THEME

Accelerating National Development Through Excellence in Local Governance
About the National District Awards

WHY THE NDA?

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.
[https://www.unicef.org/ghana/reports/2021-district-league-table-report].
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.

More…..

Previous (2022) NDA

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.

Focus Sector

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.

Format of the 2023 NDA

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.

2023 NDA Schedule

Date: Saturday 9th December, 2023
Venue: Great Hall, KNUST, Kumasi
Time: 6:00pm

Partners

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)

Media Partners

Ignite Media Group (Metro TV, Original TV, Original 91.9 FM)

Contact Info

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

Award Categories

Overall Best in the DLT

These are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Overall Best ranked districts in the 2022 DLT in all sectors. Each district will receive a Trophy, Citation, and Project Prize as listed under the category in Table 1 below.

Best In Sanitation

These are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Best ranked districts in the 2022 DLT on the sanitation sector. Each district will receive a Trophy, Citation, and Project Prize as listed under the category in Table 1 below.

Most Improved

These are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Most Improved districts in the sanitation sector based on a comparison of results between the 2022 and 2021 DLT. Each district will receive a Trophy, Citation, and Project Prize as listed under the category in Table 1 below.

Special Intervention

These are 3 selected deprived districts identified by the partners to the DLT i.e. NDPC and UNICEF as requiring targeted special intervention in the WASH sector. Each district will receive only a Project Prize as listed under the category in Table 1 below.

Special Impact Personality

This award is given to the individual(s) whose work and interventions have made the most impact in the development of districts with regard to the WASH sector in the year under consideration.
This category comes with a Trophy and Citation but may or may not include a project prize.

Special Impact Partner

This award is presented to the organization(s) whose work and interventions have made the most impact in the development of districts with regard to the WASH sector in the year under consideration. This category does not come with any project prize. It is a recognition and an appreciation of the good work done which comes with only a trophy and Citation.