An assessment of stakeholder participation in monitoring and evaluation of district assembly projects and programmes in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality Assembly, Ghana

Abstract

Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) of projects and programmes promotes greater transparency and accountability in development governance. Some studies revealed that participation in Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is low. This study adopted a case study approach. A sample of 196 people participated in the study. The study revealed that stakeholder participation in M&E of projects and programmes was high among the Municipal Planning and Co-ordinating Unit (MPCU) members and the District Assembly members but low at the Zonal Council and community levels. This has impacted negatively on the transparency, accountability and the sustenance of projects and programmes. The study concludes that stakeholders were rarely involved in M&E of projects and programmes due to lack of concerted effort by the MPCU for grass root stakeholder participation and poor attitude on the part of community level stakeholders in M&E of projects and programmes. The MPCU and the Assembly members’ involvement were appreciably high whereas the Unit committee, the community and the Zonal councils’ involvement were low. The study recommends that the District Assembly through the MPCU should establish strategies  such as increased engagement of the substructures in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation process, creating an enabling environment for the substructures to set their own targets, support them to meet the targets and build their capacities to report regularly to communities under them and to the Municipal Assembly. The Municipal Assembly should partner with the Sub-structures to embark on community sensitization on participatory monitoring and evaluation of projects and programmes. Keywords: Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation, Stakeholders, Community Participation, Projects, Programmes, Savelugu-Nanton