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Minority threatens legal action over GHC2bn DACF arrears.
The Minority in Parliament has warned residents in the over 260 districts in the country not to expect any developmental project from their assemblies due to the unavailability of funds.
According to the Minority, the Government has failed to release over 2 billion cedis to the District Assemblies Common Fund to be given to the various Assemblies across the country for development.
The arrears spanning from 2019 according to the minority has crippled not only the DACF secretariat but the various Assemblies as well.
Addressing the media in Parliament, deputy ranking member for the committee on Local Government and Rural Development, Benjamin Kpodo disclosed that his side will head to court if the government fails to honour the constitutional provision of 5% of total revenue to the common fund for activities of the various Assemblies.
The Ho Central MP further accused the finance ministry of failing to comply with a Supreme Court judgment for 5% of total revenue to be allocated to the fund by ceding some revenues to GNPC and GRA before computation.
“Indeed the DACF is simply not working today, it has been rendered impotent. The monies due to the fund have not been given to the fund to enable it to carry out its mandate as abundantly outlined by the constitution and the relevant acts.
“This government has consistently done everything possible to deprive the district assemblies common fund of the needed funds for the discharge of the constitutionally mandated duties. Amount due to the DACF was underprovided for and owed to the fund in 2017 and 2018.
The debt was partly settled in 2019 with monies borrowed during the COVID-19 intervention period. An amount of 144 million was applied for that. In fact I have the document here where the minister for finance came to the finance committee to tell us how they were going to disburse the monies that they were borrowing and they were taking from the stabilization fund and the rapid credit facility that was taken from the IMF.”
