The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) has outlined measures to improve its performance in the 2026 District Performance Assessment Tool (DPAT) following a below-average score in 2024.
Madam Ebi Bright, the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), said the assembly scored 35 per cent in the 2024 assessment, below the national average of 36 per cent, resulting in a reduced grant allocation of GH¢1.26 million.
Madam Bright announced this in a sessional address during the Third Ordinary Meeting of the Second Session of the Ninth Assembly of the TMA.
She said Tema West Municipal Assembly, which was carved from the TMA some few years ago, scored 39, while Kpone-Katamanso scored 39, Adentan scored 43, and Krowor Municipal scored 47.
“The consequences are not just reputational. Because Tema fell below the pass mark, we received a total allocation of just GH₵1.26 million. Krowor Municipal, right here in Greater Accra, received GH₵10.09 million – eight times what we received, because their performance unlocked additional grants. Money that could have funded projects in our communities went elsewhere because we failed the assessment,” she lamented.
According to her, TMA’s performance in the DPAT was the baseline her administration inherited, and she stressed that “This is where we must improve. Whatever the reasons for that score, it now falls to us, this Assembly, this administration, to change the trajectory.”
She said the outcome had reinforced the need to strengthen institutional systems, data management, documentation, and civic engagement.
Madam Bright said the assembly would prioritise statutory compliance, record-keeping, citizen participation, and performance reporting as part of its 2026 Annual Action Plan.
She noted that the goal was not only to pass the DPAT threshold but also to position Tema among the best-performing metropolitan assemblies in the country.
According to her, Tema, which is Ghana’s premier industrial city, home to the nation’s largest port, and blessed with human capital and economic activity that many assemblies could only dream of, could not continue to perform below the national average.
“We cannot speak of transformation while being outperformed by assemblies with a fraction of our resources, including one that was born from us. Tema should not be average. Tema should be setting the pace for this nation,” she stressed.
Madam Bright indicated that in 2026, they would focus on strengthening the fundamentals and would improve compliance with statutory reporting requirements and invest in documentation and record-keeping.
She further added that they would strengthen civic engagement, as the DPAT also measures how well assemblies involved citizens in their planning and decision-making.
“Our goal is not merely to cross the pass mark threshold. Our goal is to be among the best-performing metropolitan assemblies in Ghana. That is the standard Tema deserves.”
