Regional Technical Cooperation Division

GHANA:
ho CITY PROFILE

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1
 Copyright © United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), 2009
All rights reserved

United Nations Human Settlements Programme publications can be obtained from

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Fax: + (254 20) 762 4266/7
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.unhabitat.org

This Accra report and project was prepared and managed by Victoria Abankwa in Ghana
and Mohamed El-Sioufi, Alain Grimard, Kerstin Sommer and Florence Kuria in Nairobi.

HS Number: HS/1203/09E

ISBN Number: (Volume) 978-92-1-132172-2

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The designation employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do
not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the
United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of
its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its
economic system or degree of development. The analysis, conclusions and recommendations
of the report do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Human Settlements
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Photo credits: © UN-HABITAT

Acknowledgements
Design and Layout: Florence Kuria

2
 Ghana:
Ho CITY PROFILE

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PROGRAMME

REGIONAL OFFICE FOR AFRICA AND ARAB STATES

Table of contents

FOREWORD 4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6

BACKGROUND 8

GOVERNANCE 12

SLUM AND SHELTER 14

GENDER AND HIV/AIDS 15

ENVIRONMENT 17

PROJECT PROPOSALS

GOVERNANCE 19

SLUMS AND SHELTER 24

GENDER AND HIV/AIDS 26

ENVIRONMENT 29

3
 foreword

The annual urban other departments within the agency – the Urban
growth rate in Sub- Development Branch with the Urban Environment
Saharan Africa is almost Section, the Global Urban Observatory, the Shelter
5 percent, twice as high Branch, the Urban Governance Unit, the Gender
as in Latin America Policy Unit, the Environment Unit and the Training
and Asia. It also has the and Capacity Building Branch. This new corporate
world’s largest proportion approach is known as Rapid Urban Sector Profiling
of urban residents living for Sustainability (RUSPS). The implementation of
in slums, which today RUSPS was launched thanks to contributions from the
are home to 72 percent Governments of Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands.
of urban Africa’s citizens
representing a total of The idea behind the urban profiling is to help
some 187 million people. formulate urban poverty reduction policies at the local,
As more and more people national and regional levels through a rapid, participatory,
seek a better life in towns crosscutting, holistic and action-orientated assessment
and cities, the urban slum population in Africa is of needs. It is also aimed at enhancing dialogue,
projected to double every 15 years in a process known awareness of opportunities and challenges aiming at
as the urbanisation of poverty. African cities are thus identifying response mechanisms as a contribution to
confronted in the new Millennium with the problem of the implementation of the MDGs.
accommodating the rapidly growing urban populations
in inclusive cities, providing them with adequate shelter The urban profiling addresses four main themes:
and basic urban services, while ensuring environmental governance, slums, gender and HIV/AIDS and
sustainability, as well as enhancing economic growth environment. It seeks to build a national profile, and
and development. three settlements representing the capital or a large city,
a medium-sized city, and a small town. The profiles offer
UN-HABITAT is the lead agency for implementation an overview of the urban situation in each participating
of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7, Target city through a series of interviews with key urban actors.
10 (reducing by half the number of people without This is followed by a city consultation where priorities are
sustainable access to safe drinking water), and Target agreed. City-level findings provide input for the national
11 (achieving significant improvement in the lives of at profiling that is combined with a national assessment of
least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020). institutional, legislative, financial and overall enabling
frameworks and response mechanisms. The profiles at
As part of our drive to address this crisis, UN- all levels result in supporting the formation of city and
HABITAT is working with the European Commission national strategies and policy development. Additionally,
to support sustainable urban development in African, the profiling facilitates sub-regional analyses, strategies
Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Given the urgent and common policies through identification of
and diverse needs, the agency found it necessary to common needs and priorities at the sub-regional level.
develop a tool for rapid assessment to guide immediate, This provides guidance to international external support
mid and long-term interventions. In 2002, based on agencies in the development of their responses in the
the European Commission’s Consultative Guidelines form of capacity building tools.
for Sustainable Urban Development Cooperation, UN-
HABITAT successfully implemented an Urban Sector In Ghana, the profiling was undertaken under
Profile Study in Somalia for the first time. The Study the leadership of national and local authorities. This
resulted in the identification and implementation of initiative has been carried out locally in Accra, Tamale,
three major programmes with funding from a variety Ho as well as nationally. The National Urban Profile
foreword -executive director

of donors. focuses on the findings of a desk-study, interviews with

key actors and a town consultation with key urban
In 2004, UN-HABITAT’s Regional Office for actors and institutions. Consultation participants
Africa and the Arab States took the initiative to agreed to address the salient urban issues including
develop the approach further for application in over poverty, insecurity, corruption, pollution and crime
20 countries. This was achieved in collaboration with all problems that negatively affect investments and

4 4
economic development. A consensus was reached on
priority interventions in the form of programme and
project proposals to be implemented.
I wish to acknowledge the contributions of Mr.
Mohamed El Sioufi, who developed the urban profiling
concept, the programme manager Alain Grimard and
Kerstin Sommer who is coordinating its activities. I
also wish to cite those members of staff for their role
in helping produce this report. They include Alioune
Badiane, Antonio Yachan, Adolphin Asimah, Ben Doe
Doris Tetteh, and Sylvester Gabianu.
I would like to thank the Government of Ghana
through the Ho Metropolitan Asembly, Ministry of
Information Service, Ministry of Local Government
and Rural Development, Ministry of Women and
Children Affairs, city mayors, local government officials,
authorities, and all those who have participated in and
supported this initiative and wish every success in its
implementation. I also look forward to supporting
further their efforts in the development of Accra.

Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations,
and Executive Director,
UN-HABITAT

foreword -executive director

5 5
 Executive summary

Overview and high soil fertility are responsible for the agrarian
economy.
Ho is one of the twelve (12) districts in the Volta Region.
It has a population of 61,099, and is the administrative The vegetation of Ho is basically savannah woodland,
and commercial capital of the Volta Region. The which covers most part of the city. However, there are
development needs and investment prospectus of Ho patches of semi-deciduous forest which mostly occur on
centre on infrastructure, environmental management, the highlands. The greatest influence on the vegetation
social services, financial management and institutional in the city, is the;
capacity. The role as administrative and economic hub
of Volta Region requires Ho to give value for money 1. Growing population due to high migration.
services to its inhabitants and extend daily services 2. Pressure on housing and housing facilities.
to many neighboring communities and the region as
a whole. Over the past year population growth and 3. Rapid commercialisation of the economy (Started
urban dependency on infrastructure have far exceeded during the initial years of the Ghana Government
acceptable standards. Although some infrastructure Structural Adjustment Programme).
provision has been made, these constitute insignificant
proportion of infrastructure needs of the municipality.
The city is limited by the poor institutional set-up
and regulatory framework for an effective municipal
management.

Introduction
The Urban Profiling is an accelerated and action-
oriented urban assessment of needs and capacity-
building gaps at local and national levels. It is currently
being implemented in over 20 countries in Africa
and Arab States. RUSPS uses a structured approach
where priority interventions are agreed upon through
consultative processes. The RUSPS methodology consists
of three phases: (1) a rapid participatory urban profiling,
at national and local levels, focusing on Governance,
Slums, Gender, HIV/AIDS, and Environment, and
proposed interventions; (2) detailed priority proposals;
and (3) project implementation. Urban Profiling
in Ghana encompasses a national profile, as well as
profiles for Accra, Tamale, and Ho, each published as a
separate report. This is the Ho report and it constitutes
a general background, a synthesis of the four themes
– Governance, Slums, Gender and HIV/AIDS, and
Environment –, and priority project proposals.

Background
Ho lies between latitude 6 degrees 20 1N and
60degrees 55 1N and longitudes 0 degrees 12 1E and
0 degrees 53 1E and covers an area of 11.65 square
kilometers. Generally, mean monthly temperatures
range between 220 C and 320 C while annual mean
temperature range from 16.50C to 37.80 C.
executive summary

The rainfall pattern is characterized by two rainy

seasons referred to as the major and the minor seasons.
The major season being March to June while the minor
from August to November. The remaining 5 months
of the year being referred to as dry season. The annual
rainfall figures are between 20.1mm and 192mm. The
highest rainfall occurs in June and has mean value
of 192mm while the lowest rainfall is in December
recording a value of 0.1mm. The rain fall pattern

6 6
Governance Gender and HIV/AIDS
The Municipality is defined by the Ho Municipal Affirmative action taken by the Assembly is
Assembly (Establishment) instrument, 1989, L.I. 1461. epitomized by the formation of a non-statutory
It has one (1) Urban Council,, eleven (11) electoral areas committee (Gender Sub-committee) to take care of
and thirty six (36) Unit Committee areas. The Municipal gender related policy issues. Women are legally entitled
Assembly is headed by the Municipal Chief Executive as to be informed of planning proposals at municipal
the direct representative of the President of the Republic. and other local government levels. They are heavily
The Legislative and deliberative organ of the Assembly represented in the lower echelons of the organizational
(General Assembly) is made up of fifty-four (54) elected structure of HMA: 12% of administrative class; 33% of
members and 21 Government appointees. The member junior civil servants and 15% of senior management.
who presides over the General Assembly meetings is the There is the need for collection and analysis of gender
Presiding Member. There is little public participation based data for policy making on gender issues.
in municipal decision-making. The Assembly also lack
resources to undertake development projects. This is Environment
due to poor revenue mobilisation.
High migration rate and population increase is
Slum and shelter creating problems in the management of facilities and
sustainability of the urban environment. Households
There are no typical slum situations in Ho but run- depend mostly on public toilets, which are over
down residential areas such as Bankoe (Population) subscribed and deteriorate quickly. Drainage channels
10,988, Hliha - 3,978, Ahoe – 1,234, Dome – 6,108 are overgrown with weeds and constant dumping of
(36% of the population live in these poor areas). These refuse in all water ways also cause blockage of these water
areas do not have access routes and community facilities ways resulting in flooding of low lying areas and stream
and services. The Assembly in the bid to improve valleys. There are inadequate roadside drains. Domestic
conditions in old and inner city deprived communities wastewater is also poorly treated and stagnant pools of
has been providing public toilets, assistance to domestic grey water are a common occurrence in the city.
toilets, sanitary sites and recently opening up of access
roads.
executive summary

77
 background

INTRODUCTION This report presents the outcomes of Phase One at the

local level in Ho.
Urban Profiling
The Ho Urban Profiling consists of an accelerated,
action-oriented assessment of urban conditions, Urban Profiling in HO
focusing on priority needs, capacity gaps, and existing The urban profiling in Ho is one of three similar
institutional responses at local and national levels. exercises conducted in Ghana; the other profiled centres
The purpose of the study is to develop urban poverty are Accra and Tamale.
reduction policies at local, national, and regional
levels, through an assessment of needs and response The national and city consultation was conceived
mechanisms, and as a contribution to the wider-ranging as a partnership platform, co-developed with the
implementation of the Millennium Development Department of Community Development, Department
Goals (MDGs). The study is based on analysis of of Cooperative, Social Welfare, Department of Rural
existing data and a series of interviews with all relevant Housing, Ho Assembly Members, Municipal Planning
urban stakeholders, including local communities and Coordinating Unit, Works Department, Budget and
institutions, civil society, the private sector, development Rating Department, Police Commander and the Ghana
partners, academics, and others. The consultation Civil Aviation. The aim is to promote inter-agency
typically results in a collective agreement on priorities collaboration that integrates a wide range of urban
and their development into proposed capacity-building actors in response mechanisms.
and other projects that are all aimed at urban poverty
reduction. RUSPS is being implemented in over 20
African and Arab countries, offering an opportunity Report Structure
for comparative regional analysis. Once completed, this
series of studies will provide a framework for central This report consists of:
and local authorities and urban actors, as well as donors
and external support agencies. 1. a general background of the urban sector in Ho,
based on the findings of a desk study, interviews,
and a national and city consultation (see back cover
Methodology for a list of participants in the city consultation and
a bibliography). The background includes data on
The Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme administration, urban planning, municipal finance,
consists of three phases: urban services, public transport, health, education,
the economic situation, water and sanitation, and
Phase one consists of the rapid profiling of urban waste management;
conditions at national and local levels. The capital city,
a medium-sized city, and a small town are selected 2. a synthesis of the four main theme areas – governance,
and studied to provide a representative sample in each slums, gender and HIV/AIDS, and environment
country. The analysis focuses on four themes: governance, – in terms of the institutional set-up, regulatory
slums, gender and HIV/AIDS, and the environment. framework, resource mobilisation, and performance
Information is collected through standard interviews (this second section also highlights agreed priorities
and discussions with institutions and key informants, in and includes a list of identified projects); and
order to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats (SWOT) of the national and local urban set- 3. a SWOT analysis and an outline of priority project
ups. The findings are presented and refined during city proposals for each theme. The proposals include
and national consultation workshops and consensus is beneficiaries, partners, estimated costs, objectives,
reached regarding priority interventions. National and activities, and outputs.
city reports synthesise the information collected and
outline ways forward to reduce urban poverty through
ho profile - background

holistic approaches.
Phase two builds on the priorities identified through
pre-feasibility studies and develops detailed capacity-
building and capital investment projects.
Phase three implements the projects developed
during the two earlier phases, with an emphasis on
skills development, institutional strengthening, and
replication.

88
 Table 1:
DEPARTMENT FUNCTIONS
1. General Assembly Legislative, deliberative and budget approval.
2. Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) Coordinate the activities of the departments administrative services to MCE.
3. Town & Country Planning Coordination of land uses and developments control. Preparation of
Detailed Planning Schemes, Structure Plan, detailed design of sub urban
centres.
4. Works Development and maintenance of public land properties, design and main-
tenance of building projects premises/ house numbering, development
of street furniture and Terminals. Issuance of building permit, demolishes
unauthorized development of street furniture and terminals. Issuance of
building permit delivery, demolishes unauthorized developments.
5. Environmental Management Food Hygiene and market sanitation. Disease, Vector and Pest Control.
Environmental Health Education. Premises Inspection for control of environ-
mental health hazards. Control of cemeteries. Health safety of keeping of
animals. Building Sanitation.

6. Education office Teaching and learning in schools; regulations and educational policies; infra-
structure and necessary logistics; sport development in schools.

7. Disaster Prevention and Management Preparation of disaster management plan. Provision of relief, rehabilitation
and reconstruction after disaster.

8. Food and Agriculture Technical services, development of Agriculture. In flow and outflow of agri-
cultural produce.

9. Finance Collection and custody of revenue; processes and pays expenses incurred;
compel financial records; processes payroll; Advises on financial matters;
researches into changing trends of the market.

10. Trade and Industry Local economic development.

ADMINISTRATION FINANCIAL SITUATION

The Municipal Assembly is headed by the Municipal The economy is characterized by absence of
Chief Executive as the direct representative of the manufacturing industries, large number of small-
President of the Republic. Owing to lack of office space, scale commercial/industrial activities. The small-scale
most of the Decentralised Departments are scattered enterprises and industrial concerns are concentrated in
from the Coordinating Directorate and this makes the city centre; making it the nerve centre of the District
coordination difficult. The over whelming central and to limited Regional economy. The economy of Ho
government presence affects participation of citizens can be divided into Rural (dominated by agriculture and
ho profile - background

in local government decision-making. The poor city related activities in the periphery) and Urban economies
administrative set affects the management of the city in (characterized by public and private sector employment
light of growth and urbanization trends in Ho. as well as a large urban informal sector concentrated

9 9
 in the city centre). The economy is characterized by for water. Notable water sources in the municipality are
employment in the public and private sectors, and the numerous hand dug wells and streams. Wells are
employs about 29% of the working population. The privately owned and mostly dry out in the dry season.
public service constitutes about 9% of the formal sector
employment, while the private sector employs 91%. Ho It is evident that wide disparities exist in distribution
Municipal Assembly has less financial autonomy than of solid waste facilities. There is no door-to-door
the central government. Over 70% of the Assembly’s service for solid waste collection in the municipalities.
revenue is from central government sources. There have Where facilities are not provided households dump in
been encouraging increases in annual revenue due to the open spaces or drain reservations. The residents and
substantial increases in grants mainly form the District commercial entities in Ho generate approximately 65
Assembly Common Fund (general grant) and HIPC tones of waste daily; an average of 42 tones is deposited
fund allocation. The poor financial performance is due at the final disposal point.
to weak institutional arrangement to mobilise revenue.
The predominant type of domestic toilet is the water
The sources of internal generated revenue are; closet. These are mostly used in the newer parts of the
basic rate (1.4%), property rate (27.5%), royalty on municipality. In the older settlements, domestic toilets
land (9.2%), fees and fines (38.3%), licenses (10%), are inadequate. Inadequate space within compounds,
rent on assembly’s property (0.3%), interest on poor access to houses and lack of funding are reasons
investment(11.3%). given for poor level of service.
There are three (3) markets in Ho. They are the
Ho Central Market, Ahoe Market and Civic Centre
URBAN SERVICES Market. The markets are very important sources of
Access to services in Ho Municipality is not equitable revenue generation for the Assembly. However, there
as poor areas area not well serviced. Most infrastructures are bottlenecks affecting efficient performance of the
are absent in the old areas of the town. There are no access markets.
roads, drains, water and other domestic facilities.
Drainage channels are over grown with weeds and
constant dumping of refuse in all water ways cause
blockage of these water ways resulting in flooding of low
WATER, SANITATION, AND REFUSE lying areas and stream valleys. Another environmental
COLLECTION problem in Ho is caused by the absence of roadside
The water network has a capacity of 2.2 million drains. Domestic waste water is also poorly treated and
gallons (9,900m3). The 40% of population who do not stagnant pools of grey water are a common occurrence
have access to pipe borne water turn to other sources in the city.
ho profile - background

1010
Land acquisition and slum formation HEALTH STATUS
There are four categories of land ownership in Ho. Ho Municipal Assembly achieved 90% immunization
These are state land, vested lands, customary lands and as compared with the national average of 80%. Other
private lands. The Lands Commission manages state health status indicators in the district are as follows:
lands and vested lands. The land ownership in Ho is
mainly family/private. Families are responsible for 70%- 1. Maternal mortality rate: 3:6/1000
80% of land. Typical in Ho, the right to lease out land
to prospective developers rests with individual families 2. Infant mortality rate: 7/1000 lower than the national
average.
The land market structures are not well developed
in Ho. Inadequacy of private and public institutional 3. HIV/AIDS prevalent rate: 3.2 and 4.9 among
set-up and regulatory framework affects the smooth pregnant women.
development of land market. The demand for land in 4. Nurses/patient ratio: 1:1000
Ho is very high. Such demand is mainly for residential
and commercial land within the built up areas. 5. Doctor/pop ratio: 1:27000
The under listed are some of the causes of slums 6. Malaria constitutes 41% of reported hospital cases.
formation in Ho:
• Lack of reliable maps/plans.
ONGOING ACTIVITIES
• Use of unapproved old or inaccurate maps.
• Difficulty in agreeing to sometimes imprecise CITY INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT
boundary definitions.
The Assembly in the bid to improve conditions
• Conflict and litigation within and between families in old and inner city deprived communities has been
and other land owning groups. providing public toilets, assistance to domestic toilets,
sanitary sites and recently opening up of access roads.
• Weak land administration system – both state and Ho Municipality is one of the project cities for the World
customary. Bank Urban V Project. The project is geared towards
providing infrastructure facilities in the Ho Township
• Poor housing maintenance culture. especially the older part of the city. Under the project
drainage facilities have been constructed and sanitation
facilities provided in selected areas of the city.
Civil Society Participation in Municipal
Decision Making Process
The process of development plan preparation of the
Ho Municipal Assembly epitomized the level which
the assembly involves civil society in decision making.
The planning process of Ho Municipal Assembly is an
important tool to determine at what level the public
and civil society are involved in the municipal decision
making process. As shown in the figure, civil society
and the public are informed about medium term
programmes as designed to solve community-identified
problems.
ho profile - background

1111
 GOVERNANCE the Coordinating Directorate and this makes
coordination difficult.
The governance structure is not adequate enough
to foster effective municipal management and deliver
the type of services in terms of security, sanitation, RESOURCE MOBILIZATION
land use planning, development control and revenue
mobilisation. Citizens participation in municipal • The economy is not organized enough to enhanced
decision-making is limited to data collection and effectiveness of revenue collection.
information dissemination during the preparation
of the medium development plan every four years as • Inadequate logistics and requisite manpower for
spelt out in the Medium Term Development Planning municipal management.
Guideline. The absence of Citizens Right Charter • Ho Municipal Assembly is less financial autonomous
hinders the participation of residents in the type of from the central government. Over 70% of the
development that they aspire. The lack of financial Assembly’s revenue is from central government
and political autonomy of the HMC has it to be more sources.
responsive to directive of central government, which is
not in touch with local conditions.
The large informal sector which is not organised is a PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
disincentive for revenue collection and the administrative • Recruitment of personnel is undertaken by central
cost of collecting the revenue is sometimes higher than government agencies, and personnel paid allegiance
the revenue to be generated. to central government authority.
HO profile - governance

• The annual budget estimates and the actual for

THE INSTITUTIONAL SET-UP the previous years are, by law, sent to the Auditor
General Department for auditing.
• Incomplete nature of decentralization, inadequate
institutional arrangement and appointment of • Audit reports, which are always 3 or more years
political authority is affecting management of the late, are sent to Parliament for further action, to
municipality in the light of growth in urbanization enhance policy making with regards to public sector
trends in Ho. accountability.
• No mechanism for Assembly men to report back to • The Municipal Chief Executive is not accountable to
the people. residents of the municipality, rather to the President
of the Republic.
• Decentralised Departments are scattered from

12
12
SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT

• Civil society and the public are informed about

medium term programmes as designed to solve
community-identified problems.

CAPACITY BUILDING TRAINING

• Re-organise the institutional structure and
departments to respond to the problems of the
municipalities.
• Development and installation of a comprehensive
database on all rateable, persons and properties;
- Establishment of an effective supervisory and
monitoring system,
- Undertake training of revenue collectors,
- Organize public campaigns to adequately
sensitize communities of all the benefits of
paying taxes,
- Develop a contractual agreement (MOU) to
be signed by all parties involved in any revenue
collection contracted with the Assembly,
- Provide technical support to all Assembly
revenue collectors.

• Recruitment and train of staff.

Project proposal Page 20

GOVERNANCE
Capacity Building for Good
N°1
Governance

Project proposal Page 21

GOVERNANCE
Developing Strategies and Structures
N°2
for Revenue Mobilization

Project proposal Page 21

HO profile - governance

GOVERNANCE
Improve Municipal and Urban
N°3
Council facilities

Project proposal Page 21

Establish a citizen participation
GOVERNANCE
system for effective community
N°4
participation in decision making and
planning processes

1313
 SLUMS and shelter • No financial assistance to slum dwellers.
HMA has weak institutional capacity to manage • The following as deprived communities: Bankoe,
land in the Municipality. Coupled with a high number Hliha, Fiavie, Anago Kofe, Afifekofe and Zongo.
of family land ownership housing construction is
done outside land regulation of the Assembly. High
rate of land litigation and fraud has retarded proper TENURE SYSTEM
development of the city and growing number of slum.
There is virtually no framework and development • The land ownership in Ho is mainly family/private.
organization to upgrade slum. The HMA needs to Families are responsible for 70%-80% of land.
build it capacity in the management of land in Ho.
• The land market structures are not well developed in
Ho. Inadequacy of private and public institutional
set-up and regulatory framework affects the smooth
POLICY AND REGULATION FRAMEWORK development of land market.
• The structure plan of Ho was prepared for the period
1996 to 2000. It makes provision for the various land • The complexity of the family land ownership and
using zoning and designated spaces for major land the inadequacy of institutional framework to
uses such as residential, commercial, health, civic, governing physical development is contributing to
education, industry, recreation and open spaces, the haphazard development and poor housing and
reservations for water bodies and farm lands. environment.

• Adjudication and demarcation of boundaries and • Development control process is used to manage the
registration of allodial rights are used to establish the development of slums.
root of title.
• No policy that promotes access to land or protection CAPACITY BUILDING AND TRAINING
from eviction.
• HMA needs to build its capacity in managing
• World Bank Urban V project is attempting to upgrading at the old and run down localities.
upgrade some slums. The impact has been minimal.
• The need to create the necessary environment for
• No pro-poor /gender land policies. the operation of Non-governmental development
organization in slum management.

THE INSTITUTIONAL SET-UP

CAPACITY BUILDING AND TRAINING
• The Lands Commission manages state land and
vested land. It facilitates land administration process • HMA needs to build its capacity in managing
to legitimize transactions on family and stool lands upgrading at the old and run downed localities.
by granting concurrence.
• The need to create the necessary environment for
• The Lands Commission, Land Valuation Board and the operation of Non-governmental development
the Survey Department concentrate their activities organization in slum management.
in securing and management of government land
rather than setting up the basis for effective land
HO profile - slums AND SHELTER

market system.
• There is no institutional set-up for upgrading of old
and run down areas of the municipality. Project proposal Page 24
SLUMS AND
SHELTER Development of a modern commercial
RESOURCE MOBILIZATION N°1 centre in Ho Bankoe
• Land transactions are characterized by fraud and
litigation; slowing down housing development and
revenue mobilisation.
• No budget line for shelter development. World Bank
Urban V Project providing drainage and public toilet
facilities in some old parts of the municipality.

14
14
GENDER AND HIV/AIDS • National Development Planning System Act
(Act 480) provides participation of Women in
Participation of women in local government local government decision making process.
decision-making is enshrined in the National
Development Planning System Act (Act 480). • They are heavily represented in the lower
Nevertheless, affirmative action at that level is weak to echelons of the organizational structure: 12%
the extent that women find themselves in precarious of administrative class; 33% of junior civil
situations in terms of job opportunities and abuse by servants and 15% of senior management.
their men counterparts. Access to productive resources
like land and finance is out of reach for women. It • Policies and decisions of HMA do not go
leaves women vulnerable and exposes them to abuse through gender sensitivity analysis.
and poverty. Customarily, women have limited access
to land; they normally have vested life interest. • There are less women Assembly members
as compare to the national ratio.
HO profile - gender and hiv/aids
Campaign to end violence and discrimination
against women is being championed by WILDAF and • No availability of gender mainstreaming
DOVVSU. Limited budgetary allocation to gender policy at the national level is replicated
issues is increasingly pushing attention to women and at the local government level at Ho.
children to the background. Women’s health needs and • There is no separate policy on protection
exposure to HIV/AIDS is only championed by NGOs. of women and children policy. These are
There is the need for capacity building in gender enshrined in the National Criminal Code.
sensitivity analysis and mainstreaming of gender issues
in development policies and decision-making process. • HMA action is gender insensitive. It treats both
sexes equally and the impact adversely affects
women. Street selling is prohibited but it is women
THE INSTITUTIONAL AND POLICY SET-UP who mostly sell along the streets and pavements.
• Affirmative action taken by the Assembly • HIV/AIDS Rapid Response Initiative has
is epitomized by the formation of a non- collapsed. HIV/AIDS campaign and education
statutory committee (Gender Sub-committee) is carried out by NGOs on ad hoc basis.
to take care of gender related policy issues.

1515
 RESOURCE MOBILISATION Project proposal Page 26
• No budgetary allocation dedicated GENDER AND
for gender issues by HMA. HIV/AIDS Establishment of gender desk
N°1 in Ho Municipal Assembly.
• Women in Ho are self employed in
micro and small-scaled enterprises where
earnings are low and unstable.
• Access to credit by women is inadequate.
Project proposal Page 27
GENDER AND Micro enterprise support
HIV/AIDS programme for poor
ACCOUNTABILITY
N°2 single women household
• Violence and discrimination against heads in slums.
women is being championed by WILDAF,
DOVVSU and Gender Disk of HMA.
• Violence and discrimination against women are
not comprehensively tackled by the HMA.
• The Ho General Hospital has maternity
and gynecological sections that
take care of women’s needs.

EMPOWERMENT
• Lack of access to financial and other resources
to produce on lager scale; Women are
adversely affected by socio-cultural issues.
• Women have limited access to land; they
normally have vested life interest in land.
• HIV/AIDS prevalence rate: 3.2% among
women and 4.9% among pregnant women.

CAPACITY BUILDING AND TRAINING

• Need for capacity in gender sensitivity analysis and
mainstreaming of gender issues in development
policies and decision making process.
HO profile - gender and hiv/aids

• Capacity building in promoting HIV/

AIDS education and creation of
awareness among vulnerable groups.
• Strengthening collaboration with
NGOs in gender issues.
• Collection and analysis of gender based
data for policy making on gender issues.

1616
ENVIRONMENT • HMA has no policy to involve private participation
in waste management. All waste is handled by
High migration (population growth of 3.11%) the Environmental Health Department of the
is putting pressure on the city and infrastructure. Assembly.
Coupled with weak governance structures, facilities
like public toilets; waste infrastructure, market facilities
and health facilities are deteriorating. Only 66% (42 THE INSTITUTIONAL SET-UP
tonnes) of solid waste generated is collected. The
rest find their way in drains, open spaces and heaps
at inadequate sanitary sites. The poor sanitation • The Municipal Environment Management
management system manifests in the absence of door- Department of HMA and a private company
to-door collection of domestic and industrial waste (Zoomlion Ghana Limited) is responsible for the
even in more affluent areas of the municipality. There management of both liquid and solid waste. There
are vast areas in the municipalities, especially the old is no systematic private or CBO participation in
part of the municipality, that domestic toilets can be waste management; except in the city centre where
constructed as the houses are compact to the extent unemployed youth pick refuse for money from
that there are no spaces left for further construction. market women.

policy and regulatory framework • Inadequate environmental health officers to under

take field work.
HO profile - environment

• Out dated environmental bye-laws inconsistent

with environmental practice. No institutional • Ineffective waste collection system. There is no
arrangement put in place to revise them. door-to-door service for solid waste collection in
the town.

• Non-adherence to land use plans has contributed

to non-availability of sanitary sites as most zoned • Human excreta are managed through public
sites have been encroached upon. latrines toilets (9 aqua privy and 3 WC) and
domestic pan latrines (325).

• HMA has no capacity and policy framework to

undertake impact assessment on any environmental
issues.

1717
 Resource mobilization ONGOING PROJECT
Agbokofe Waste Disposal Depot. 18.6 hectares of
• It is evident that wide disparity exists in the number land at Agbokofe is designated for final disposal and
and distribution of solid waste containers. treatment of liquid waste (human excreta) and solid
waste (refuse). Human excreta are managed through
public latrines, domestic pan latrines, KVIP and
• There is little budgetary provision for WC. Under the Urban 3 programme funding from
environmental management. Most sanitation World Bank sponsored 557 residential VIP toilets.
equipment is donated by central government or
multi/bilateral agencies.

Project proposal Page 29

• The city authorities impose sanitation levy
of Ghana cedi 2,000 per year per house. The environment Upgrading road and drainage
collection is characterised with poor institutional N°1 systems in the indigenous localities
arrangement for collection - assembly members are in Ho.
charged to do the collection.

• Poor cost recovery of investment into waste Project proposal Page 30

collection and management. environment
To improve waste management
N°2
systems in Ho.
Performance and accountability

• Accountability measures of sanitation levy collected

from residence have not been put in place.

• 65 tones of waste generated daily; an average of 42

tones is deposited at the final disposal point. The
uncollected waste finds the drainage network and
other open space as their destination.

• There is weak line of communication between

the Assembly and the residents on environmental
issues.

Capacity building and training

• Provision of domestic liquid waste facilities.

• Building public health officer capacity to enforce

HO profile - environment

environmental by laws.

• Public education on sanitation and health issues.

1818
GOVERNANCE

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats PRIORITY OBJECTIVE

ISSUES
INSTITUTIONAL SET UP FOR EFFECTIVE LOCAL GOVERNMENT DECISION MAKING

Adequate Weak Decentralization Slow Effective To improve

Human resource Dissemination of Policy. implementation institutional the forward
available. Information & of the arrangement. and backward
Education on Local DSDAII Training for decentralization linkages
Sub-District Governance. DA/Sub structures. policy. Human between
Structure resource the Central
available. Weak financial EU Human Resource Irregular release development. Administration
base of the Development of District and the
Availability of Municipality. programme for D.A. Assemblies Decentralized
NGOs and CBOs. available. Common Fund. Departments.
Delay in payment
Responsible of salaries. Availability of press Political To support
Traditional Rulers. to monitor and interference in the adequate
Inadequate office disseminate informa- the affairs of staffing and
space for the tion. the Municipal equipping of the
Municipality. Assembly. Assembly.
Inadequate highly
skilled personnel.

Lack of
coordination
between Local
and national
Programme of
activities.

RESOURCE MOBILIZATION

New properties in Low income levels. Projects (Danish Harsh national Effective rev- Increasing
the Municipality. Support for District economic enue collection the internally
Inadequate Assemblies Urban V, conditions. system. generated
Existence of database. HIPC Fund, SIF). revenue by 70%.
viable markets. Irregular release Tax education
Lack of motivation Unexplored revenue of District awareness. Establishing a
Private sector for revenue staff. sources. Assembly comprehensive
participation Common Fund. property register
in revenue Unwillingness to
and other tax
collection. pay tax.
rated entities.
Corruption of
project proposals - governance
revenue collectors.

Low tax coverage.

1919
 Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats PRIORITY OBJECTIVE
ISSUES
PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Presence of Weak link Vibrant private and Incomplete local Community To improve
community between independent private government participation. communication
organizations municipal press. system. between the
and traditional assembly Community Assembly and
authorities. structures and mobilisation. public.
communities
Availability of and community To adequately
internal and organizations. coordinate NGO
external audit activities in the
system. Over reliance district.
on central
government for
resources and
manpower.

Project proposal of revenue from the local people. Monies accrued

governance Capacity Building for Good are, basically used by the Assembly to finance mostly
N°1 Governance
administrative expenses and not capital expenditure
for the benefit of the taxpayers. For example
public toilets in HMA generate approximately
Ghanaian cedi 300,000 daily, yet the management
LOCATION: Ho Municipal Assembly (HMA) of these facilities leaves much to be desired.

DURATION:18 months The issues raised above clearly demonstrate that

the HMA is currently playing a parasitic role so
BENEFICIARIES: Community members, far as development is concerned. Most Assembly
Planning Officers, Budget officers, Accountants personnel lack basic skills in the participatory
planning and budgeting process. They are therefore
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Ho not able to effectively analyse the budget from
Municipal Assembly, Account General the HMA to ascertain whether their budgetary
Department, Ministry of Finance. needs are well provided for. Consequently,
they are also not able to explain the council’s
ESTIMATED COST: $350,000 budgetary decisions to the local people.
BACKGROUND: The provisions for planning, OBJECTIVES: (1) Institutionalising participatory
budgeting and financial accountability at the planning and budgeting process in HMA for effective
District Level are enshrined in Chapter 20 of the community participation in resource allocation.
Constitution of Ghana, Local Government Act (2) Improving financial reporting system to ensure
project proposals - governance

1993, (Act 462) and the National Development transparency and information flow to stakeholders.
Planning (System) Act. 1994 (Act 480). These basic
laws provide basis and guidelines for managing ACTIVITIES: (1) Organise a familiarisation tour for
resources at the District Level; a major feature Municipal Chief Executive and Coordinating Director
of the decentralization process in Ghana. in the city to observe the preparation of participatory
plan and budget. (2) Organise a workshop for all
Resource management in HMA set-up is messy, Assembly personnel, Assembly members and opinion
and frustrating to local administrators. Whilst leaders on participatory planning and budgeting.
financial management needs to be attended to all (3) Produce manual on participatory planning and
year round, it is the budgeting that consumes the budgeting. (4) Form a participatory planning and
most time and requires the greatest effort. It must budgeting committee. (5) Institute a participatory
be emphasised that the budgeting process does not planning and budgeting process in the assembly. (6)
usually involve consultations with stakeholders on Prepare annual participatory plans and budgets.
issues concerning development in the communities. (7) Identify an efficient and transparent financial
Consequently, there is the lack of ownership of reporting system. (8) Train selected assembly staff in
plans and budgets by intended beneficiaries. the new system new financial reporting. (9) Produce
The Ho Municipal Assembly generates an amount format and guidelines for new financial reporting.

2020
(10) Integrate/replace the new system into or with the levied at certain percentage of valuation, are poorly
old system. (11) Monitor and evaluate the systems. managed and the property register outmoded.
OUTPUTS: (1) Skills of planning, budget and OBJECTIVES: (1) Increasing the internally generated
treasury staff in participatory planning and budgeting revenue by 70%. (2) Establishing a comprehensive
developed. (2) Participatory planning and budgeting property register and other tax rated entities.
manual produced. (3) Participatory plans and budget
produced annually. (4) New financial reporting system ACTIVITIES: (1) Commission a team/committee to
identified. (5) Treasury staff trained in new financial examine and the present revenue collection structure.
reporting system. (6) New financial reporting system (2) Identify new revenue sources and the revenue
used to prepare financial statement of Assembly. base. (3) Enact bye-laws on the revenue sources. (4)
Register the revenue sources. (5) Compile a tax, fees
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: (1)The and charges and property register. (6) Set up internal
project will be implemented with the consent of institutions for revenue collection. (7) Develop
Central Government. (2) Study tours, capacity franchising modalities for private participation in
building workshops and courses will be organized revenue collection. (8) Set up monitoring mechanism
for relevant personnel. (3) Process facilitator for revenue collection. (9) Evaluate the level of
(consultant) will be employed when necessary. achievement of new revenue mobilisation system.
EQUIPMENT TO BE PROCURED: Computers, OUTPUTS: (1) New bye laws on user fees,
Computer software, office furniture. user charges, levies and taxes enacted. (2) New
revenue sources identified. (3) All properties and
tax rated entities identified and registered.

Project proposal PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: (1) Internal

institutional set will be used for designing of revenue
governance system. (2) Tax registers will be compiled to estimate
N°2 Developing Strategies and
Structures for Revenue Mobilization the level of revenue to be mobilised before collection
can take place. (3) Back stop system will be put in
place to identify and register new entities and sources.
LOCATION: Ho Municipal Assembly (HMA) EQUIPMENT TO BE PROCURED: Computers,
vehicles, and communication equipment.
DURATION: 24 months
BENEFICIARIES: Ho Municpal Assembly
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS:
Ho Municipal Assembly
ESTIMATED COST: $50,000
BACKGROUND: There is increasing pressure
from central government on District Assembly,
including Ho Municipal Assembly, to increase the
project proposals - governance
mobilisation of internally generated resources. This
stems from the fact that, aside from political and
administrative decentralisation, central government
wants to give high degree of fiscal autonomy to
District assemblies. The achievement of this policy
objective lays in the revenue structure of District
Assemblies. Without recognizing the district
structure of District Assembly, resource mobilization
efforts to receive fiscal autonomy are to go astray.
The overriding difficulty facing HMA is the small
size of the available revenue base. The economic base
of HMA as semi-urban district includes charging
sheep dip, charging markets, lorry and parking
tolls. Unfortunately, none of these have large
enough base to produce substantial revenue at low
rates of tax. Property rate and land tax, which are

2121
 Project proposal District Advisory Committee on Rehabilitation etc.
governance In spite of all these interventions one cannot lose
N°3 To improve Municipal and Urban
Council Facilities in Ho sight of the fact that the establishment of a gender
desk in the HMA will go a long way to streamline
gender activities, protect and push forward the
LOCATION: Ho Municipal Assembly (HMA) interest of the vulnerable and excluded in society.

DURATION: 12 months OBJECTIVES: (1) To promote the interest

of women, the vulnerable and the excluded in
BENEFICIARIES: Assembly members, Unit policy formation and provision of services.
committee members and counsellors.
ACTIVITIES: (1) Provide office space. (2) Furnish the
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Ho Municipal office. (3) Recruit personnel for the office. (4) Integrate
Assembly, NGOs, Development partners personnel into main stream activities of the Assembly.

BACKGROUND: Although the Assembly is OUTPUTS: (1) Gender desk established.

handicapped by the absence of a well established
gender desk, it has not left gender issues unattended PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: The project
to. It has managed in various ways to address will be under taken under the auspices of the
some of the problems that face the vulnerable and Ministry of Women and Children Affairs with
excluded e.g. women and children in the society. support from a national or international NGO
(Women in Law and Development Federation
The Department of Community Development, -WILDAF) with focus on Women issues. The
project can serve as a pilot project with the potential
one of the Departments under the Ho Municipal of replicating in other municipal assemblies.
Assembly has been designated to cater for the
vulnerable and excluded in the District in the absence EQUIPMENT TO BE PROCURED:
of a gender desk. The department does this through Office accommodation, Office chair,
programmes such as Adult Education, Study Groups, air conditioner, office table etc.
Mass Meeting, Adult Functional Literacy (AFL),
Home Science Extension (women’s work) etc.
The Adult Education programme is one of the avenues
through which vital information on Government
policies and issues affecting the communities
themselves are looked into in the form of talks,
discussions, etc. to get the local folks including women
and the youth to take local action to better their
lot. With the AFL the staffs of the Ho Municipal
Assembly talk to people in the communities especially
women and youth about the importance of literacy
and how it could assist in the improvement of
their performance in their spheres of work.
project proposals - governance

The Home Science Extension programme offers

training for village women and the deprived on better
methods of managing their homes, handling food
and caring for their children. They are also educated
on economic ventures, personal and environmental
hygiene all aimed at helping them to be effective
contributors to their homes, communities and
the nation. This laudable programme is however,
hindered by lack of funds to give adequate training
to the groups involved, inadequate staff to establish
more groups and lack of necessary logistics.
Other organisations which see to women and children’s
affairs in the District include the Women’s Training
Institute which trains women in various skills to make
them employable, Department of Social Welfare,
Juvenile courts, Prisons Welfare, Family Tribunals,

2222
 Project proposal
Establish a citizen participation
governance
N°4 system for effective community
participation in decision making and
planning processes

LOCATION: Ho Municipal Assembly

DURATION: 6 months
BENFICIARIES: Ho Municipal Assembly
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: NGOs,
Private Consultants, Ho Municipal Assembly
ESTIMATED COST: USD 10,000
BACKGROUND: Citizen Participation in Ghana
is one of the lacking areas of decentralization. It
should be the main decision making process in
which citizens’ participation is the development
of the Medium Term Plan by MMDAs. In this
regard, there is very little or no awareness on
programs, projects and initiatives undertaken by
the city, sometimes leading to citizens’ reluctance
in paying taxes or being interested in city assets.
Due to inadequate funding, there is no established
system in the city for the city to constantly
inform citizens on programs and projects or for
citizens to make their grievances or comments
known for consideration by the city.
There is therefore the need to improve
on the current system of participation to
make it more effective and inclusive.
OBJECTIVES: To ensure the participation
of residents in the development and decision
making processes of Ho for successful
implementation of projects to promote adherence
to city ordinances and instill a sense of ownership
of projects, programs and city assets. project proposals - governance
ACTIVITIES: (1) Development of participation
system or systems in the form of a forum, city
newsletter, flyers, suggestion boxes, brochures etc.
(2) Review and acceptance of participation system.
OUTPUT: System Participation platforms and systems
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: (1) Prepare terms
of reference and select consultants for implementation.
(2) Conduct interviews with citizens and city
officials. (3) Develop the appropriate systems for
participations based on interviews. (4) Develop a
database for keeping information on participation.
EQUIPMENT TO BE PROCURED:
(1) Photo copier machine. (2) Printer.
(3) Computer. (4) Software.

2323
 SlumS and shelter

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats PRIORITY OBJECTIVE

ISSUES
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK AND INSTITUTIONAL SET UP

Availability Inadequate Avenue for private Government Slum To construct new

of planning institutional participation. policy on improvement. access roads in
schemes structures water the localities and
to guide effectively High communal spirit. privatization. upgrade existing
development. operationalized ones.
Avenue to educate Unfavorable
land use plans.
Excellent major public to develop land tenure To improve the
road network. Poor development according to planning system drainage systems
control measures. schemes. for slum in Ho Bankoe,
development. Hliha, and Dome.
Tracks of land in
informal holding.

Poor land tilting

regime.

RESOURCE MOBILIZATION ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Moderately Services not Expertise of High migra- Local economic To improve upon
priced land. available to all development can be tion rate could development. market facilities in
areas. tapped for upgrading. negate gains Ho Bankoe.
Availability in poverty
of estate Low level of Integration of reduction. To give a face lift
development service provision slum upgrading to the inner city
agencies. where they exist. with artisanal skills (Ho Bankoe).
development.
Available local Encroachment.
material for
Project proposals - slums AND SHELTER

construction. Inaccessible road

network in most
Availability settlement areas.
of service
providers. Illegal connection
of electricity and
water.

2424
 Project proposal In the pre-independence period, Ho Bankoe, especially
SLUMS the area around the present Civic Centre and along the
Development of a Modern Commercial
main road was a booming commercial centre because
N°1 Centre in Ho Bankoe it was near the lorry station. There were such firms like
UAC, CB Ollivant, SCOA in addition to a flourishing
private sector, which attracted customers from
LOCATION: Ho Municipal Council. neighbouring districts and countries. Currently one
cannot say that such is the state of affairs in the once
DURATION: Two years booming commercial centre. The aim of this project
BENEFICIARIES: Community Members, Ho therefore, is to develop the present civic centre area
Municipal Assembly, Ho Market Women Association. into a modern commercial centre with modern blocks
of stores, offices, restaurants, bars, modern toilets and
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Ho parking lots for vehicles etc. This will not only go to
Municipal Assembly, MWH, Construction beautifying the city centre but also help reduce the
Company, Development partners, Ho upsurge of road side vendors since sellers will now
Market Women Association. have a better place and environment to do business.

BACKGROUND: Ho is the capital city of the OBJECTIVES: (1) To improve upon the
Volta Region and as such provides the capital and market facilities in Ho Bankoe. (2) To give a
market necessary for development in the region. face lift to the inner city (Ho Bankoe).
As a city it is saddled with many urban problems
that are not accompanied by development as ACTIVITIES: (1) Organize an awareness programme
well as the lack of basic infrastructure services and provide series of training programmes for major
and an unprecedented level of poverty. city stakeholders to facilitate their full participation in
the project. (2) Planning survey of the civic centres.
Ho is one of the growing cities in Ghana. According (3) Planning and design. (4) Cost. (5) Tendering
to the 2000 Ghana Population census it has a total and awarding of contract. (6) Construction. (7)
population size of about 55,000 and an annual Supervision and monitoring. (8) Recruiting and
population growth rate of 2.6%. Its population training of personnel to man the centre. (9) Training of
density is about 785 persons per square kilometre and staff of Ho Municipal Assembly in revenue collection.
has an average household size of about 8. The city
has a sphere of influence (administration, economic OUTPUTS: (1) Improved social and economic
and social) of a radius of about 40 kilometres. There functioning of the city. (2) Creation of
is therefore a large daily inflow of people into the employment. (4) Increased revenue of the Ho
city from the surrounding towns and villages. Municipal Assembly. (5) General standard of
living of the entrepreneurs of Ho improved. (6)
Majority of the residents work at the informal The inner city of Ho Bankoe beautified.
sector, most of whom are self-employed individuals
and households engaged in micro- and small scale PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION:
enterprises, usually involving 1-5 persons. The It will be nationally executed through

Project proposals - slums AND SHELTER

major economic activities are trading especially the Ho National Assembly.
petty trading, subsistence farming, small scale EQUIPMENT TO BE PROCURED: (1)
manufacturing which includes batik, tie and dye Appropriate equipment for construction. (2)
making, food processing, construction and public Training equipment for construction.
service. The economic returns from these activities
are very low thereby making a sizeable proportion
of the city dwellers live below the poverty line.
As stated earlier, the growing nature of the city
has caused an equal upsurge of economic activities
(i.e. buying and selling). It is now a common
feature to see people selling along the road
side and any available space sellers can get.

2525
 gender and hiv/aids

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats PRIORITY OBJECTIVE

ISSUES
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK AND INSTITUTIONAL SET UP

Presence of Negative at- Establishment Cultural beliefs Gender To promote the

Governmental titudes of some of Women and e.g. Polygamy. mainstreaming. interest of women,
agencies decision makers Children Affairs the vulnerable and
working for towards the phys- Ministry. the excluded in
vulnerable ically challenged policy formation
and the and women. NCWD and provision of
excluded e.g. services.
Non WAJU
Department of
Social Welfare. representation
FIDA
of women
on Boards, Other NGOs
Committees and
other in decision Legislation to pro-
making bodies. tect the vulnerable.

Draft Domestic
Violence Bill.

EMPOWERMENT

Availability Absence of Build gender Apathy towards Awareness on To create awareness

of training recreational awareness. HIV/AIDS gender and HIV/ on gender and HIV/
Institutions for facilities in menace. AIDS issues. AIDS issues.
the physical residential areas.
challenged. Child trafficking.
Poor
Presence of infrastructure Luring of
WAJU in the design. women into
Municipality. prostitution in
Inadequate funds other countries.
Presence of As- for the provision
sociations for of facilities for HIV/AIDS.
the physically the vulnerable
challenged. Inadequate funds
for Educational
project proposals - gender and hiv/aids

Programmes.

PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Inadequate Build facilities for Prostitution in Coordination of To document and

information people living with Municipality. gender and HIV/ research into issues
on registration HIV/AIDS. AIDS activities. affecting women
centres for and children.
the physically
challenged.

26
26
 Project proposal affairs in the District include the Women’s Training
GENDER
HIV/AIDS Establishment of Gender Desk in Ho Institute which trains women in various skills to make
N°1 Municipal Assembly
them employable, Department of Social Welfare,
Juvenile courts, Prisons Welfare, Family Tribunals,
District Advisory Committee on Rehabilitation etc.
LOCATION: Ho Municipal Assembly In spite of all these interventions one cannot lose
sight of the fact that the establishment of a gender
DURATION: 3 months desk in the HMA will go a long way to streamline
gender activities, protect and push forward the
BENEFICIARIES: Ho Municipal interest of the vulnerable and excluded in society.
Assembly, Community members, the
Vulnerable and Excluded in the society. OBJECTIVE: To promote the interest of
women, the vulnerable and the excluded in
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Ministry of Women policy formation and provision of services.
and Children Affairs, Ho Municipal Assembly.
ACTIVITIES: (1) Provide office space. (2) Furnish the
ESTIMATED COST: US$ 50,000 office. (3) Recruit personnel for the office. (4) Integrate
BACKGROUND: Although the Assembly is personnel into main stream activities of the Assembly.
handicapped by the absence of a well established OUTPUT: Gender desk established.
gender desk, it has not left gender issues unattended
to. It has managed in various ways to address PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: The project
some of the problems that face the vulnerable and will be under taken under the auspices of the
excluded e.g. women and children in the society. Ministry of Women and Children Affairs with
support from a national or international NGO
The Department of Community Development, (Women in Law and Development Federation
one of the Departments under the Ho Municipal -WILDAF) with focus on Women issues. The
Assembly has been designated to cater for the project can serve as a pilot project with the potential
vulnerable and excluded in the District in the of replicating in other Municipal Assemblies.
absence of a gender desk. The department does
this through programmes such as Adult Education, EQUIPMENT TO BE PROCURED:
Study Groups, Mass Meeting, Adult Functional Office accommodation, Office chair,
Literacy (AFL), Home Science Extension (women’s air conditioner, office table etc.
work) etc. The Adult Education programme is one
of the avenues through which vital information
on Government policies and issues affecting the
communities themselves are looked into in the
form of talks, discussions, etc. to get the local folks

project proposals - gender and hiv/aids

including women and the youth to take local action
to better their lot. With the AFL the staffs of the Ho
Municipal Assembly talk to people in the communities
especially women and youth about the importance of
literacy and how it could assist in the improvement
of their performance in their spheres of work.
The Home Science Extension programme offers
training for village women and the deprived on better
methods of managing their homes, handling food
and caring for their children. They are also educated
on economic ventures, personal and environmental
hygiene all aimed at helping them to be effective
contributors to their homes, communities and
the nation. This laudable programme is however,
hindered by lack of funds to give adequate training
to the groups involved, inadequate staff to establish
more groups and lack of necessary logistics.
Other organisations which see to women and children’s

2727
 Project proposal Their participation in the decision and development
GENDER process of their society is limited and with their
Micro enterprise support programme for
HIV/AIDS interest not being served by the municipal authorities.
N°2 poor single women household heads in
slums OBJECTIVE: To empower single women
project proposals - gender and hiv/aids

heads of households in poor areas of Ho.

LOCATION: Ho Municipal Assembly ACTIVITIES: (1) Organize women household
heads in the poor communities.(2)Build the
DURATION: 38 months women as a functional group.(3) Training in
BENEFICIARIES: Poor Single women household micro enterprise management.(4) Develop
heads in Bankoe, Hliha, Ahoe and Dome. a community micro-enterprise scheme.

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Ministry of Women OUTPUT: (1) Increased income levels of women.
and Children, WILDAF, Ho Municipal Assembly. (2) Participation of such women in community
and municipal decision making process.
ESTIMATED COST: US$ 1,000,000
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: Ministry of
BACKGROUND: Poor single women household Women and Children, WILDAF, MLGRD.
heads are one of the most vulnerable women groups
in poor neighbourhoods. Aside their poverty EQUIPMENT TO BE PROCURED:
situations, they are sexually abused by men, and Training materials.
find coping mechanism of giving out female
children to interested men for financial rewards.
They find it difficult to give their children good
education, provide the basic necessity within their
environment to their children and themselves.

28
28
ENVIRONMENT

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats PRIORITY OBJECTIVE

ISSUES
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK AND INSTITUTIONAL SET UP

Presence of Non-enforcement Presence of Bye Poor Environmental To improve

Environmental of environmental laws. decentralization planning and waste manage-
Protection protection laws. of environmental management. ment systems
Agencies i.e. Presence of protection in Ho.
Forestry, Fire Inadequate Environmental agencies (EPA)
Service, EPA education on Laws. in Ho.
& Information environmental
laws. Development
Services.
partners support
Outmoded cultural for environmental
practices. protection
programmes.
Weak
implementation
of afforestation
programme.

Limited integration
of environmental
issues in urban
planning.

Weak institutional
set up for
environmental
management.

RESOURCE MOBILIZATION

Availability of Uncooperative Financial and Affordability of Private/ Development

personnel. land owners and logistic support of environment community of framework
developers. partner agencies enhance practice participation. for private and
Presence of fire for environmental to the poor. community
volunteer corps. Overuse of fuel management. participation and
wood. management.
Availability of
equipment such Inadequate
as fire tenders. budgetary
allocation for
environmental PROJECT PROPOSALS - environment
issues.

High cost of
environmental
infrastructure.

2929
 Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats PRIORITY OBJECTIVE
ISSUES
PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
FM Radio Ignorance of Private participation Bush fires due Monitoring and Effective system
programme. people towards, in waste collection to prolonged dry communication of environmental
environmental will bring increase season. system. appraisal,
Free collection of protection. numbers of collec- reporting and
waste in Ho. tors to residents. action.
Uncontrolled
hunting.

Inadequate staff
to monitor the
environment.

Backlog of collec-
tion of daily regen-
erated refuse.

Poor sanitation
facilities.

Project proposal for emergency access roads in these areas but financial
ENVIRONMENT Upgrading road and drainage resources available to it makes this effort marginal.
N°1 systems in the indigenous localities Although the District Assembly for the past three
in Ho years has embarked on improving accessibility in
the municipality under its betterment policy which
LOCATION: Ho Municipal Assembly is also directed towards development control by
opening up proposed roads and drainages in some
DURATION: 30 months areas of the capital, it has not been very successful
due to financial constraints. This has therefore caused
BENEFICIARIES: Residents in Ho a slow down in their next line of action i.e. to have
Bankoe, Hliha, Ahoe and Dome, Ho new drainages and roads developed with culverts
Municipal Assembly, Transport owners. and gravel materials to make them motorable.
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Ho OBJECTIVE: (1) To construct new access roads in the
Municipal Assembly, MWH, Ghana Highway localities and upgrade existing ones. (2) To improve the
Authority, Contractors, Ho Urban Council. drainage systems Ho Bankoe, Hliha, Ahoe and Dome
ESTIMATED COST: US$ 2,000,000
PROJECT PROPOSALS - environment

ACTIVITIES: (1) Survey the area. (2)Determine

BACKGROUND: Presently the Ho municipality has layout. (3) Relocate affected residential
a network of secondary roads totalling approximately properties. (4) Construct roads, lanes and
638.6km and some constructed drains. However, the drainage systems. (5) Monitor and evaluate.
problems associated with the development of road OUTPUT: (1) Access roads and drainage
transportation are both development of new roads systems provided. (2) Existing roads and
and maintenance of the existing ones after the major drainage systems upgraded or reconstructed. (4)
rainy seasons. The lack of proper roads and drainage Good motorable roads in the Ho municipality
network in many parts of the city has resulted in throughout the year. (5) Erosion in Ho Bankoe,
a situation where run-off water has eroded some Hliha, Ahoe and Dome reduced considerably.
building foundations, streets and residential yards.
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION:
In addition, the Bankoes and Hlihas due to historical It will be nationally executed through
and cultural reasons put up buildings close to one the Ho Municipal Assembly.
another without making any provision for future access
roads, streets and drainage systems. This has resulted EQUIPMENT TO BE PROCURED:
in very little space for modernization and expansion. Appropriate equipment.
The Assembly has attempted to provide some funding

3030
 Project proposal dump site which pose serious health hazards to the
people in the localities. Although the Assembly
ENVIRONMENT has tried in many ways to dislodge these sites
N°2 To improve waste management
systems in Ho it is still handicapped by lack of finance.
Coupled with the inadequate number of skips is
the issue of placement of skips to attain the target
LOCATION: Ho Municipal Assembly of equity in access level of service required since
DURATION: 12 months most of the sites have been encroached upon. So PROJECT PROPOSALS - environment
far skips are placed at strategic locations where the
BENEFICIARIES: Residents in Ho Bankoe, space is available. The central areas seem to be better
Hliha, Ahoe and Dome, Ho Municipal Assembly. served than peripheral localities. These peripheral
localities, therefore, need additional skips and sites
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Ho cleared to help improve upon sanitation there.
Municipal Assembly, NGOs, Development
Partners, Ho Urban Council. There is no door-to-door service for solid waste
collection in the town. All localities use the communal
ESTIMATED COST: US$ 250,000 container and dump site system. Where legal skips
are not provided households dump their refuse into
BACKGROUND: In managing the waste, the vacant plots or drain reservations. From statistics the
Assembly’s own skips and containers are placed residents and commercial entities in Ho generate
at designated locations for collection of domestic approximately 65 tonnes of waste daily but an average
solid waste. It is however, evident that wide of 42 tonnes is deposited at the final disposal point.
disparity exists in the number and distribution The uncollected waste finds the drainage network
of solid waste containers due to acquisition and other open space as their destination. The
problems caused by inadequate finance. Assembly has therefore come up with a system where
Also evident in the city are a number of illegal it imposes a sanitation levy of Ghana cedi 2,000 per

3131
 year per household. The collection of this amount, OBJECTIVE: (1) To construct 10 public places
which is to be undertaken by the Assembly men, is of convenience. (2) To assist 200 households to
very poor and therefore, there are problems with cost construct improved household toilets. (4) To increase
recovery for the lifting of communal skips, provision the number of refuse containers from 25 to 60
of additional ones and clearing of illegal dump sites. and extend refuse collection and disposal services
to the localities which lack this service. (4) To
The predominant type of domestic toilet is the water promote good hygiene and sanitation practices in all
closet. These are mostly used in the newer parts of communities in the municipalities. (5) To encourage
the municipalities. In the older settlements, domestic community participation in waste management.
toilets are inadequate. Inadequate space within
compounds, poor access to houses and lack of funding ACTIVITIES: (1) Identify communities. (2)Organise
are reasons given for poor level of service. In these community forum to discuss issues and solicit the
areas, households depend mostly on public toilets. views and roles of the community members. (3)
These public toilets are however, plagued with very Organise workshops for community members.
filthy environment which also pose a lot of health (4) Prepare drawings and tender documents.
hazards to its users. Few houses use either the pan (5) Award contract. (6) Supervise construction.
latrines or aqua-privies. Households contract their (7) Establish a revolving fund for household
own conservancy labourers, as the Assembly has none toilet construction.(8) Public awareness creation
on its payroll. Institutional areas like the Prisons and education. (9) Identify locations and prepare
quarters which still use pan latrines employ their own sites. (10) Hygiene and Sanitation Education.
conservancy labourers. A major problem relating
to the use of the pan latrines is the indiscriminate OUTPUT: (1) 10 public latrines or places of
dumping of the faecal matter collected from houses convenience constructed. (2) 200 households
undersigned areas into water bodies. There is therefore assisted to construct improved household latrines.
the need for more water closets or improved types (3) Refuse collection service extended to localities
of toilets to be built for people living in these areas. that lack the services. (4) Good hygiene and
Also about 90% of schools in Ho do not have toilets. sanitation practised. (5) Capacity of municipal
Due to the inadequacy of domestic toilets there is a assemblies strengthened in revenue collection. (6)
high dependency on the few public toilets facilities. Final dump site of liquid waste improved. (7)
One cesspit emptier procured for the assembly.
The Assembly operates a cesspit emptier service for
dislodging liquid waste. It is regularly used and serves PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION:
the whole of Volta Region except Keta District. It will be nationally executed through
It is however evident that one cesspit emptier is the Ho Municipal Assembly.
not enough to service a whole region adequately.
Part of the funds from this project will therefore EQUIPMENT TO BE PROCURED:
be used in purchasing at least one cesspit emptier (1) Construction equipment. (2) Training materials.
to compliment the one already in use. All liquid
waste is taken to mile 48 at Agbokofe (a village
near Ho) and dislodged into shallow trenches.
PROJECT PROPOSALS - environment

3232
BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire (CWIQ) Survey, Ho District Assembly (2002). 2002-2004 Medium Term
Statistic Service, Accra, 1998 Development Planning

Ghana Statistics Service (2000). 2000 Population and Psalm Consult (2003). Investment Prospectus. Ho District
Housing Census Assembly

ACRONYMS:

CBD Central Business District

CBO Community Based Organization
CWSA Community Water and Sanitation Agency
DA District Assembly
DACF District Assemblies Common Fund
ECG Electricity Company of Ghana
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
EU European Union
GES Ghana Education service
GLSS Ghana Living Standard Survey
GOG Government of Ghana
GWCL Ghana Water Company Limited
HIPC Highly Indebted Poor Country
HIV/AIDS Human Immune-deficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
HMA Ho Municipal Assembly
JSS Junior Secondary School
L.I. Legislative Instrument
MCD Metro/Municipal Coordinating Director
MLGRD Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development
MTDP Medium Term Development Plan
MOFA Ministry of Food and Agriculture
MOWAC Ministry of Women and Children Affairs
MDPT Municipal Development Planning Task force
MPCU Municipal Planning Coordinating Unit
MCE Metropolitan/Municipal Chief Executive
NCWD National Council on Women and Development
NDPC National Development Planning Commission
NGO Non Governmental Organization
PHC Population and Housing Census
PPP Private Public Partnership
SMC School Management Committee
SSNIT Social Security and National Insurance Trust
SSS Senior Secondary School
WILDAF Women in Law and Development Federation
 HO city consultation

Attendance List

Name and Organization

Emil Asidigbe HMA
Felix Seloame HMA
Cephas Ofori HMA
A.K. Awunyo-Akaba HMA
Emmanuel Dorsu Town and Country Department
Francis Kwaku District Education Officer
J.K. Tetteh District Finance Officer
Kojo Krakani Matse/Lume E/A
Mawutor Goh Municipal Chief Executive
L. Kusi Jerkins HMA
Jonathan Klu HMA
Edwin Ankpah HMA
Y.C.K. Amegashie HMA
Edna M. Nkudede Department of Community Development
Steve Okrah HMA
Atsu Havor Department of Social Welfare
Deffor E.K. DCD Municipal Coordinating Director, Ho
N.A.N. Bainua Ola Secondary School

CONTACTS:
Alioune Badiane, Director, Regional Office for Africa and the Arab States,
E-mail: [email protected]
Mohamed El Sioufi, Senior Human Settlement Officer, Focal Point for RUSPS,
E-mail: [email protected]
Senior Human Settlement Officer, Focal Point for Ghana,
E-mail: [email protected]
E-mail: [email protected]

GHANA RUSPS TEAM:

Adolphine Asimah, Team Leader, E-mail: [email protected]
Ben Doe, Team Member, e-mail: [email protected] Doris Tetteh, Team Member, E-mail: [email protected]
Sylvester Gabianu, Team Member, E-mail: [email protected]

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