Ensure equitable allocation of resources for accelerated devt - Vice-President to Common Fund administrators

The Vice-President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has urged administrators overseeing disbursement of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to prioritise the needs of underserved communities across the country.

“Regardless of where we are, let us remember that we could have been on the other side. It is our responsibility to ensure that others have what we have—and even better. That's how we can build a peaceful, sustainable society.

“If they don’t have water, electricity or health facilities, why shouldn’t they come to Accra?” But if we take such services to them, they will remain comfortable in their communities and live dignified lives,” she said.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang added that equitable distribution of resources was essential to building a peaceful and sustainable society, the reason for which the DACF was established.

The Vice-President was speaking during a working visit to the DACF secretariat in Accra, where she engaged management and technical staff on the progress of disbursements, project implementation and strategies to strengthen equitable development across the country.

They also discussed how to improve coordination, accelerate fund releases and ensure the DACF continue to fulfil its constitutional mandate of reducing development disparities between urban and rural communities.

The Vice-President also emphasised the need to reduce inequality while deliberately increasing equity, especially for vulnerable populations.

She said evaluation frameworks should go beyond statistics to reflect tangible improvements in people’s lives, particularly those living on the margins.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang further stressed the importance of collaboration, responsiveness, equity-driven development and shared national mission to improve lives.

“We want you and your team to know we will have your back. We are here to support you,” she added.

Challenges

The Vice-President acknowledged challenges in raising counterpart funding at the district level, and said that the government would step in where necessary to bridge funding gaps in under-resourced districts.

She encouraged the exploration of diaspora financing models — structured mechanisms that would allow Ghanaians abroad to directly contribute to development projects in their respective hometowns.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang commended ongoing monitoring and tracking efforts, saying they were essential for identifying both successes and weaknesses in implementation.

She highlighted employment potential embedded in development projects, such as in construction, contracting and service delivery.

Disbursement

The Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), Michael Harry Yamson, said while only 53.5 per cent of funds were disbursed to districts between 2019 and 2023, the figure rose to 91 per cent in the past year, and was expected to reach 93 per cent in 2026.

He said allocations for vulnerable groups had also increased, with funding for persons with disabilities rising from three to five per cent.

Mr Yamson, however, said the fund was currently owed hundreds of millions of cedis by the government due to past underpayments.

Timelines

The Administrator called for a legally mandated timetable for quarterly releases, saying,”these delays compress a full year’s development into a few months, leading to rushed and sometimes substandard works”.

He said a newly introduced Community Partners Fund platform would also allow individuals, corporations and diaspora groups to directly finance local projects.

Mr Yamson said the fund was also addressing a backlog of nearly 5,000 uncompleted projects, and said 20 per cent of allocations had been earmarked to complete those “legacy projects”.

He further outlined plans to scale up investment in social infrastructure, including a nationwide teacher housing initiative to address accommodation shortages in rural areas.

Mr Yamson added that the DACF was introducing stricter compliance measures for district assemblies, including mandatory monthly and quarterly reporting as a condition for accessing funds.