The Head of Grants Division of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF), Sitso Kwame Asaase, has cautioned all Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies (MMDAs) to submit their budgets to facilitate the release of their share of the Common Fund.
He indicated that it had become evident that some MMDAs had taken the submission of their budgets to the adminstrator of the DACFfor granted and failed to submit their budgets..
Mr Asaase said such lapses could no longer be tolerated, as stringent measures had been put in place to ensure that all Assemblies complied with the directive.
Criteria
"So now what we do is that before you get your quarterly allocation of the DACF, you need to meet a certain criteria. The first is to send your budget to us, which must be done properly and promptly before your money is released to you,” adding that MMDAs that had voluntarily submitted their budgets had received their share of the DACF and had started using them.
Mr Asaase gave the warning when he commissioned Akwamufie Small Town Water System in the Asuogyaman District in the Eastern Region last Thursday.
The Akwamufie Small Town Water System, constructed by Tasal Engineering Limited, comprises three mechanised boreholes with a combined capacity of 30,000 litres and three standpipes to serve the entire Akwamufie community.
The project was constructed in honour of Okokodurufo Ohemaa Afrakuma II, the Paramount Queenmother of Akwamu.
He commended the Asuogyaman District Assembly for their judicious use of the Common Fund, saying that was the reset Agenda required for growth.
On the Akwamufie Small Town Water System, Mr Asaase said the quality of the project could be replicated across all assemblies in the country.
He said the project would be managed by a nine-member water committee, which he inaugurated to oversee the maintenance and sustainability of the facility.
He said the Akwamufie project would transition from a small-pipe system to what would be known as the Small Town Pipe Community System, under which every household in the community would have access to a piped water connection.
The District Chief Executive, Godwin Bobobee, for his part, said many development projects, including the water project for Akwamufie, educational infrastructure, health facilities, among others, had been undertaken to fulfil the promise the President made to the people of the area.
Project expansion
Mr Bobobee said there were plans for the expansion of the water project to other communities, stressing the assembly would undertake similar water systems at Apeguso and Frankadua.
The DCE hinted that the assembly was also getting support from Ghana Gas to drill about 30 mechanised boreholes in the water-needy communities in the district and assured the people of Asuogyaman that the government was poised to deliver on its promises and called for their collaboration and support.
The Senior Divisional Chief of Akwamu, Nana Akonnor Bekai Ababio V, on behalf of the Akwamu Traditional Area, lauded the DCE and the entire assembly for the water project for the Akwamufie Community and all other developmental projects ongoing in the district.
