CHALLENGES TO INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES AT THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEVEL

ABSTRACT Ghana’s Decentralization Policy has made significant contribution in infrastructural implementation and delivery through Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies as an alternative development strategy to ensure the implementation of the overall national agenda. To date, many systems and strategies have been implemented towards improving development of infrastructure at the local government level. Given that initiation and implementation of infrastructural development at the local level involves the multi-institutional participation of various stakeholders in local governance for effective monitoring and development, several governance forms including e-governance have been initiated towards improvement and effective management of the assemblies. E-Governance through the use of relevant Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been implemented through the Government Policy on Information and Communications Technology for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) as a catalyst to facilitate the cross-sectoral participation in the implementation of infrastructural development. Unfortunately, to date, the ICT4AD does not appear to be successfully on course having been in existence for over a decade. Similarly, the development and monitoring of the physical infrastructure at the local level continue to suffer several setbacks and it is currently clearly evident that a refined system of best practices must be put in place to simplify and harmonize the entire development process. This paper is aimed at the assessment of the challenges of e-governance in infrastructural development at the local government level in Ghana. Using a mixed approach with purposive sampling, data gathered from the MMDAs in Ashanti Region suggest that the entire programme has been very slow; bedeviled with lack of funding and lack of commitment on the part of government amongst others. It further revealed that the performance and implementation of the ICT4AD Policy requires an overhaul to achieve the set objectives. The findings offer a basis for formulating frameworks for an effective decision support system in infrastructural delivery and governance at the local government level.