Minister says Common Fund not for meetings, sitting allowances

Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the Upper West Region have been directed to desist from the practice of using the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) in organizing assembly meetings and paying sitting allowances to assembly members and other participants.

They are also to desist from borrowing money from either the Disability Fund or the District Development Fund (DDF) for the same purpose.

Mr. Abu Kabiebata Kansangbata, Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, who said this during the second ordinary meeting of the Lambussie-Karni District Assembly, stated that the practice was a clear violation of the DACF guide lines and should therefore be discouraged.

Mr. Kansangbata said the DACF was purely meant for development projects and that assemblies should learn to generate their own funds and use them to organize meetings and pay allowances to members.

He said the funds meant for the Ghana Social Opportunities Project (G-SOP) were meant solely to assist the poor and that any misappropriation would not be countenanced.

On the performance of the Assembly in the area of Internally Generated Funds (IGF), Mr Kansangbata, who is the acting DCE, said through frantic efforts, the Assembly collected GH¢32,866.22 within the period under review representing 53.6% of the actual estimate of GH¢105,100.00.

The Assembly also received GH¢186,759.19 as its share of the Common Fund for the fourth quarter of 2012 in May this year.

Source: GNA