14/05/2026
🟢 ILGS LUNCHTIME SERIES
The Lunchtime Series of the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS) continues to serve as an important platform for engaging academics and practitioners to discuss and disseminate contemporary research findings and policy issues affecting local governance in Ghana and beyond.
The Institute was honoured to host Dr. Esther Owusu, a part- time lecturer at the Institute and Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPM&E) at the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), during the second Lunchtime Series for the year 2026. She delivered a presentation titled “Disaster Risk Management: The Exercise of Power, Legitimacy and Urgency in Stakeholder Role in Ghana” on Friday, 24th April 2026 at the Institute. The event attracted significant participation both in person and online from local government practitioners, faculty members, alumni, staff, and students.
Findings from Dr. Owusu’s research revealed that the central government exercises highly effective power, which provides a strong foundation for policy decision-making. However, it demonstrates low precision and limited urgency in responding to disaster risk management issues. At the local government level, the exercise of power and urgency to act appear ineffective, despite the existence of a robust policy framework to guide disaster management efforts. Furthermore, the exercise and legitimacy within local communities appears limited. In contrast, community members demonstrate a high sense of urgency in addressing disaster risk management challenges.
The findings of the research conducted by Dr. Owusu showed that central government exercises high effective power, which serves as a strong basis for policy decisions but low precision and low urgency in responding to disaster risk management. Also, at the local government level, the exercise of power and urgency to act appear ineffective despite a strong policy framework to guide disaster management. In addition, the exercise of power and legitimacy role appears low in the local communities. Conversely, urgency in addressing disaster risk management appears to be high among community members.
The event was chaired by Dr. Charity Dzradosi, A Research Fellow in Gender and Development at the Consultancy and Advisory Services Department at the Institute. The Discussant was Dr. Kofi Yeboah Asare, a lecturer at the Institute.
Below are photographs from the Lunchtime Series
