Theme
Accelerating National Development Through Excellence in Local Governance About the National District Awards
Without any established incentive scheme to reward leadership excellence, the use of the DLT as
evidence and basis for more equitable resource allocation and social investment to reduce disparities between districts can be a clear disincentive to performance as it is inherently more beneficial to bottom-ranked districts than for top performers.
The NDA is the ultimate prize for those districts wondering what is next after they have topped the DLT ranking, the reward for those who have made a giant leap in the ranking but are wondering if there is any recognition for their hard work, and a motivation for those deprived districts who are captured in the DLT each year but are wondering if they will forever remain just part of the statistics or some benefit will ever accrue to them.
It presents a great opportunity for all to showcase their districts to the whole nation and win prizes that they can apply to a priority project or combination of projects of their choice to the tune of the allocated prize in the water and sanitation sector.
In an attempt to assess and track development on a national scale, the United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and
introduced the Districts League Table (DLT) in 2014.
Over time, the DLT became an important tool in promoting transparency, accountability and
evidence-based decision-making at the national and subnational levels and was adopted by the
National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) in 2020. Click on the following link to see
the 2021 DLT which is the second one coordinated by the NDPC.
But the partners of the DLT, NDPC and UNICEF, wanted to go a step further to add value to the
results of the DLT by creating an incentive package around it in such a way that the Districts will
compete to deliver the best social services to their people.
So, the NDPC signed an MOU with the Millennium Excellence Foundation (MEF) to introduce
an incentive scheme known as the National District Awards (NDA) which will be organized each
year to recognize district performances on the DLT with prize packages attached for a project of their choice within the chosen sector.
Districts, which are the building blocks of our democracy and the grassroots of our development, require the most astute of leadership to progress. The National District Awards is an Accelerated Districts Development Stimulus (ADDS) to recognize and reward leadership excellence in local/decentralized governance. It challenges leadership at the districts to be at their best and creates avenues for direct interventions to address the widening disparities between districts across the country towards a more equitable sustainable development.
The maiden edition of the NDA took place on 19th November, 2022 at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi which was attended by many Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), Representatives of the World Bank, UNICEF, Government Officials, NGOs, CSOs, etc. The event was graced by a representative of HRM Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
The NDA is focused on the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector of the DLT, with the rational being to ensure that districts are awarded purely on merit from indicators that they have a high degree of control over. The Education, ICT and Health sectors captured in the DLT, including the water sub-sector of WASH are run by specialized Central Government agencies like the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL). But District Assemblies have the authority to sign contracts with any private company of their choosing when it comes to Sanitation Management.
The “Overall Best in DLT” and “Special Intervention” categories have been included in the NDA structure as a measure to ensure inclusive participation and a comprehensive benefit system for all districts.
The 2023 NDA event will start with a seminar for the districts by ISS from 9 am to about 2 pm after which participants will go on a long break and resume by 6pm later in the evening for the Awards session, anticipated to last about 2 hours.
Date: Saturday 9th December, 2023
Venue: Great Hall, KNUST, Kumasi
Time: 6:00pm
The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC)
Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development
Ministry of Water and Sanitation
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Ignite Media Group (Metro TV, Original TV, Original 91.9 FM)
To Be Part Of This Novel And Highly Impactful National Development Initiative As a Sponsor or Partner, Please Contact Millennium Excellence Foundation On Any Of Our Contacts Below:
Office Location: No. 8 Mallam Futa Street | Nima – Accra | Opposite Frankies Hotel
Contact Persons: Amb. Ashim Morton +233 24 435 4555
Linda Opoku Tawiah +233 50 119 9834
Email: president@millenniumexcellencefoundation.org
info@millenniumexcellencefoundation.org
MEA 2000
MEA’s maiden event was hosted at the ICC, Accra, Ghana
MEA 2005
Hosted at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, Ghana
MEA 2010
Hosted at the ICC, Accra Ghana
MEA 2015
Hosted at the Manhyia Palace, Kumasi, Ghana
MEA 2020
Hosted in 2021 at the Manhyia Palace, Kumasi, Ghana
