Centralised Decentralisation: The Strings We Do Not See, and What Managing Tema Has Taught Me About Local Power

The African Academy for Women in Political Leadership brought together 40 women from 28 African and Caribbean countries in Kigali in early August 2026. They gathered to learn from Rwanda's impressive progress in women's political leadership, discuss shared experiences, and contemplate the future of women's leadership in African politics.

During their time together, the group frequently returned to the story of Rwanda's Gacaca Courts, community-based systems of justice that adjudicated nearly 2 million cases at the village level after the Rwandan genocide. Former Chief Justice of Rwanda, Justice Domitilla Mukantaganzwa, reflected on how Gacaca taught her about the nature of authority, rooted in ancient African traditions that emphasized dialogue, mediation, and community-based authority.

She acknowledged Gacaca's flaws but insisted that where the state struggles to reach, the community must fill the gap and acknowledge the legitimacy that arises from it.

This insight resonated deeply with the writer as they reflected on Ghana's decentralization efforts. Since the 1980s, Ghana had built a complex legal framework for decentralization, including District Assemblies, the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG), the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), a Ministry of Decentralization, Regional Coordinating Councils, and a professional Local Government Service.

Each August 10th, Ghana joined the African Union in celebrating an Africa Day of Decentralization. Despite these robust initiatives, the writer found themselves grappling with a paradox. On paper, Ghana was decentralized, but in practice, they sensed that decentralization had not lived up to expectations.

As the writer returned to Tema, the city where they grew up, they were struck by the changes they had witnessed over the decades. Tema, once Ghana's showcase and a planned city with numbered communities, had devolved into a disintegrating urban landscape. The original design, featuring orderly grids, drainage systems, and public spaces, had degraded due to unauthorized structures, blocked drains, and the loss of greenery and playgrounds.

The writer realized that the story of Tema was inextricably linked to the story of decentralization in Ghana. Both illustrated the tension between the ideal of local power and the reality of governance, where community-based solutions often failed to materialize, leaving behind a sense of discontent and a question of how to reconcile the ideals with the lived experience.