Government owes Common Fund over GH¢6bn – Ho Central MP reveals

The Deputy Ranking Member on Local Government Committee of Parliament, Benjamin Komla Kpodo, has alleged government owes the District Assemblies Common Fund(DACF) over GH¢6 billion.

This, he said was due to the Finance Ministry delay in releasing funds.

He said the Ministry of Finance's failure to disburse the common fund quarterly violates the Constitution.

He made this known in a contribution to the report on the proposed formula for distributing the DACF for the year 2024 in Parliament.

“The Ministry of Finance has been violating the Constitution. Article 252(2) clearly states that the disbursement should be done on a quarterly basis, which they were not doing. As we speak now, the Common Fund is owed some GH¢3.5 billion over the past two years."

He said in 2023, the debt had risen by another GH¢3 billion, adding "so, I don’t know where the Ministry of Finance is keeping the money meant for the District Assemblies Common Fund.”

Reacting to this, a Deputy Finance Minister, Abena Osei-Asare, assured government’s commitment to settle the arrears.

“I want to put it on record that, Mr. Speaker, yes, we do owe the Common Fund some arrears, and we are working very hard to make sure we pay those moneys. But I want to also put on record that we haven’t gone against the Supreme Court’s ruling. That is a fact and that I should put on the table.

 "We have come to Finance Committee to explain how we arrive at revenue numbers for DACF. So, we haven’t gone against the ruling of the Supreme Court.

"But I want to assure the House that we will work together to make sure we clear any outstanding money that we owe the DACF", she said.