exogenous and endogenous regional policies and development planning contexts

Introduction

This book is about an assessment of a uniquely innovative endogenous regional development planning intervention process introduced in a relatively poor political-administrative region, the Central Region, of Ghana from the late 1980s into the 2000s and continuing to date. It analyses and evaluates a set of diversified strategic programmes, including the effectiveness of specialised institutions aimed at managing programme implementation. Equally, an assessment is made of the planning system and development planning practices as contexts of the initiatives. In this regard, the study makes arguments for promoting effective endogenous regional development approaches, in comparison with exogenous ones, in Ghana, which may be instructive to other countries in Africa and the developing world, generally.

An earlier regional development effort, exogenously led by Central Government and involving the Central Regional Co-ordinating Council and a number of national and international investors, was based solely on the Twifo Oil Palm Plantation project at Twifo Ntafrawaso in the Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira District of the region. It was a single-pronged strategy aimed mainly at developing an oil palm plantation, including the establishment of a pressing mill on site to produce red palm oil to meet domestic and industrial needs as well as for export and so generate employment and income in the process (Ofori, 2002). Central Government controlled the largest share with international and other national partners taking up the remainder. The erstwhile exogenous Central Regional Development Corporation looked after Government’s interests.

The present study is a sequel to the earlier initiative but is unique in its multiple-pronged, diversified and endogenous nature. Indeed, it is based on a more innovative and essentially original initiative of the Central Regional Co-ordinating Council and its partners through creating its own planning and development processes, including programme design and implementation. It also includes the establishment of a specialised regional development organisation for the process and support for the creation of a Non-Governmental Organisation for the purpose of managing the strategic assets in the post-programme era. Wholly originated from within the region, this is an endogenous engagement. Moreover, it remains the only kind ever made by a single Regional Co-ordinating Council in Ghana. It has a potential for replication in other regions of Ghana and wider in the developing world. The study also aims to make a comparison with the exogenous approach to regional development planning.

Chapter 1 indicates the themes and arguments and general methodological wrap-up, audience, aims and organisation of the study. Second, it explains the concepts of exogenous and endogenous regional development as overarching frameworks of the study, including an indication of the various regional development institutions established in Ghana since the early 1970s. Third, it introduces the engagement with regional deprivation and disadvantage and some of the strategic responses to these as well as the contextual significance of the Central Region and importance of Ghana. Fourth, it makes an observation on diversified regional development strategies. Fifth, it explains the legislative, institutional and financial contexts of statutory regional development planning. Finally, it sets out the main research approach and methodology.

In this book, ‘development planning’ is considered as having two implications. First, it means all planned interventions in the regional development process. Thus it is multi-disciplinary, multi-dimensional and multi-actor based, as data availability permits, generally more typical of developing countries (Conyers and Hill, 1984). Second, it refers to the particular aspect of urban and regional planning practice that deals with the making of development plans. In this case, ‘development planning’ or ‘planning’ is a deliberate and conscious undertaking aimed at guiding the development process. Regional development, in context, is necessarily a territorial engagement and covers the economic, social, physical, environmental and cultural sectors, together.

Themes and arguments and general methodological framework

Three main themes are addressed in the book. One relates to the effectiveness of endogenous regional development planning, based on diversified strategies as exemplified in the Central Region. A second theme is about what factors promote and realise the aims and objectives of effective endogenous regional development. A third one is on the extent and form of the presence of external/exogenous factors and forces in endogenous regional development.

It is argued that only an effectively improved and enhanced procedural process of regional development planning can achieve the goals and objectives of endogenous regional development. A second argument is that the resource base and assets for achieving the aims of regional development need to be sustainably protected and conserved. Otherwise, the successful performance of programme and project implementation would be seriously limited, if not impaired or counter-productive. Third, it is absolutely essential to adequately secure the necessary financing and consistently provide the required level of funding for all the endogenous regional development interventions. Fourth, it is argued that a viable institutional context is equally absolutely essential in driving and managing the whole process of regional development planning and achieving its objectives (Local Governance Act (Act 925), 2016 and Land Use and Spatial Planning Act (Act 936), 2016), in particular Republic of Ghana, 2016a, 2016b, 2017a). A fifth argument is that an endogenous approach to regional development planning has a greater likelihood of being more effective and successful than a solely exogenous one. However, positive support from exogenous sources and beneficial co-operation with these are acceptable.

Methodologically, the study is set within the framework of procedural planning knowledge, including a review of its limitations and applications. At the material level, it employs a set of substantive knowledge types in the regional and local development contexts and the international realms that influence these. Since a focus is on diversified regional strategies, the book is based on a multiple case study. Generally, however, there is a lack of quantitative data in relation to the various aspects of the study, notably specific project impacts. Partly, this stems from poor record-keeping practices by some of the respondents. Second, it relates to the limited availability of efficient data storage facilities. Another is because many of the respondents were not available during the original execution of the endogenous regional programmes. Therefore, the study depends much on qualitative data obtained largely through field interviews with current project managers and planners. Other qualitative data are derived from secondary sources in the form of project reports and background information provided by the respondents and other researchers.

Audience and aims and organisation of the book

Audience of the book includes professional and practising urban and regional development planners, academic researchers and instructors as well as senior undergraduate, postgraduate and research students in development planning at public and private higher educational institutions. Other subjects of relevance include urban and rural and regional development studies, regional economics, public policy, development and resource geography, built and natural environmental management. Colleges of Education and specialised centres of training within the Civil Service would also find it useful. Similarly, Non-Governmental Organisations, politicians, private development organisations, Community Based, Faith Based and Civil Society Organisations and members of the general public would also find it of value in being informed about the processes of regional/local development policies, generally and endogenous regional development engagement in particular.

The book aims to inquire into and assess initiatives of the Central Regional Co-ordinating Council in turning around the region’s hitherto highly poor economic situation during the period covering the late 1980s to early 2000s and generally to the present. Another objective is to assess the impacts of the strategic programmes which were implemented and the links of these with the future of the status quo ante. These were the Central Region Integrated Development Programme I and II, Tourism Development Scheme for the Central Region, Natural Resource Conservation and Heritage Preservation Project I and II and various initiatives of the Central Region Development Commission.

In this regard, a third objective is to make a more specific assessment of the Natural Resource Conservation and Heritage Preservation Project which focused on local economic, environmental-spatial and socio-cultural development in and management of Kakum National Park, regeneration of historic family properties and two castles and a fort, including the wider historic urban environments within which these are located. A fourth objective is to make an equally focused assessment of the in-house initiatives of the Central Region Development Commission, which was established for the purpose of managing the endogenous initiatives, including its own policies, plans and programmes. Equally, a sixth objective is to assess the effectiveness of Ghana Heritage Conservation Trust, which managed natural and built assets under the endogenous regional development initiatives and continues in the post-programme era. A final objective is to point out the main lessons learned in the study and propose policies and recommendations for ameliorating identified challenges and promoting future effective programme implementation.

The book is organised into 12 chapters. The content of Chapter 1 has been set out already. Chapter 2 indicates and critiques the substantive knowledge forms and other conceptual frameworks used to perceive and interpret the material territorial development processes, including the global-international contexts that inform these. Chapter 3 identifies the various regional development planning problems as indicated by the respondents and reflected in the secondary sources they provided. Relating to these, the relevant endogenous regional development and planning policies are indicated in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 presents exogenous development plan contexts, initiation of endogenous development planning practices and relevant institutional performance, in this regard. Chapter 6 focuses on the impacts of local economic development, Chapter 7 on environmental-spatial development and Chapter 8 on socio-cultural development in Kakum National Park and fringe community. Chapter 9 is about impacts of the targeted historic family property regeneration in Cape Coast metropolis and Chapter 10 on those of the regeneration of Cape Coast Castle, Elmina Castle and Fort St Jago, also in Elmina. Chapter 11 relates to the direct initiatives of the Central Region Development Commission. Finally, Chapter 12 presents the lessons learned within the procedural planning process and relevant substantive knowledge forms and a set of policies and recommendations proposed for future policy and programme implementation.

Exogenous and endogenous regional development and the literature

Existing literature on exogenous and endogenous regional development and growth is wide-ranging and relates mostly to the developed economies with some focused on developing countries. One set of the literature reviewed relates to rural development, sub-regional level (Long and van der Ploeg, 1994; Ward et al., 2005; Hien, 2007; High and Nemes, 2007; Millar et al., 2008; Vermiere et al., 2008; Badal, 2016). Regional level literature includes Hien (2007), Lee et al. (2009), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2010), Stimson et al. (2011), Çiçek (2013), Svetikas (2014), Antonescu (2015) and Sharipov (2016). Ewen’s work (2003) relates to the national/exogenous level versus the domestic/endogenous context in Haiti. Mansell’s (2011) is...