An assembly with a ‘smart MCE’ will not depend on Common Fund – Ga West MCE
Mr.Clement Wilkinson, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ga West, has stated that the lack of District Assembly Common Fund should not obstruct the work of an assembly with a “smart MCE,” as there are other resources available.
While speaking on the ‘Pae Mu Ka’ show with Yaa Titi Okrah on Onua TV on Wednesday, November 10, 2020, Mr. Wilkinson explained that “I can say on authority that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has never disappointed Ga West.
“If you want to be a smart MCE you don’t wait for a common fund because you have resources to work with. So there is no need to sit down. Common fund is just a support to your municipality and so if it hasn’t come you cannot decide not to work. When you are working we do our budget, we add the common fund to the budget”, Mr. Wilkinson added.
It is on record that the government owes the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) nearly GHS2 billion, according to the Minority in Parliament.
The minority mentioned that the sum is made up of disbursements that should have been paid into the DACF from 2019 to 2021.
Member of Parliament for Ho Central, Benjamin Kpodo, at a news conference on Thursday, October 21, 2021, claimed the delay in transferring cash to the DACF is negatively affecting the functioning of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) nationally.
“The Ministry of Finance is very heavily indebted to the DACF. The amount has run to over GH¢2 billion. In 2019, the amount owed was GH¢700 million, per the Auditor General’s report. In 2020, the Ministry of Finance was owing to the DACF over GH¢587 million.
“In 2021, where nothing has been paid, the estimates for the first and second quarters only, based on their [government’s] own figures, the amount they are owing is GH¢884 million. When you add this, it is indeed over GH¢2.1 billion, which the Ministry of Finance is owing to the DACF.”, the minority alleged.
Nonetheless, Mr. Wilkinson is hopeful that the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) backlog would be cleared and distributed to the assembly.
He stated that the authorities have begun to release the cash that has accrued.
Source: Richard Mensah Adonu | Join our Telegram Group
