ILO’s Decent Work Programme

The International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Development Programme are the two UN Agencies actively supporting the adoption of the contemporary local economic development approach in Ghana. The ILO, like the GIZ has been at the forefront of implementing local economic development strategies at the district level in Ghana. The International Labour Organisation first introduced contemporary local economic development practice in Ghana in 2003. This was done through two project initiatives: ‘the Ghana Decent Work Pilot Programme’ (2002-2005), and ‘the Ghana Working out of Poverty Project’ (2004- 2006). The ILO’s LED initiatives in Ghana were first piloted in two districts; the Awutu-Efutu- Senya District, and the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District in the Central Region (see ILO, 2009). These programmes sought to promote ‘decent work’ as a vehicle for realising the socio- economic advancement of people. “Decent work basically implies the generation of employment opportunities, but not just any type of employment. The jobs created must be of a ‘decent’ or ‘adequate’ quality, meaning that employment should be subject to certain standards and regulations, which in turn will prevent the exploitation and/or mistreatment of workers” (Rodriguez-Pose, 2002: 1). The ILO’s decent work programmes which are targeted at the promotion/development of micro, small and medium enterprises are seen as a means of

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getting people out of poverty and strengthening the capacity of individuals and communities to live decent lives.

The International Labour Organisation applied the local economic development approach through these two project initiatives to strengthen the capacity of the micro and small scale enterprises as a means of expanding jobs opportunities in the informal economy. Aside enhancing the capacity of micro and small scale enterprises to create jobs, it also sought to build their capacity to dialogue with local government authorities and influence policy at the district level. Thus, the distinctive feature of ILO’s LED initiatives has been the establishment of local economic development agencies (LEDAs) to champion the promotion of LED initiatives in the districts. As such, the setting up of local economic development agencies became central in the two ILO’s programmes. The International Labour Organisation thus prides itself of a number of modest gains in the setting up of LEDAs in its LED pilot Districts in Ghana:

• The formation of Sub-committees on productive and gainful employment in the districts.

• The formation of approximately 100 Small Business Associations, with about 4,500 members.

• Training 200 leaders of the Small Business Associations in leadership and management skills.

• Training 200 micro, small and medium scale enterprises in each pilot District in management and productivity enhancing skills.

• Creation of Business Information Centres in each pilot District.

• Organising training in modern procurement practices for local companies (see ILO, 2009; ILO, 2012).

In Ghana, the International Labour Organisation’s main local economic development agencies at the district level are known as District Assembly Sub-Committee on Productive and Gainful Employment (SPGE).

“The resulting Sub-Committees on Productive and Gainful Employment (SPGE) consist of six representatives from the private sector alongside four Assembly members and five District Assembly technical staff [...] Representatives in the Sub-Committees on Productive and Gainful Employment (SPGEs) are mainly drawn from small business associations that represent the informal economy [...] Furthermore, the participation of all actors were accompanied by institutional capacity building. All SPGE members received extensive training in the ILO approach to LED in general and decent work issues as they relate to the informal economy in particular” (ILO, 2012: 7).

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The Sub-Committees on Productive and Gainful Employment (SPGE) became ILO’s public- private arrangement for the promotion of LED at the district level. These local economic development agencies served as platforms for public and private sector actors to meet and discuss, diagnose, design and implement local economic development initiatives to promote the growth of micro and small scale enterprises in the districts. The ILO worked directly with the District Assemblies to get the LEDAs formed and integrated into the District Assembly system. The capacity of the LEDAs was enhanced through training workshops organised by the ILO. The SPGEs in particular are said to be recording modest gains:

“...SPGEs are also starting to report notable successes in mobilising funds in other ways. By serving as a visible access point for local SMEs, some SPGEs have been able to capture resources linked to national development programmes or projects initiated by other development partners. ... the existence of a stable multi-stakeholder LED forum facilitated the mobilisation of external resources from NGOs and international organisations. Finally, some SPGEs have been able to address shortfalls in local government funding by offering local businessmen and other relatively affluent individuals the opportunity to buy shares in the business activities initiated by the SPGE” (ILO, 2012: 11).

Comparatively, the International Labour Organisation’s District Assembly Sub-Committee on Productive and Gainful Employment (SPGEs) has some institutional semblance and firm grounding than the GIZ’s District Local Economic Development Platforms. This could be attributed to two main factors. First, the use of the term ‘sub-committee’ instead of ‘platform’ gave the LEDAs some level of grounding or acceptance. Sub-committees are part of the District Assemblies’ internal structure, and are known structures within the District Assembly system in Ghana. Currently, all District Assemblies in the country have the following sub-committees under the executive committee: Development Planning Sub-Committee, Social Services Sub- Committee, Works Sub-Committee, Finance and Administration Sub-Committee, as well as Justice and Security Sub-Committee, (Ahwoi, 2010: 70). Aside these statutory sub-committees, District Assemblies can also form additional sub-committees, usually as standing committees or ad hoc sub-committees to cater for a specific issue in a given district, (Ahwoi, 2010: 72). Once the concept of sub-committee is well known, the formation of an additional sub-committee like the SPGE easily gains acceptance. Second, the sub-committee was formed on one of the thematic areas of the District Assembly’s Medium-Term Development Plan at the time, known as Production and Gainful Employment. This thematic area of the District Development Plan mainly focused on initiatives aimed at supporting productive activities and expanding employment opportunities in the Districts. This made the Sub-Committees on Productive and Gainful Employment (SPGE) to quickly gain grounds since it was set up on something that was in practice within the District Assemblies at the time.

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The ILO’s LED interventions can be seen largely in the area of the formation of local economic development agencies (LEDAs). This form of intervention highlights the process-oriented nature of local economic development as a development strategy. These LEDAs become the organising units of local economic development initiatives in the districts. Well organised LEDAs are able to exploit economic opportunities within their localities and promote the competiveness of local enterprises and localities as a whole. The formation of LEDAs can thus be viewed within the context of attempts to ensure sustainable promotion of local economic development practices and development ownership in the districts. This so because, the LEDAs, when well formed or organised will automatically take responsibility for the organisation of local economic development initiatives in the districts. In other words, they assume ownership of the local economic development process which hitherto was the role of the intervening international development agencies. In this context, the success or future of LED in the districts does not lie on the number of LED initiatives implemented by international development agencies in a given district, but on the ability of the LEDAs to design, implement as well as manage their own LED initiatives. The ILO thus adopted a sustainable approach to the promotion of local economic development initiatives at the district level in Ghana.