Disparities detected in funds allocated to MMDAs
Disparities have been detected in the amounts of money allocated, disbursed and actually received by the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs), a study into the management of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) has revealed.
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The study, which was commissioned by the European Union (EU) and launched by SEND-Ghana in Accra yesterday, also established misappropriation and mismanagement of deductions by the DACF Secretariat.
It also observed that the level of MMDAs’ compliance with financial management standard was low leading to several irregularities.
The study, which looked into the deductions of DACF from 2009 to 2011, was on the theme, “Managing Public Finance for Effective Local Development: The District Assemblies Common Fund in Perspective”, and conducted in 48 MMDAs in the Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.
It subsequently recommended that the DACF Secretariat minimised deductions made against district assemblies to enable them to operate effectively.
It also called on the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) to ensure that transactions done on behalf of the MMDAs were demand driven.
At the launch of the study in Accra yesterday, a Deputy Minister of MLGRD, Mr Baba Jamal, acknowledged that the issue of deductions was of major concern to the ministry.
He, however, explained that the deductions were done at the instance of the various ministries.
According to him, although the deductions were mostly done at the instance of the MMDAs to offset purchases such as bulldozers or other equipment, the problem was not due to the deductions per se but with how the deductions were done.
To address the challenges associated with the deductions, Mr Jamal said all MMDAs would be required from now onwards to do their own purchases so that they pay at the assembly levels.
He said other projects that could not be undertaken at the assembly level would be treated on a case-by-case basis at the ministry.
A research fellow at the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Prof. Kwame Ninsin, who reviewed the report, said it would help unravel the “mystery” surrounding the DACF over the years.
He said the research had brought to light the poor state of governance at the MMDAs.
According to him, the report also highlighted the lack of effective structures which would enable the people to participate effectively in activities at the assembly level.
The Chief Executive Officer, SEND West Africa, Mr Siapha Kamara, said the organisation over the years was interested in ensuring that it brought out topical issues that were of concern to the populace at large.
The Head of Delegation of EU in Ghana, Mr Claude Maerten, commended Ghana for implementing the decentralisation concept effectively.
According to him, the importance of the DACF to the development of the urban areas could not be overemphasised and pledged that the EU would ensure that it worked.
By Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho/Daily Graphic/Ghana