Govt releases GH¢25m allowance for assembly members

The government has released the first tranche of GH¢25 million for the payment of non-taxable allowances to assembly members across the country.

The amount, which was released by the Ministry of Finance on June 18, this year, has since been disbursed to the 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to cover allowances for April and May.

The Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, who made this known at a press briefing yesterday, said each of the 9,085 assembly members in the country would receive GH¢1,300.

He explained that the Local Government Ministry received GH¢25 million from the Ministry of Finance and paid over GH¢23.6 million to the assemblies to cover the two months’ allowances.

The Banda Member of Parliament said the remaining amount had been lodged in an account and would be added to the next tranche to cover the next three months.

"We did not do any editing to the figures from the Finance Ministry before disbursement to the MMDAs, so no Metropolitan Municipal and District Chief Executive (MMDCE) should touch that money.

“It is meant for the assembly members to properly monitor government projects in their electoral areas," he said.

Context

As part of his campaign promise to deepen decentralisation, President John Dramani Mahama promised to pay allowances to all assembly members to facilitate their work.

He indicated that the initiative was to support them in discharging their responsibilities as expected of them.

Following his electoral victory, the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, allocated GH¢100 million in the 2025 Budget and Financial Statement presented to Parliament for the payment of the assembly members.

Commitment

Mr Ibrahim said the fulfilment of that promise to assembly members was not only historic, but it also signified the government's commitment to deepening the decentralisation process and promoting local participation in governance.

He said apart from the payment of assembly members, the government was also taking steps to ensure that the centralisation of resources was reversed.

The minister added that in the coming weeks, disbursements would be made from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to the MMDAs and the Disability Fund.

"Very soon, my team will go round the country to monitor how the assemblies are applying the moneys that are being disbursed to them.

We are resetting the country, and every money released to us must be judiciously used," he stressed.