The District is divided into seven (7) Town/Area councils with 202 communities, but non them is fully operational due to lack of permanent staff. There are 37 electoral areas with 52 assembly members. 5 females are represented at the assembly as appointed members. 37 unit committees are legally composed in the various electoral areas. All the sub- committees of the assembly are functional with each having an average of three (3) meeting annually within the period under review. For effective implementation of policies in the Assembly, the General Assembly has the following Sub-Committees that duly work in collaboration and coordination for development.

Local Governance Structure

The District is monitored by the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in pursuance of its mandatory functions. The Assembly has very vibrant Sub-Committee members that are poised to work hard for the achievement of the objectives and overall goal of the Assembly. Apart from the Local Government structures, there are eminent traditional chiefs and sub-chiefs who are working hard in the area of promoting peace, stability and development

The local governance structure in the district is made of the Assemble with the District Chief Executive as the political administrative head assisted by the District Coordinating Director and the head of departments of the assembly who see to the day to day running of the assemble with the Seven (7) Town and Area Councils with Thirty-Seven (37) Unit Committees in the District and other decentralized departments. Figure ... below illustrates the local governance structure in the district.

Capacity of the Town/Area Councils and Unit Committees

There are two Town and five Area Councils in the district and sixty (60) unit committees. The councils have an average of twenty (20) memberships. Women are not fairly represented. They constitute about 1% of the total membership. This may affect women participation in taking decisions that affect their lives. The council has no permanent staff, office equipment, means of transport and other logistics for the smooth operation of the council, hence them ineffective. This affect the operationalization of the unit committees, consequently, affect grass root participation in governance.

The Traditional Authority

The District is in the Mamprusi Traditional Area under the authority of the Nayiri. There are three (3) paramount chiefs, 7 Divisional chiefs and 5 sub- chiefs. See appendix B. The chiefs are represented in the District Assembly and the Area Councils. The Assembly persons and Unit Committees work hand in hand with the Traditional Leaders. However, women are not fairly represented and the Magazias are not mandatory to be part of assemblies and the area councils. The chiefs do not also have any source of revenue or fund for the development. They also handle minor cases at the community level but do not have power to enforce compliance. Some of them do not have fair knowledge of the constitution and hence the cases over which they adjudicate.