Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has announced that over 80% of the District Assemblies Common Fund is set to be disbursed directly to local government authorities across Ghana — but with tighter oversight and spending restrictions to curb misuse.
Speaking at a press briefing in Parliament on Tuesday, May 28, 2025, Ayariga explained that the delay in releasing the second-quarter funds was caused by the reconstitution of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) following the new administration’s assumption of office.
“With no MCEs or DCEs in place at the time, releasing funds would have created a vacuum in accountability,” he noted. “Now that the assemblies have been properly reconstituted, the process is ready to move.”
The release of the funds is expected to follow imminent parliamentary approval, with Finance Minister Ato Forson poised to begin disbursements.
To prevent abuse, Ayariga revealed that the Cabinet has endorsed comprehensive guidelines that limit administrative expenses to just 5% of the funds. The majority of the money, he said, must be channelled into capital projects such as schools, clinics, water systems, roads, and sanitation infrastructure.
He stressed, “We want development, not bureaucracy. That’s why we’ve capped what can be spent on administration and placed strong emphasis on project delivery.”
To ensure transparency, Parliament is introducing a monitoring framework that includes dedicated budgets for MPs to supervise local fund utilisation.
“If no one monitors how these funds are used, they’ll vanish into inefficiency and corruption,” Ayariga warned. “We refuse to replace waste at the national level with waste at the local level.”
On the issue of stalled contractor payments, the Majority Leader disclosed that Finance Minister Forson is currently auditing past contracts to weed out dubious deals. “Some contracts were politically driven or grossly overpriced. Those are under review before any payments are made.”
Ayariga’s statements mark a shift toward more responsible fiscal governance at the district level and reflect the government’s broader goal of ensuring that decentralised development funds yield real, tangible benefits for communities.
