Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi, Architect of Local Government

Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi

The history of decentralization in Ghana cannot be told without mentioning the immense contribution of Professor Kwamena Ahwoi. In fact, he is the master architect behind the concept, and the first Minister appointed by former President Rawlings, to lead the implementation of the policy, that has brought governance to the doorsteps of ordinary people in the country.

Until the implementation of the policy, power was concentrated at the national level, but today, as many as 170 districts, Municipal and Metropolitan assemblies have been created, where decisions regarding development are taken by the local people themselves.

It has become hackneyed nowadays, to see people trooping into the country to study Ghana's local governance concept, and replicate it in their respective countries.

The man behind this governance model has, however, decided to stay away from frontline politics, and instead concentrate on his work at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), where he is a lecturer.

He only acts in advisory positions in politics and performs various  roles in areas  of legal and constitutional affairs, not forgetting his best and known role of trouble shooting on governance issues.

Just recently, he delivered his first inaugural lecture on the topic -'Functions, Functionaries and Funds: is there an alternative decentralization implementation strategy?'- as part of the requirements to the attainment of the status of a Professor.

The lecture also marked the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.

Professor Ahwoi, in his presentation, came up with startling ideas of how the Ministry of Local Government could be converted into a Secretariat for Decentralization and Local Governance within the Presidency.

This, according to him, is necessary to give it the kind of authority which it requires to implement an effective decentralization process. The present situation in which the Ministry, with a sector Minister, seeks to give instructions to colleague Ministers, almost acting like a 'primus inter pares', he noted, is deeply resented by the other Ministers and their top advisors.

'The least we can do to help whoever is in charge of decentralization is to elevate him or her to a position, in which he or she is perceived as speaking with the President's voice,' he argues.

When asked how he manages to blend academia with politics so perfectly, and which is his favourite, he was quick to go for his academic work.

'In academia, you are allowed to do things as an individual, and get across your view point without any compromise.

Also, when you know something is right, you put it in the same way without any hurdle. In academia you have more room to operate,' he explained

He further explains that politics places some level of restriction on an individual's position on issues, depending on which side of the political divide they belong to.

'Politics does not always allow you to put across your point of view as forcefully as you would, and it does not also allow you to act the way and manner you think is correct, because of the principle of collective responsibility'.

Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi says he cannot stomach the internal intrigues of partisan politics, because he is at his best when debating the opposition view.

The second reason why he would not do front line politics is because he considers it as a risky venture with  many temptations, emphasizing that it is very easy to make a wrong move or mistake, especially when one has been in it for a longtime.

He states that after being in politics for 19 years without blemish, and gaining an enviable track record, it would be best to exit from front line politics, knowing that it is extremely risky on his part to go back. 'My experience is that in life you exit when you are at your glory'.

HOW HE ENTERED
POLITICS
The learned Professor returned to Ghana in 1978 from the United Kingdom, where he pursued his post graduate programme at Oxford University. He had planned to leave for Zambia after getting an appointment at the Zambian University, but the June 4th revolution happened and changed his plans.

The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) gave him an appointment to host a political programme, which had been hosted by Prof. Ivan Addae Mensah, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana.

The programme involved an interview with all the nine presidential aspirants in the Third Republic presidential elections.

He was a lecturer at the Law faculty of the University of Ghana during the heady revolution period, around which time he was tasked by Chairman Jerry Rawlings to be part of a committee of enquiry to investigate some disturbances by the police, which work he did successfully. 'After that my political career was launched,' he said.

When Rawlings staged his second come back in 1981, Prof. Ahwoi was one of the ten people whose name was announced on radio to report to Gonda Barracks, to be part of the new administration. He served the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), through to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) constitutional government.

WE AND THE
RAWLINGSES
Prof Ahwoi and his brothers -Ato Ahwoi and Kwesi Ahwoi have been a part of the Rawlings legacy. He, however, thinks he and his brothers owe no allegiance or personal loyalty to former President Rawlings, since the revolutionary era is over.

'Our belief is that, whoever becomes the leader of the party is the one we owe allegiance to, so if Rawlings has a problem with Prof. Mills, I am not going to add that to my problems. As long as Prof. Mills is the leader of the NDC, I will give him that loyalty'.

Asked if he would do same if Nana Konadu had won the Sunyani delegates congress, he replied in the affirmative.

'I will be the last person to confuse loyalty to the party and loyalty to the founder of the party, because the two are not the same. It would surprise you that if Nana Konadu had won in Sunyani, I would have switched my loyalty to her'.

But the Professor conceded that he had not spoken to the founder of his party in the last two years. They, however, had regular interactions when the NDC was in opposition.

According to him, the fracas between them and the founder is not just about the Ahwoi brothers only, but also with other members of the party who were with him and have now decided to work with the current President.

'Talk about Ceicilia Johnson, Sherry Ayitey, Satire Ocran, Totobi Kwakye, Captain Tsikata, P.V. Obeng and a host of others. So it is not just the Ahwois, it still has to do with the question of loyalty.'

ELECTIONS 2012
He is very optimistic the NDC will win the 2012 elections on the enviable track record of the President.  The chances of the party, according to him, are very bright because they have a core support of 42%, and are currently appealing to floating voters.

'With all my experience, I can tell you that between Prof. Mills and Nana Addo, more than 90% of the floating voters will vote for President Mills'.

According to Prof. Ahwoi, the 2012 elections would be a first round win for Prof. Mills.

'Nana Addo has too much baggage on his head, although his party says 'Ye nim no fri tete'.

PERSONAL PROFILE
Born to a Sefwi father and a Fante mother, Professor Kwamena Ahwoi is the third of eight siblings.

He was a Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ghana, Legon, before joining the Government of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) in 1982.

Mr. Ahwoi was PNDC Secretary (Minister) of Local Government from 1988 to 1993. He was a member of the 'Akuse Group' that prepared the PNDC blue print on local government reform and decentralization in 1987 entitled 'District Political Authority and Modalities for District Level Elections' that popularly came to be known as the 'Blue Book'.

After that, he directed, supervised and chaired the Inter- Ministerial Task Force that prepared the first major legislation and decentralization, the Local Government Law on 1988, PNDCL 207.

He also made substantial input into the work of the Committee of Experts (Constitution) and the consultative Assembly whose respective work finally culminated in Chapter 20 of the 1992 Constitution on 'Decentralization and Local Government'.

As Minister of Local Government, he piloted the Local Government Act of 1993, Act 462, as well as the other major legislation on Local Government such as the District Assemblies Common Fund Act, 1993, Act 455; the National Development Planning (System) Act, 1993, Act 480; and the Local Government (Urban, Zonal and Town Councils and Units Committees Establishment) Instrument, 1994, L.I. 1589, through Parliament. He was also the Minister who signed into existence the Legislative Instruments establishing the 110 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies in 1988/89.

In 1997/98,     Professor Ahwoi had the unique honour of holding both the Local Government and Foreign Affairs ministerial portfolios. He has considerable international experience in the area of local government and decentralization. He was for a very long time a member of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) based in London, UK, President of the Afro-Asian Rural Reconstruction Organization (AARRO) based in New Delhi, India; and a founding member of the Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) based at the Secretariat in London.

He has addressed Conferences of the United Nations, the International Union of Local Authorities, the European Parliament, HABITAT and AFROCITIES and participated in scores of international conferences, seminars, workshops and roundtables on local government and decentralization. He also advised on decentralization programmes in several African countries.

As legal academic, Professor Ahwoi's passion was jurisprudence. His seminal article on 'Kelsen, the Grund Norm and the 1979 Constitution 'published in the University of Ghana Journal is still compulsory reading in the course on the 'Pure Theory of Law' at the University of Ghana Law Faculty. At GIMPA, he has written and published extensively on local government and Decentralization, climaxed by his book on 'Local Government and decentralization in Ghana' published by Unimax Macmillan. This has become the leading work on the subject on Ghana.

Professor Ahwoi has four children and is married to Mrs. Comfort Nada Lomotso Ahwoi, a lawyer who works with the Legal Department of the Bank of Ghana.