Local Economic Development (LED)
This policy thrust seeks to create an enabling environment for income growth, sustained business development and creation of decent jobs by making LED planning and implementation more inclusive and an integral part of decentralised planning. This will involve strengthening LED related institutional structures, identification and marketing of local resource endowments, adding value to local resources for export (locally across regions and abroad), improving the capacities of the main actors especially women and youth and building an eco-system of support services including Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for job creation.
Policy Objective
To promote an enabling environment for sustained growth of business, decent jobs and income.
Policy Measures
a) Strengthen institutional structures and actors for PPPs in LED
A nationwide institutional mapping of actors and collaborators will be conducted for the public and private sectors to facilitate collaboration and cooperation for LED. There will be re-activation of horizontal and vertical LED coordination and knowledge sharing mechanisms at all levels (national, regional, DAs). The national LED Technical Committee will be revitalised and LED coordination mechanisms established at regional and DA levels. These will ensure effective implementation of the national LED policy and action plan. In addition, the Business Resource Centres (BRCs), and other relevant institutional structures will serve as entry points to support LED planning, implementation and oversight. Also, informal training centres for persons with diabilities will be strengthened. In addition, there will be mapping of local resource endowment. The DAs will be supported to identify local resource base and develop corresponding industrial map showing their viability to promote their value addition through flagship projects such as 1D1F and sponsor local exports. DAs will be expected to promote local competitiveness to attract local and foreign direct investments to their jurisdictions. Given this objective, DAs will be encouraged to attend regional and international export promotion events. District competitiveness ranking will be introduced using resource base and district enabling environment indices.
b) Improve capacity to support LED planning, implementation and oversight
Skills set for LED planning, budgeting and implementation is limited. Hence, the LED practitioner’s manual will be updated and integrated into the larger capacity building framework for DAs and RCCs to ensure a structured approach to LED capacity development. The decentralised component of the national PPP Policy will be finalised, disseminated and staff of RCCs and DAs trained. The private sector and the public will be sensitised on the Policy. Modalities will be established to mainstream experiences of the flagship initiatives into LED planning and implementation.
c) Create an enabling environment for sustained business growth at the local level Relevant technical support services, data and infrastructure will be provided to the business community to facilitate public[1]private partnerships and linkages between local businesses and start-ups. The strategy also includes the generation of data from research in areas where DAs have comparative advantage using their administrative structures. This data will be used to promote and showcase investment opportunities thereby attracting investment to increase income and create jobs, especially for the vulnerable (women, youth, persons with disabilities and others).
d) Promote the inclusion of vulnerable groups in Local Economic Development The Government of Ghana is strongly committed to the global agenda: “leave no one behind” – SDG 2030. Hence, vulnerable groups (women, youth, people with disabilities, etc.) will be supported to participate in LED interventions. This will include access to productive assets, social protection and decent jobs.
