Full length Research Paper

Global poverty reduction policy and implementation strategies at local level, integrated planning options and challenges in a developing country, Ghana

Kwaku D. Kessey

Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi

E-mail: kesseyp@yahoo.com

Accepted October 07, 2013

Abstract

The poverty profile in Ghana has raised a lot of concern among the populace of the country. The Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS-4) in 2005/2006, revealed that about 28.5% of the populace are poor. The United Nations, in 2002, came out with a Millennium Declaration which aimed at addressing global poverty. It contained eight development goals that has come to be known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This research focused on the probability of attaining those goals in Ghana by 2015, after implementing various poverty reduction programmes. The research was an investigative one based on data throughout Ghana. As a methodology the country was stratified into three zones namely, the Coastal belt, Middle belt and Northern Ghana; ninety three, eighty five and forty seven citizens respectively were randomly selected and interviewed. Secondary data on addressing poverty in Ghana up to 2006 were also analyzed. The analysis showed that majority of the interviewees indicated that the country would not be able to achieve the MDGs targets by 2015. The public servants responsible for implementing the programme said the state’s supportive environment is not adequate. The secondary data from government source confirmed this public doubt. The government identified the two goals that could be achieved and indicated that it would be impossible to achieve the remaining six goals by 2015. The cause of the situation is the operations of some challenges identified in the analysis. These challenges among others make the strategies designed in Ghana for achieving the MDGs targets by 2015 unsuitable. Effective strategies should strengthen the micro and macro economy to help the populace to create wealth to enhance their livelihood.

Keywords: Poverty, Strategy, Wealth, Indebtedness, Operationalising.