The Effects of Politics on the Implementation of Government Programs/Projects: Insights from a Developing Economy

Over the years, Ghanaian governments have invested huge sums of money in programs and projects for socioeconomic development to improve their citizens’ well-being. However, the implementation of most of these programs and projects have failed and been abandoned. There is a lack of research addressing this issue and the specific causal mechanism through which politics and culture shapes these failed implementations and program abandonments. Partisan politics—which demonstrates strong favoritism toward one’s preferred political party, adherence to party policies, and reluctance to compromise with political opponents— provides an appropriate framework to clarify the role of politics in programs and projects ineffective implementation and abandonment debates. Drawing on political theory and the partisan politics literature, this study explores the role partisan politics plays in the implementation failure and abandonment of government programs and projects in Ghana. Our analysis reveals three causal factors: political culture, political corruption, and poor planning and implementation, which are shaped by partisan politics in the Ghanaian context. This impacts negatively on the unity and socioeconomic development of the country.