Administrative Pitfalls in Localizing Youth Empowerment Policies among ECOWAS Countries: A Case Study of Ghana’s MASLOC Scheme

Abstract This study highlights the challenge ECOWAS member-states face in domesticating implementation of its policies. In particular, it examines the bottlenecks associated with localizing youth empowerment policies within ECOWAS member-states, focusing on Ghana’s MASLOC scheme. Despite ECOWAS ’ efforts to promote youth empowerment through policy frameworks, its implementation by the member states is largely constrained by administrative complexities. The study utilizing Fred Riggs’ Prismatic Sala model and a retrospective content analysis of secondary data, found that MASLOC ’s implementation has been hindered by a clash of differing perspectives – one emphasizing impartial, economic-based criteria for resource allocation, while the other advocates political considerations. There is a significant disconnect between MASLOC ’s policy goals and their real-world execution, where social hierarchies, personal relationships, and power dynamics have shaped their operation. The study concludes that the failure to effectively operationalize the youth policy is a combination of weak institutional capacity and neo-patrimonial tendencies – forces that have undermined the effectiveness of the youth empowerment initiative. These insights underscore the need for improved governance and policy support to bridge the gap between policy design and implementation.