Minority in Parliament has urged the Government to release arrears due the District Assemblies Common Fund to enable the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to carry out their functions effectively.
The Minority Chief Whip, Kwame Governs Agbodza, made the call at a press conference in Accra, after the Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund met the Committee of Parliament to discuss the 2023 formula for the allocation of the five per cent of the total tax revenue of the country to the Common Fund as required by the 1992 Constitution.
He lauded the Parliamentary Select Committee on Local Government and Rural Development for doing a yeoman’s job; which was tracking how the District Assemblies Common Fund was being distributed and utilised.
He expressed the Minority’s concern over the delays in releasing the District Assemblies Common Fund, since 2018.
“It is quite clear that since 2018, Common Fund is unable to receive an amount of GH ¢6.2 billion, which is money due in accordance with Article 252(2) of the Constitution and my colleagues on the Committee will tell you that it is not an option for Government, whether to pay the money or not,” Mr Agbodza said.
He noted that once the money had been collected in terms of taxes, it was the duty of the Minister of Finance to ensure that the accounts of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund were credited.
“Today, what it means is that there are many Assemblies that staff goes to work and do nothing, basically they go and sit around the table, doing nothing and close,” he stated.
“As a result, the Assemblies are unable to provide the services that are required of them and this is not good for our country.”
Mr Agbodza appealed to the Finance Minister to ensure that all monies due the District Assemblies Common Fund are released.
“It is not as if the money is missing. You have collected the money through taxation, so you have absolutely no right to breach Article 252(2) of the Constitution……”
He alleged that District Assemblies today were impoverished and that they were unable to carry out their basic services to the people of this country; stating that that was why the Minority was totally appalled and calling on the Finance Minister to release all arrears to the Assemblies.
He said the failure of the Government to release the Assemblies’ Common Fund, would compel the NDC Minority not to entertain any businesses from the Business Committee of the House or from the Finance Ministry.
“We are told that this year, the only amount of money released to the Common Fund so far is GH¢300 million, when they should be releasing far more than that,” he said.
“So, we are much appalled, and we hope that our colleagues on the other side will support us to encourage or compel the Finance Minister to make the releases to the Common Fund, so that those monies will go to the District Assemblies that will benefit the people of this country.”
Mr Benjamin Komla Kpodo, Deputy Ranking Member and NDC MP for Ho Central, stated that the NDC Minority was concerned with the Ministry of Finance failing to release actual amounts due to the District Assemblies Common Fund Secretariat for further disbursement to the Assemblies since 2018.
“Let me limit myself to only 2022, in Appropriation Account, the Appropriation Act, GHS3.4 billion was appropriated for the District Assemblies Common Fund, the Ministry of Finance went and released GH¢2.9 billion on paper, that is from 1st January, 2022 to the end of December, 2022,” he said.
“That was the paper releases given to the Common Fund Secretariat, but out of that only GH¢300 million cash has been given to the Common Fund Secretariat, so, for the whole year, how do expect them to function?”.
He appealed to the Government to ensure that the Common Fund was released timeously to enable the Assemblies to execute their projects on time.