The Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee (IMCC) on Decentralisation has held its first Technical Committee meeting with chief directors of IMCC member ministries and institutions for 2025 at the Jubilee House on November 12, 2025.

Chaired by governance expert Prof. Kwamina Ahwoi, in preparation for the upcoming IMCC meeting to be chaired by President John Dramani Mahama or Vice President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyeman, the meeting is a statutory requirement under the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936).

As part of the items for consideration was the review of the final draft of the National Decentralisation Policy and Strategy (2026–2030).

The draft was prepared by a team of experts led by Dr. Esther Ofei-Aboagye and oversight consultant Prof. Ahwoi, following a comprehensive review of decentralisation implementation between 2020 and 2024.

Addressing the committee, Executive Secretary Dr. Gameli Kewuribe Hoedoafia emphasized the importance of the IMCC Technical Committee’s role. Stating that, “By law, the Technical Committee precedes every IMCC meeting to deliberate on technical papers and issues that will be presented before the IMCC.”

Prof. Ahwoi, in his presentation, highlighted the challenges and imperatives of decentralisation as he said, “Decentralisation means the distribution of authority, power, and resources from the center to the grassroots.

“Our experience in Ghana shows that strong leadership is required to drive this process, as political and bureaucratic resistance remains a major obstacle.

“Which is why the IMCC structure is crafted to have political leaders making up the IMCC and the technocrats making up the Technical Committee.”

He recalled that in President Mahama’s first administration between 2011 and 2013, President Mahama personally drove the IMCC, and nearly 70% of decentralisation issues were implemented because ministers responded whenever the president called.

Under the Resetting Agenda, the maiden IMCC meeting to be chaired by the President or Vice President is scheduled for November 26, 2025.

It is expected to bring together ministers and heads of key institutions, including Finance, Justice, Education, Agriculture, Health, Gender and Social Protection, and Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, alongside the Head of the Civil Service, the Head of the Local Government Service, and the Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission.

The Technical Committee’s deliberations mark an imperative step in setting the agenda and preparing policy options for consideration at the IMCC meeting.