Member of Parliament for Techiman South, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, has raised concerns over possible duplication between central government initiatives and district assembly interventions, following new directives on the use of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).
His comments come after the government announced that each district assembly will receive a minimum of GH₵25 million in 2025 to support local development under the DACF.
According to Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the funds will be allocated based on specific spending guidelines. These include 25% for designing and constructing a model market, 10% for building health facilities—including at least two CHPS compounds in rural districts—and another 10% for educational infrastructure.
Other allocations include 10% for potable water projects, 10% for school furniture, and 5% for administrative expenses of the assemblies. Additionally, 20% of the funds are earmarked for completing existing projects under the Middle Belt, Coastal, and Northern Development Authorities.
“You need to ensure that there is not a clash between the central government, what they do and what the assemblies are going to do. Because I see there is an effort to want to provide everything from classroom blocks to water to school furniture and so on. The central government also, through its own programmes, has some activities to do, so we need to marry the two so that we don’t duplicate efforts.
“If we are not careful, the Ministry of Education, through GETFund, is allocating projects and then the same things are also being budgeted under DACF. How do we regulate and ensure that there is no duplication in these efforts?” he questioned.