Assessing Sustainable Development Interventions by Non-Governmental Organizations in the Gushegu Municipality of Ghana

Abstract

In the development world, there is little doubt that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a crucial role in improving the lives of recipient communities. In the delivery of support to developing countries such as Ghana, these organisations are perceived as more credible and transparent.  All development practitioners are increasingly emphasising the importance of project sustainability. A development intervention is considered sustainable if it continues to have positive effects and lasts longer than the initial timeframe, transcends the original spatial dimensions, and is independently adopted or adapted by the local population. The sustainability of NGO-led interventions in the Gushegu Municipality has undoubtedly been questioned due to the influx of NGOs operating in the Municipality, as more than 20 NGOs operate within the Municipality.  Many of these institutions are faced with challenges such as socio-cultural, economic, and national regime issues, as well as donor circumstances. Therefore, the study assessed the Sustainability of Development Interventions by Non-Government Organizations in the Gushegu Municipality. To achieve the research goal, the mixed method approach was adopted. Research tools and techniques, including questionnaires, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, were employed as data-gathering instruments. Respondents, on the other hand, were observed and engaged using open-ended questions in open dialogues in order to get further insights and draw inferences about their viewpoints and conclusions.

Findings show that the efforts of Non-Governmental Organisations within the research area's authority have not produced the expected results, as some have even collapsed a few years after the project organisers' departure. Also, Non-Governmental Organizations are concerned with sustainability; however, the government institutions, such as decentralized agencies, led by the District Assembly, and other parastatal agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, Water and Sanitation, Health, among others, have had no substantial impact on sustainability, considering the wanton duplication of initiatives in most of the rural communities. The attitudes and socio-cultural values of political regimes toward NGO-led development activities were not entirely neutral. It was determined that current economic conditions, donor strings attached, and the way NGOs create groups all hinder the sustainability of development activities. The study recommends a synergy among NGOs to avoid duplication of initiatives in communities and to foster stakeholder participation across all dimensions of the transformation agenda, and the avoidance of extreme government interference and partisanship in the discharge of their duties.