Twelve local authorities cannot access common fund

Two Metropolitan and 10 District Assemblies in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions have since the beginning of the year not received their share of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) due to their failure to submit annual budgets.

The twelve Assemblies in question have also not been able to submit their monthly returns to the Administrator of the DACF.

They are, Kumasi Metropolitan and Atwima Kwamwoma Assemblies in the Ashanti Region; Accra and Tema Metropolitan Assemblies, Ga East, West, South, Adenta, Ashaiman, Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal, Dangme East and West District Assemblies in the Greater Accra Region.

Mr. Joshua Magnus Nicol, Administrator of DACF, disclosed these in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra on Thursday.

He explained that the assemblies qualified to receive their share of the fund only if they submitted their annual budgets and monthly returns based on need, response, service and equality criteria of the fund.

“All the assemblies that have satisfied these conditions have received both their first and second quarter allocations, and these assemblies cannot receive theirs because they have not fulfilled their side of the contract,” he added.

Mr. Nicol said a total of GH¢154 million for the first and second quarters had since been received from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, out of a total budget of GH¢345.6 million, and urged the assemblies to expedite action on the preparation of their budgets and monthly returns in order to constantly receive their share of the Fund.

Touching on various deductions that were made by his outfit concerning the Ghana@50 souvenirs, he said they were made in respect of the anniversary cups that were sent to the various assemblies.

Mr Nicol said the unit price of a cup was 97 Ghana Pesewas and that the assemblies were supposed to pay according to the number of cups they received and the retirements were to be done between the assemblies and Ghana@50 Secretariat and not with the Administrator.

He noted that only Gonja West District Assembly in the Northern Region wrote to his outfit in October 2008 complaining that they had not received the anniversary cups, although funds were deducted from their share of the DACF.

Source: GNA