Development Objectives

District Objectives and Strategies
Development Objectives

The District development objectives to achieve the broad goal under the various thematic areas are as follows:

Thematic Area I:

Ensuring and sustaining macroeconomic stability

i. Increase revenue base of the District

Thematic Area II:

Enhancing competitiveness in Ghana’s Private Sector

i. Create a conducive environment for the development of the private sector

Thematic Area III:

Accelerated Agriculture Modernization and Sustainable Natural Resource Management

i. Modernize and increase agricultural production and sustain natural resources in the District

Thematic Area IV:

Infrastructure and Human Settlement Development

i. Improve on the infrastructure and energy base of the district, and ensure development of the human settlement

Thematic Area V:

Human Development, Productivity and Employment

i. Improve on the standard and quality of education, and health care delivery to enhance productivity

Thematic Area VI:

Transparent and Accountable Governance

i. Ensure transparent and accountable governance, and empower the citizenry especially women in decision making and plan implementation

Adopted Policy Objectives and Strategies

This aspect of the plan looks at the adopted policy objectives of the District under each of the thematic areas as well as the adopted objectives. The relevant policy objectives and strategies adopted from the GSGDA II policy framework is shown in the Table XX below.

Development Projections

Forecasts and projections are critical in trying to assess future needs in the development planning process. It enables future populations to be better served with basic needs, facilities and infrastructure. In the ensuing discussion, the current population is projected for the plan period, that is, 2014 – 2017 as a basis for projecting facilities and services required in the future.

Population Projection

The population growth rate is estimated as 2.3% (using the Exponential Regression Model). By the end of the plan period, the 2010 population of the District would have increased by 17.5 percent. The underlying assumptions guiding this projection are:

i. Migration is constant

ii. Birth and death rates are constant

iii. Proportions of age cohorts will remain constant

Educational Projection

Projections in the educational sector are under two main categories – the required teachers for the planned period and the projected pupils/students from kindergarten to senior high school. The overarching assumption in the educational projections is that all children in the school going age will be in school during the plan years.

Teachers

The projection of the teaching staff considered both trained and untrained teachers with the assumption that the capacity of the untrained teachers will be built on to suit the educational system.

Projection of school enrolment

The projection of school enrolment from 2010 to 2017 captured pupils in kindergarten to senior high school. The gender parity of these levels of education was also emphasized in order to inform decision in the near future.

The projection of school enrolment revealed that the population in school at all levels will increase by 17.5 percent between 2010 and 2017. With this increment (17.5%) by 2015, the male population will constitute 52.9 percent while the female counterpart will be 47.1 percent. 

Monitoring and Evaluation

This chapter of the development plan seeks to outline the institutional arrangements in terms of monitoring and evaluation that will facilitate effective and efficient use of resources during the implementation of the DMTDP at the district level. It will also assess the output, outcomes and impact of the deliveries.

The section will define roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders in accordance with collaboration and other relevant legal provisions. The emphasis will be the involvement of traditional authorities, Area Councils, civil society organizations and development partners and instituting effective feedback mechanisms that will enhance monitoring and evaluation information.

Monitoring is a process that ensures that, at any given stage of a project, the required inputs are delivered on time, used as intended and the desired results produced. To determine whether these results have been achieved, the causes of deviation, if any, and how to counteract any unintended consequences, evaluation processes are undertaken. The main purpose for evaluation is to give feedback which leads to re-planning.

Since plans may be affected by uncontrollable situations such as socio-economic changes, political climate and international relations, it is necessary that they are constantly monitored and necessary remedies made accordingly. The process will look at monitoring activities over the implementation period, on-going evaluation occurs at specific points within the implementation phase and terminal evaluation occurs at the end of the project.

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

To facilitate decentralized monitoring and evaluation, NDPC has prepared guidelines for the preparation of the District M&E Plan. This provides a comprehensive framework for undertaking M&E activities in the district. At the district level, monitoring and evaluation activities are the responsibility of the District Planning Coordinating Unit (DPCU), as stipulated under Section 46, sub-section 3 of the Local Government Act, 1993, Act 462. Here the DPCU is set up to assist the District Assembly to execute designated planning functions.

The DPCU will be responsible for the preparation of monitoring and evaluation procedures as well as the monitoring and evaluation plan, using NDPC guidelines. Again, it is required to play a leading role in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development policies, programmes and projects. In the course of doing its job, the DPCU will collaborate with communities, governmental, non-governmental organizations and other civil society groups in the district.

The DPCU shall perform the following key functions:

• Responsible for the development and implementation of the District M&E plan
• Convene quarterly DMTDP performance review meetings with all stakeholders
• Liaise with RPCU to agree on goals, targets and specific indicators
• Define indicators for measuring change, especially on issues that cut across the themes of the Medium-Term Policy Framework 2014-2017
• Collect and collate feedback from the sub-district levels for preparation of the District Annual Progress Report
• Conduct Mid-Term and Terminal Evaluations of the DMTDP
  
  

DMTDP MONITORING AND REPORT

Formal Monitoring of the DMTDP begins as soon as actual implementation of a project starts. Here monitoring activities are aimed at ensuring that progress in respect of schedules, quality of work, and delivery of inputs (including labour) are as planned. To facilitate proper reporting, the DPCU shall compile a register of all on-going programmes and projects in the district in accordance with NDPC Guidelines on M&E Plans Preparation.

This Register shall be updated quarterly with details on each activity such as start-time, costs, location, and source of funding, expected date of completion, project status, etc. The DPCU is expected to produce District Quarterly and Annual Progress Reports using the following NDPC proposed District M&E Reporting format.

DMTDP EVALUATION AND REPORTING

Evaluation is conducted in greater details at the project level. Ex-post factor evaluation is conducted in order to find out whether the resources invested have produced or are producing the expected level of output, and outcomes and whether the benefits are reaching the intended target population. The first evaluation should be conducted one year after completion of the project when the impact of the project should be evident.

In accordance with provisions in the NDPC guidelines for M & E planning, the DPCU and other stakeholders are supposed to conduct Mid-Term and terminal evaluations of the DMTDP. The performance of all projects will also be evaluated when completed to assess its performance and ascertain whether the interventions have met its intended objectives.

Evaluation Topics

The evaluation will look at the following issues;

Objectives

• Have the programme/project objectives been achieved?
• Are the programme/project objectives still relevant?
• Has the programme/project supported the policy(ies) as planned?
• Where the programme/project objectives have not been achieved reasons shall be give
  
  

State any policies which need adjustment.

Time and Finance

• Was the project completed on schedule? If not state length of over-run and give reasons.
• Was the project cost within the amount estimated? If not state amount of over (or under) expenditure and reasons.
• Did the funds come as planned and anticipated? If not what was shortfalls and reasons.
  
  

Programme targets

• Are the benefits reaching the targeted beneficiaries? If not state beneficiaries not being reached.
• Are the benefits at the planned quantitative and qualitative levels? If not state shortfall.
• Is revenue at the planned level? If not state shortfall (for programme/projects designed to be revenue earning only)
• Where planned targets, in terms of benefits and beneficiaries have not been achieved give reason in full and state how the situation will be avoided in future.
  
  

Operations

1. Is the project operating at the planned level? If not state deficiency
2. Are the programme/project assets being properly maintained? If not state areas of failure.
3. Where future action is required, this should be stated in detail including when and by whom the action is to be taken.
4. Augment internal evaluation results, the District Assembly through the DPCU may undertake or commission other studies such as:
5. 
   

 Strategic Evaluation

• Socio-economic Survey
• Social and Environmental Impact Assessments
• District Poverty Profiling and Mapping
• Thematic Evaluation Studies
• Beneficiary Assessment
  
  

Roles and Responsibilities of Stakeholders

The criteria for the selection of agencies responsible for the implementation of each project in the annual plan are as follows:

• Existing and expected functions

• Ongoing and planned projects by the agency in question

• Technical resource available

• Expertise in the relevant project

It is expected that the successful implementation of the annual plan will provide the needed socio-economic and technical infrastructure conditions for the subsequent realization of the overall goals of the district as envisaged in the Log frame.

Development priorities

To ensure that the district’s development priorities are in conformity with government’s policy of the Medium Term National Development Policy Framework (2013-2014), the identified community needs and aspirations have to be harmonized by linking them with the key development gaps/issues identified under the review of performances of the Ghana Shed Growth and Development Agenda 1 (2010-2013) and other interventions.

The harmonized identified development problems is therefore linked to the relevant issues of the main thematic areas of the Medium Term National Development Policy Framework (MTDPF) namely improvement and sustenance of macroeconomic stability; expanded development of production infrastructure; accelerated agricultural modernisation and agro-based industrial development; developing human resources for national development; transparent and accountable governance and reducing poverty and income inequality . In prioritizing the development issues under the various thematic areas of the GSGDA II, the following concepts and criteria were considered.

Impact on a large proportion of the citizens especially, the poor and vulnerable significant linkage effect on meeting basic human needs/rights – e.g. immunization of children and quality basic schooling linked to productive citizens in future, reduction of gender discrimination linked to sustainable development, etc. Significant multiplier effect on the local economy – attraction of enterprises, job creation, increases in incomes and growth, etc. impact on even development ( the extent to which it addresses inequality).

Likert Scale

The weight on the Likert Scale starts from the highest which is 5 to the lowest (1). On the other hand, the score (*) represent the plan preparation team members. The weighted score is the sum of the product of weight and score. The prioritized development issues under the various thematic areas of the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA II) are shown below.

IDENTIFIED DISTRICT POTENTIALS

Potentials are latent resources that can be tapped for the development of a district, region or country. They are enabling factors in the development process. In the case of Asutifi South District Plan, the potentials can be classified into natural, human resources, institutional and infrastructural. These potentials when positively combined can generate 1st and 2nd level potentials which are higher level potentials.

Development Issues

KEY DEVELOPMENT ISSUES IDENTIFIED FROM THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND SITUATION ANALYSIS

The key development issues are issues of concern and which also impede the development initiative of the District. The underlying principle for identifying and dealing with the key development issues is that of removing the factors, which inhibit development so that development efforts would yield results more easily. In this regard the Assembly would not have to “push development” but rather deal with the inhibitors to development.

The key development issues provide the basis for analytical discussions leading to the formulation of relevant goals, objectives and activities. The key development issues are therefore of extreme importance in the preparation of the Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP) 2014 – 2017 within the Medium Term Development Policy Framework. It also constitutes a key component of the situational analysis of the Medium Term Development Plan of the Asutifi South District Assembly.

The key development issues of the District were elicited from various stakeholder sessions in the area and issues that emerged from the community level as well as the situational analysis of the District by the District Planning Coordinating Unit.

The summarised development issues are put under the thematic areas as specified, in line with the Medium-Term National Development Policy Framework (2010-2013) under the GSGDA.

1.  Ensuring and Sustaining Macroeconomic Stability

i.   Low revenue generation

ii.  Low capacity of revenue collectors

iii. High revenue leakages

2. Enhancing Competitiveness in Ghana Private Sector

i. High rate of sand wining

ii. High rate of chain saw operation

iii. High rate of immigration

iv. Poor management of market facilities

v. Limited access of credit facilities by small scale enterprises and farmers

vi. Frequent bush burning (bush fire)

vii. High illiteracy rate

viii. Weak linkages between agriculture and industry

3. Accelerated Agricultural Modernization and Sustainable Natural Resource Management

i. Low agricultural productivity

ii. Inadequate market for farm produce

iii. Poor farming practice

iv. Poor and inadequate storage facilities

v. Undeveloped capacity of FBOs to access or deliver services

vi. High illegal mining activities

vii. High level of environmental degradation

viii. Increasing negative impact of climate change on agriculture

ix. Negative impact of mining on the environment and host communities

x. Inadequate access to veterinary services

xi. No office and inadequate logistics for Agric Department

5. Infrastructure, Energy and Human Settlement Development

i. Poor road surface condition

ii. Haphazard development

iii. Inadequate potable water

iv. Inadequate toilet facilities

v. Low connection of electricity to the national grid

vi. Poor drainage system

vii. Poor management of final disposal site for solid waste

viii. High power outage in the District

ix. Negative attitudinal and behavioural orientation towards proper waste disposal

6. Human Development, Productivity and Employment

i. Dilapidated school structures

ii. Inadequate teaching and learning materials

iii. Inadequate accommodation facilities for teachers

iv. Poor performance of basic school students

v. High drop-out rate in basic schools

vi. Inadequate trained teachers

vii. Inadequate furniture for basic schools

viii. Poor boarding facilities for senior high schools

ix. Undeveloped ICT base in basic schools

x. Inadequate accommodation facilities for health workers

xi. High incidence of malaria

xii. Inadequate Health workers

xiii. Inadequate health infrastructure

xiv. High incidence of HIV and AIDS

xv. Lack of modern equipment at the health facilities

xvi. Low capacity of WATSAN Committee Members

xvii. Inadequate support to the physically challenged and the aged

xviii. Lack of support for abused children and those who are in conflict with the law

7. Transparent and Accountable Government

i. Low capacity of Area Councils

ii. Low participation of women in decision making

iii. Inadequate office and residential accommodation for District Assembly Staff

iv. Lack of office accommodation for Area Councils

v. Inadequate police personnel

vi. High incidence of criminalities

vii. Inadequate capacity of District Assembly Members