The Nkwanta South Municipal Assembly has recorded one of the most dramatic turnarounds in local governance in the Oti Region, rising from the bottom of the regional performance rankings in 2024 to claim the top spot in the 2025 Municipal and District Assembly (MDA) Performance Assessment.
The Assembly scored an impressive 93.50 per cent, outperforming all nine assemblies in the region after placing ninth in the previous year’s assessment. The achievement underscores significant improvements in governance, financial management, development planning, and service delivery.
The annual assessment evaluates the performance of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies nationwide against a range of governance indicators, including budgeting, procurement, financial accountability, revenue mobilisation, project implementation, social accountability, and public service delivery.
The latest rankings also showed notable gains by the Krachi Nchumuru District Assembly, which climbed from eighth place in 2024 to second position with a score of 90.50 per cent.
The Jasikan Municipal Assembly retained its third-place ranking with 87.40 per cent, reflecting sustained performance in implementing development programmes and strengthening administrative systems.
The Nkwanta North District Assembly secured fourth place with 81.40 per cent, followed by the Guan District Assembly in fifth position after scoring 78.25 per cent.
The Biakoye District Assembly ranked sixth with 71.50 per cent, while the Krachi East Municipal Assembly placed seventh with 63.00 per cent.
The Krachi West District Assembly finished eighth with 50.60 per cent, while the Kadjebi District Assembly occupied the last position with 45.60 per cent.
The performance assessment forms part of the government’s decentralisation agenda aimed at strengthening accountability, transparency and efficiency in local governance. It also serves as a key monitoring tool to evaluate the ability of assemblies to plan and implement development projects, manage public finances responsibly, generate internally generated funds, and deliver quality public services.
Development experts say the significant improvement recorded by Nkwanta South and other high-performing assemblies demonstrates that sustained institutional reforms, stronger leadership and effective planning can produce measurable results within a relatively short period.
They noted that the rankings should not only recognise excellence but also encourage lower-performing assemblies to address operational weaknesses, improve administrative systems and adopt proven governance practices.
Officials have therefore urged all assemblies in the Oti Region to sustain efforts towards prudent financial management, transparent governance, inclusive planning and effective implementation of development programmes.
They believe continued improvements in local governance will accelerate socio-economic development, enhance public trust in district administrations and advance the country’s decentralisation objectives.
The 2025 assessment findings are expected to inform future policy interventions, institutional reforms and capacity-building programmes aimed at improving governance and development outcomes across the Oti Region.
