Wednesday, 19th February, 2025
Hon Dominic Napare
Sene East
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to make a Statement on local level participation in local governance in the district assemblies in Ghana.
Mr Speaker, decentralisation and local governance, which are considered important elements of participatory democracy, over the past three decades, have seen an increasing devolution of political and economic power to local government. Decentralisation can be said to be the process of bringing public sector decisions closer to the people, in order to empower local communities to actively participate in the prioritisation, implementation and monitoring of government’s development programmes to the benefit of these communities.
Mr Speaker, this process should encourage more accountable and responsive governance to improve public service delivery efficiency at the local level, and bring government closer to the governed.
Mr Speaker, it is in the light of the above that Article 240(1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, makes decentralisation mandatory and provides that this country (Ghana) puts in place ‘‘… a system of local government and administration which shall, as far as practicable, be decentralised.’’ In furtherance of that, the Constitution tasked Parliament to enact appropriate laws to ensure that functions, powers, responsibilities, and resources are at all times, transferred from the central government to the local government authorities in a coordinated manner. Parliament operationalised this by the passage of the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462), which was later replaced with the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), with the aim of enhancing local participation and consolidating all local government laws into one legislation.
Mr Speaker, it is interesting to note that until the promulgation of the new Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), the previous Local Government Act of 1993 (Act 462), did not have any elaborate provisions on participatory governance for citizen’s engagement with the district assemblies. This gives rise to the absolute need for serious sensitisation of the public and also local government practitioners on participatory governance at the local level under Act 936. This I believe will enable us to achieve the promotion of popular participation in local level decision-making.
Mr Speaker, the crux of the matter is that if decentralisation and local governance is for participation and ownership by the local level stakeholders, to what extent are these stakeholders, who have stakes and roles to play, as enshrined in the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), aware of and play these roles and take these responsibilities?
Mr Speaker, the Act 936, in Sections 40 to 48, has given elaborate and extensive opportunity and guidelines to local level stakeholders to effectively participate and provide oversight to ensure efficient service delivery, but unfortunately, to a large extent, this is not the case. The Act 936, under Section 234, defines district level stakeholders to include: chiefs and traditional authorities, opinion leaders, community leaders and civil society organisations. Civil society organisations are defined in the same Section to include community-based organisations, faith-based organisations (religious bodies), non-governmental organisations, professional or vocational associations or similar organisations.
Mr Speaker, the above is fortified in the constitutional indications for rulers to be defined for ordinary people in local government in Ghana, as given in Chapter 20, Article 240(2)(e) of the Constitution, where it states as follows: ‘‘to ensure the accountability of local government authorities, people in particular local government areas shall, as far as practicable, be afforded the opportunity to participate effectively in their governance.’’ In operationalising this, the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) provides for the assembly member to consult with their electorate before and after meetings of the assembly. The question is, how far is this carried through? Again,
Mr Speaker, the provisions on participatory revocation of the mandate of an assembly member who has lost the confidence of his people; those on decentralised participatory planning and budgeting; and the Section that requires that chiefs and traditional authorities be consulted in the process of the President appointing the 30 per cent to district assemblies, give effect to participatory local governance at the assemblies.
Mr Speaker, Sections 41 and 42 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) provide the procedure to enable a resident and other local level stakeholders participate in activities of the district assembly and its substructures, and identify the modalities and platforms for participation.
In particular, the two sections provide for the participation of local people in the enactment of by-laws and draft fee-fixing resolutions by the district assembly. Mr Speaker, citizen participation in the preparation of District Assemblies By-Laws and Fee-Fixing Resolutions is very important in increasing Internally Generated Funds (IGF), for local development at the assemblies. But unfortunately, there is very limited involvement of stakeholders in this direction by district assemblies as noticed by your Committee on Local Government and Rural Development in its previous reports to the Plenary.
The extensive involvement of stakeholders in the determination of how much rate, fees and fines they would be paying during the fee-fixing formulation stage will reduce the assemblies’ cost of sensitisation and education of citizens on tax obligations. I think this will also reduce the usual confrontations between taxpayers and revenue collectors, and increase revenue generation for local development at the district assemblies.
Mr Speaker, information and technology-based platforms are among the many platforms specified in Section 42 of the Act, for stakeholder participation, and it also includes: town hall meetings, budget preparation and validation fora, notice board announcements on jobs, appointments, procurement awards, and other important announcements of public interests. Sections 43 and 44 of the Act provide for the general public to make petitions to the district assembly on issues of concern. Section 44 makes it mandatory for a district assembly to respond to petitions made by citizens. All these are measures put in place to address issues of stakeholder involvement and participation. This is so important that the Act compels the District Chief Executive (DCE) of every Assembly, to report on stakeholder participation in the activities of the district assembly as stated in Section 45 of the Act. This will ensure that district assemblies make conscious efforts to involve the local people.
Mr Speaker, it is curious to note that even before the passage of the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989), Section 47 of the Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936) had provided the public, access to information from the district assemblies. It provides that every resident in a district assembly shall have access to or request information held by the district assembly or a department of the assembly, subject to limitation imposed by law.
Mr Speaker, it is strange that this provision was not being employed by the media and the general public, but we were only waiting on the passage of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Perhaps this justifies my earlier call for a serious sensitisation of the public on the provisions of the new Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936).
Mr Speaker, the requirement of the assemblies to observe the principles of inclusion and integration of minorities and marginalised groups in society is so important that Section 48 of the Act compels district assemblies to observe the following principles:
(a) Protection of marginalised groups from discrimination of any kind, including discrimination based on language, religion, culture, national or social origin, gender, birth, descent or other status.
(b)Equality of treatment in the area of economic, educational, social, religious, political and cultural life of marginalised and minority groups.
(c) Special protection to vulnerable persons, who may be subject to threats or acts of discrimination, hostility, violence, and abuse, as a result of their ethnic, cultural, religious or other identity.
(d) Special measures of affirmative action for marginalised and minority groups to ensure their enjoyment of equal rights with the rest of the population.
(e) Respect for, and promotion of the identity and characteristics of minorities.
(f) Promotion of diversity and intercultural education; and
(g) Promotion of effective participation of marginalised groups in public and political life.
Mr Speaker, if district assemblies were to implement these principles to the letter, by instituting programmes of pro-women and pro-marginalised affirmative actions, the issue of abysmally low participation of women in governance, particularly local governance, would have improved.
Mr Speaker, as a way forward, the relationship between local government and the governed, should be strengthened to reverse this situation of mistrust and disillusionment. Both the local people and the district assemblies need to work together to rebuild and strengthen this relationship. By this, the citizens need to be more active and engaged, while the assemblies be more responsive and effective. These provisions must be operationalised and practicalised for popular participation to become a reality— Again, I think we need to rethink participation in the political process towards an engagement that is more deliberative, and which can be understood as a right in itself, to call for certain pre-conditions to be created, targeting the fulfilment of local needs.
l wish to suggest that the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs and by extension, the district assemblies, engage in elaborate sensitisation on the provisions of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), particularly, Sections 40 to 48. The NonGovernmental Organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and the media who are into advocacy on local governance, even though they are themselves stakeholders, should also champion the advocacy of participatory local governance.
Finally, Mr Speaker, in order that the district assemblies will be more responsive to issues on stakeholder participation and report appropriately, as contained in Section 45 of Act 936, I suggest that the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs includes participatory governance at the local level as a qualifying criteria for the District Performance Assessments Tool (DPAT), emphasising their responsiveness to issues of inclusiveness and integration of minorities and marginalised groups.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity.
Hon Eric Afful
Amenfi West
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to add my voice to the two Statements on the Floor. I would like to commend the two Hon Members who made the Statements.
Mr Speaker, actually, when we look at the organogram of the local government structure in this country, we would realise that the unit committee members are at the units, which is at the downturn of the organogram. It starts from the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs, and then we come to the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) being led by the Regional Ministers. The Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) are led by chief executives, then the assembly members, the zonal councils, and finally, the unit committee members.
Mr Speaker, when one looks at the organogram, the unit committee members are the people who are not motivated in any way by the organogram, which I think we need to do more. They work assiduously at the various units that they find themselves, but they are not being motivated. Adding to the point on assembly members, how can an assembly member travel about 30 kilometres to the district capital, have a meeting, and be given GH₵150 as sitting allowance without transportation. Some do not get it at all.
Mr Speaker, it is something we have to look into, they are working for the country, and therefore we need to do something about it. I would urge the Chief Executives to make sure that they increase their Internally Generated Fund (IGF) at whatever level they find themselves, Municipal, District, Metropolitan, so that they can use some of these funds to motivate them to work and work well. Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Hon Samuel Abdulai Jinapor
Damongo
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this Statement ably made by my Colleague, the Mrs Faustina Elikplim Akurugu, on deepening Local Governance in Ghana.
Mr Speaker, this is a very important subject, and indeed, it is just as well that the Hon Member has brought it on the floor of Parliament, since the President is just about announcing and appointing Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives. One of the biggest problems we have as a country, which has become a stumbling block to our development, is that, we say we practise decentralisation, but when you look at it critically, we really do not practise decentralisation, and we are not deepening local governance in our country.
Mr Speaker, I would begin with the first example, being Common Fund. The administration of Common Fund, as it was originally conceived, was to have a Common Fund, which will be the fund where we will tap into to resource district assemblies, resource electoral areas, resource unit areas, so that the development will take place at the district assemblies. Mr Speaker, but we all know that across the political divide, governments after governments, the Common Fund, which is supposed to be decentralised, which is supposed to be disbursed to the Local Government Structures, is mostly centralised, where procurements are done at the centre and then payments are done directly from the Common Fund, and the assemblies are given the procured items. Whether they need them or not, nobody asks any question.
Mr Speaker, if you go to my Constituency, Damongo, the needs of my Constituency of Damongo would be different from the needs of the Constituency of, say, Zebilla, or Fomena, indeed, Mr Speaker, which is why, if you would allow me, the story is told of an Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) which built a borehole in the centre of a village and believed that they had built a borehole to alleviate the sufferings of the women so that the women will not trek long distances to fetch water, only for the women to abandon the borehole and continue to go down the stream to fetch the water. When the investigation was done, that was the only time they also got the opportunity to escape from homes to chat and gossip about their husbands and so on and so forth and therefore, to tell them to fetch the water from the centre of the village was problematic for them.
That is why, we have to have tailor-made development. When one goes to the United Kingdom (UK), there is a department called the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (DEFRA), is a very powerful department in the United Kingdom which is responsible for rural development and rural affairs. Mr Speaker, you are familiar with Council Homes. That is how many people came to own homes in the UK. These are all decentralised structures and also the question of getting our Local Government structures to be able to generate their own revenue and generate their own resources. Then the issue of capping, when the assemblies engage in internally generated funds, then we have capping formulas and so on.
Mr Speaker, it is a very important subject. I am not too sure we can do justice to this particular subject on one occasion. But I want to conclude, to say that, at the very least, let us make the effort to decentralise healthcare, education and agriculture. I dare say, Mr Speaker, even roads, in terms of not so much, in terms of not the expenditure, but in terms of the prioritisation of the roads, the assemblies have to be—
Then maintenance as well. The assemblies should be given the authority to determine which roads are their priorities. And indeed, rural economy. The major problem we have in our country is rural economy. Almost every town or village of significance or substance in our country has a market. It tells you how driven, how entrepreneurial our people are and so, we are hoping that the new Minister for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Minister for Health, the Minister for Education, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, the Minister for Roads and Highways, and the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, of course, would put in place a formula and the right policies to ensure that we deepen local governance in our country and ensure that we take development to the grassroots of our people.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity
Hon Sanja Nanja
Atebubu/Amantin
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to contribute to these two Statements ably made by other Members.
Mr Speaker, citizen participation in general is a good way of making public sector policies, laws, and regulations acceptable to the citizens. It also makes the public sector services effective and efficient. But, unfortunately, the main objective of Ghana’s decentralisation was to enhance citizen participation in governance. But unfortunately, it is either the local authorities are not affording the citizens the opportunity to participate, or the citizens themselves are not interested in participating and this is manifested in the district-level elections. As compared to the general election, the voter turnout for district-level elections has always been very, very low. In some instances, we get up to as low as 30 per cent voter turnout. Mr Speaker, the rate of voter turnout in an election gives credence to the subject under consideration. The citizens sometimes do not have interest in participating in the district-level elections. 1.46 p.m. For instance, in the district level elections, sometimes apart from the assembly members, the five members of the unit committee members— Some electoral areas are not even able to file five members for the elections because people are not interested in it. The lower structures are also not given the capacity to function. The assemblies I know are supposed to cede some percentages of its revenue to the sub-structures. These percentages are not ceded to them. How do we expect them to function?
For instance, during Fee-Fixing Resolution, citizens are invited to come and participate, and the number of people you get leaves much to be desired. People do not come; they are not just interested, and the local authorities also— The local authorities also take advantage of the non-interest of the citizens and do their own thing.
Mr Speaker, I think we have to sensitise the people and do more publicity, especially during the district level elections; the publicity is normally very low. Mr Speaker, on this note, I wish to thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Statement
Hon Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh
Ahafo Ano North
Mr Speaker, thank you very much, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to what the makers of the Statements have said.
Mr Speaker, to ensure effective local governance and decentralisation in Ghana, I think we should look at how to resource the actors of local governance in Ghana in the discharge of their duties, be it the executive, the legislative and deliberative functions of the various assemblies.
Mr Speaker, let me zero in to the consultations of the assembly members before and after assembly meetings. But members in the various assemblies—As I was saying, to ensure an effective local government and decentralisation system in the country, the nation ought to look at how to finance the key actors of local government and decentralisation in Ghana, especially the unit committee members and assembly members.
Mr Speaker, I want to zero in to the Statement on the consultation before and after assembly meetings, by the assembly members. Successive governments have been providing motorbikes for assembly members to go about their normal duties. But sometimes, the motorbikes would come at a time when assembly members are exiting, and that does not help. For instance, how does an assembly member of Maabang in the Ahafo Ano North, go around to visit his people at Kwabeda and Kwafokrom before he goes to the assembly meeting to deliberate on the issues concerning their plight?
I want to take this opportunity to appeal to the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, and the Ministry itself, to make sure they expedite action on providing motorbikes to the assembly members, and I believe that would help.
Then, looking at the relationship and other things between the traditional authorities and the unit committee members. I am happy today that the Ministry Chieftancy and Religious Affairs has been merged with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development have been merged. So, the Minister should take note and take action on that.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion during the last elections, that is the 2024 elections, the two major political parties, the NDC and NPP in their manifestos, promised assembly members that when they come to power, they will see how the Ministry can allocate some funds to assembly members to aid in their work. Today, the NDC is in power so, I want to appeal to the Government to make sure they look at the regular distribution of the Common Fund and how some portion would be given to assembly members to aid in their work, as promised in the manifesto. With this, I thank you Mr Speaker.
Hon Andrew Dari Chiwitey
Sawla/Tuna/Kalba
Finally! Mr Speaker, I appreciate you for the opportunity to comment on the Statement delivered by these two Hon Members. I happen to reside in the constituency of the Hon Lady, Ms Faustina Elikplim Akurugu. I thank her for accommodating me in her constituency.
The district assembly concept is a good concept that is supposed to bring development to rural areas. Mr Speaker, I have often told my assembly members that if we have a strong assembly system, the work of an MP would be limited. This is because the assembly members and the unit committee members live with the people day in, day out, so they know the people and their needs better than the MPs. Like the Hon Akurugu said, what we have to do to empower them is to resource them. We who come from the rural areas can testify to the importance of the unit committee members.
In my constituency for instance, we have electoral areas that are scattered. There are some of the electoral areas that have as many as 20 communities making up the electoral area. This makes it very difficult for the assembly members alone to function and that is why we think that the unit committee members should be seen as important persons when it comes to helping send development, carrying information to the people and helping solve the needs of the people.
Mr Speaker, the Hon Akurugu indicated the need to empower Unit Committee members by way of training or developing their skills. It is necessary for us to do that because in some of the communities, they serve as teachers, and in other communities they serve as medical officers and as everything to the people. So, if they are empowered financially and technically, they would play their role to the expectation of the community members who elected them.
My Colleague, Hon Sanja Nanja in contributing, indicated that there is low patronage at the Unit Committee level. It is a fact because they do not have any benefit. They spend money to get the forms completed and go round to campaign. On election days, Mr Speaker, you would be surprised to hear that people have to be transported to voting centres and unit committee members and assembly members have to do that from their pockets.
Meanwhile, they do not have any allowance. So, it only takes a person who is dedicated and committed to the service of his or her community to volunteer to contest as assembly member or unit committee member. So, Mr Speaker, calling for resource is important.
Mr Speaker, I know there is no time, but let me conclude by touching a little on Hon Napare’s Statement. It is a fact that, constitutionally, we are supposed to consider stakeholders in the formation of the district assembly, especially when it comes to the appointments by the President. We need to consider carefully the people who are selected in the President’s appointment. We need to get people who have the skills. We do not just have to pick party members, but people who have the know-how like traditional leaders, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) faith-based organisations, in fact, people with the expertise to serve as government appointees. This is so that, at the end of the day, we would carry home the development that government wants to send to the people. I thank you, once again, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
With the presence of H. E. John Dramani Mahama, he promised assembly members, and I know he is going to deliver on his promise. We are going to send development to the doorsteps of the people. We are not going to award contracts from Accra or award just road grading
Hon Alexander Akwasi Acquah
Akim Oda
Thank you, Mr Speaker for this opportunity to make a comment on the two Statements that have to do with local governance in Ghana.
Indeed, the Member for DomeKwabenya would have to put herself together and form an association of MPs who reside in her constituency because I just heard the Hon Member say that he lives there. We have quite a number of Members who also live in Dome-Kwabenya, so, at least, we can have development coming to our area.
Mr Speaker, I am excited to take a bite on this all-important topic, local governance. All the contributors to this Statement have talked about the fact that we need to empower our local governance system. Looking at the structure of our local government, it is only assembly members and MMDCEs who are seen. We do not have the Unit Committee and other structures performing. This is because they do not have empowerment. How do we talk about empowerment without looking at financial capacity or a system that would allow them access to finance?
I want to crave your indulgence, Mr Speaker, to share an experience. In my constituency, the usage of Common Fund was a major campaign issue during our primaries. So, I promised my constituents that, in order for them to have full access to the use of Common Fund, I was going to disburse the Common Fund to the 18 electoral areas in my constituency. When I got elected, every Common Fund that is released was disbursed to the 18 electoral areas. We had the various electoral areas, led by the assembly members, opening electoral area accounts. These moneys were disbursed directly into that account from the District Assembly. It made it easier for me to account for the Common Fund for every quarter.
Even though I do not have any major project standing in my name, for every electoral area a person goes to, there is something they can point to that attests to the fact that this is what the MPs Common Fund has been used for. I think it becomes easier to account for the Common Fund because it is one major area that, as MPs, if we are not careful, it would be definitely used to campaign against us—No, I am not concluding; you have to learn from my experience.
Mr Speaker, it is the reason during the campaign of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, he promised that portions of the District Assemblies Common Fund were going to go to the electoral area. We did not vote for him. We are quietly waiting for NDC’s promise that they were going to pay assembly members. Because if assembly members are going to be paid, it would entice people to volunteer to become assembly members and to be voted for. After they are paid, let us ensure that we have resources that would go directly into the electoral area because we know that when the District Assemblies Common Fund goes to the District Assemblies, they get into major projects and the electoral areas do not benefit.
Thank you very much for this opportunity.
Hon Ebenezer Kwaku Addo
Asutifi North
Mr Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment on the two Statements. However, my interest is rather going to be on the Statement by our Colleague, Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya.
With the plight of unit committee members, having been an assembly member and a presiding member before, I have had a personal encounter with them. I think it is right that, as Hon Members of Parliament, we look at how our Unit Committee members are treated. In fact, the district election is designed to bring democracy and governance to the doorstep of Ghanaians. And if one looks at the structure of our local governments, the Constitution and the Local Governance Act provide the framework for such structures to exist between the assembly and the unit committee.
These such structures are composed mainly of the unit committees and the elected assembly members. We have the town councils, the zonal councils, and the area councils. If one goes to the area councils, they are composed of elected assembly members within that area and then not more than 10 members of the unit committee. That is, the composition is 15. So, one would realise that the unit committee members have majority numbers in terms of the composition of these area councils. However, at the end of the tenure of these unit committee and assembly members, it is only the assembly members who provisions have been made for, concerning their emoluments. But these unit committee members are the focal point for local engagements.
Mr Speaker, if one looks at the functions of the unit committee, one would realise they are to assist the area or urban councils to enumerate and keep records of all rateable persons and properties. It is as a result of this that the assembly can generate internally generated funds (IGF). But in the disbursement or the usage of this IGF, the unit committee members do not even see how they are used. So, I think this is the right time for us to look at how these unit committee members are treated, especially when their tenure of office is getting near. The assembly members are given motorbikes, but the unit committee members do not even have bicycles to even go to the various areas.
And so, I think the Hon Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs should look at this and consult in getting some of these concerns addressed. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Hon Cletus Seidu Dapilah
Jirapa
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, do I have the floor?
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to these two noble Statements made by our Colleagues.
Mr Speaker, listening to our Colleagues and the makers of these two Statements, it all boils down to inadequate funding for our assemblies: the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
Mr Speaker, we pretend to be releasing the District Assemblies Common Fund to the assemblies, and the assemblies too are pretending to be working. All of us know the cost of a three-unit classroom block; how much do we send to the assemblies from the District Assemblies Common Fund Secretariat? So, all I want to say is that we are pretending to be supporting or making payments to the assemblies by way of the District Assemblies Common Fund. All the contributors and the makers of the Statement indicated that the challenges of the assemblies are that they are not adequately resourced, so they cannot actually bring the governance that we want to the doorsteps of the people. We have to look at the funding. How do we fund the assemblies? I am talking as a former District Chief Executive (DCE).
Mr Speaker, there were times one sits in the assembly for three months and cannot even get money to buy fuel to run the DCE’s vehicle, let alone to send staff to go for monitoring.
Mr Speaker, we approve this District Assemblies Common Fund formula in this House. Moneys that are supposed to be sent to the assemblies are not sent. We sit at the Common Fund Secretariat and procure equipment and logistics to the assemblies when the assemblies do not even need this equipment.
Mr Speaker, let us also look at the IGF—The law that should enable the assemblies to generate IGF is moribund. Mr Speaker, if one goes to collect poll tax, at the end of the day, the cost of collection is higher than what is to be collected. So, we need to look at the laws too, so that we can empower and fortify the assemblies to generate more IGF.
Mr Speaker, political interference is one of the challenges that most of our assemblies face. As a DCE, you are protecting your seat, so you dare not even go to say that people should pay property rates, and do A, B, C, D to generate enough money for the assemblies. This is because your party would come after you. Your party chairman would not understand why you are asking them to pay property rates.
Mr Speaker, we need a holistic discussion on this matter; it is a very good Statement; let us not just talk about it and throw it to the dogs. Mr Speaker, refer this Statement `to the Committee on Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, so that we can discuss it and make serious recommendations, particularly to the District Assemblies Common Fund Secretariat. They should stop deducting moneys that are meant for the assemblies. We should not—If we continuously do that, we would be pretending to be working and governing the people; meanwhile, we are doing nothing.
Mr Speaker, how on earth can they send GH₵400,000 to the assembly when they know the cost of a three-unit classroom block? When I was a DCE, we were guided that, any time District Assemblies Common Fund is released, we should be embarking on at least physical projects, such as the construction of Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound and the construction of three-unit classroom blocks. So, any time payments were made, they wanted to see the DCE making payment or allocation for the construction of physical projects. Now, go and check the assemblies; the moneys that are being sent to them are just used for the day-to-day running of the assemblies. No assembly can physically show that this is what they have used their District Assemblies Common Fund for over the period.
So, Mr Speaker, we cannot be pretending to be developing our people. I thank you.
Deputy Minority Leader (Ms Patricia Appiagyei): Mr Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank the maker of this Statement. I know that he is somebody who has been on the Committee on Local Government and Rural Development for quite some time, and all the observations and monitoring that has been made has necessitated the maker to come up with a view of strengthening local governance in our country.
Mr Speaker, I tend to agree with the last contributor to this Statement that we are pretending to be working. As a country, we pride ourselves in the fact that we have a very strong local governance system and structures, and I would admit that, yes, that is so. But as a country, I do not think we have looked back at the need to review a number of things.
Mr Speaker, a number of countries have paid benchmark visits to Ghana to learn of our local governance systems. The interesting thing is that they have gone back to improve on what we have. I would cite the case of Zambia, which learnt of our 1 Million, 1 Constituency system. In order to progress development, what Zambia has done is to set up a development committee which include the MP of the area, representatives from the district assembly executives, and representatives who are stakeholders. They all come together to plan what has to be done within the municipality or the district and ensure its implementation and execution.
Mr Speaker, because of that we can visibly see development taking place in Zambia now. It has been devoid of a chief executive undermining the MP, and it is devoid of the MP quarrelling with the chief executive for nonrelease of funds. It is one good structure which is enhancing development within Zambia, and it is something we should pay attention to and try to improve on what we have. We cannot always sit down, pride ourselves by saying we have the best when we do not review. It is important that we review the structures and systems we use to operate.
Mr Speaker, one thing I would want to discourage, I do not mind how people look at it, is to look at the system of paying unit committee members. Please, they work within a very small area where they are the monitors of how the communities develop. It is important that these people do not incur any cost. I have never been for the idea that we should buy motorbikes and pay ex-gratia to assembly members. It is something I do not subscribe to.
It is important that we look at systems that would help us to develop faster than we are. It is also very good that we devoid ourselves of the clashes that are within the system that does not make us grow. The chief executive of that particular municipality has the singular responsibility to ensure that funds are mobilised to undertake other responsibilities of the municipality and not for development. The development has its own committee that pursues the development agenda. Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you for the opportunity.
Hon Richard Acheampong
Bia East
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity, and I would like to thank the makers of the Statement. I think it is important that they have brought these issues to the fore. We cannot exhaust it today, so going forward, we need to advert our minds to the issues raised in those Statements, so that we can start implementing some of the proposals put before us.
Mr Speaker, before I touch on the Statement, I would comment on the issue raised by the Deputy Minority Leader in respect of the payment of unit committee members, assembly members, and others. In the NDC manifesto, we promised that we would give some allowances to the unit committee and assembly members. The issue is that we are now tasking them to collate data, that is birth and death from their communities. So, even if they are to forward this information through text messages, who would take care of the data they would use to send this information? If they are to travel to the assemblies, who would pay for the fare? At least, if there is some form of motivation, it would make people give out their best.
When assembly members attend meetings, the DCEs would tell them there is no release from the Common Fund, so even the allowances of about GH₵100 or GH₵150 due them cannot be paid. Some run into three or four months before they find the money to be given to assembly members, so when assembly members are invited for the next sitting, they would not attend.
Mr Speaker, these are some of the issues that we need to have a better understanding of and put before all of us, especially after the presentation of the Budget, the formula would be presented to us, and we would approve the formula. Hon Leader, you are aware. Even in the formula, about 50 per cent of the allocation is disbursed here in Accra to cure lepers, youth development, school feeding, among others.
So, in the Constitution, Article 252 tells us that we should transfer not less than five per cent to the local assemblies for development. The question is, do they get the 5 per cent? Even from the point of view of the Ministry of Finance, sometimes, they transfer 3.5 or less than the 5 per cent. We have promised to transfer 7.5 per cent; it is in our manifesto. Help us to walk the talk, and let us make sure the 7.5 gets to the assemblies, so that they can use these moneys for local development.
Mr Speaker, I was a member of the Committee on Local Government and Rural Development and we were assigned to tour the whole country to monitor projects. That was about four or five years ago. We went to the Volta, Eastern, Ashanti, and Western Regions. When we go to the assemblies and identify a project, we ask them who the contractor is and they do not know who the contractor is. Who is the consultant? They do not know the consultant. What is the project cost? They do not know, and the DCE told us that they have invited them for a meeting, but they do not want to attend. So, who is supervising the work? Meanwhile, the structure is being developed at his municipality, but he does not know the contractor. So, if there are defects, how do we correct it?
Mr Speaker, we are embarking on decentralisation but are holding back the activities of the local assemblies. We sit in Accra, award contracts and make payments, but the people at the assembly, sometimes, do not even need the projects. They have their own needs, so we need to review it. We need to sit with them, and let them give us their priorities, so that we invest the money in those areas.
The Deputy Majority Leader mentioned the 1 million per constituency policy that Zambia came to tap into and have enhanced and how it is helping them. Who can tell me that he or she is aware of a transfer of $1 million to a constituency? So, on paper, we are doing well, but if we go to the ground, we are not walking the talk. It was propaganda that we did. Unless she has evidence to prove that, in Bia East, for the past eight years, they transferred GH₵8 million and these are the projects they used the money to execute.
So, Mr Speaker, we do propaganda with everything, enough of the talking. Let us stop the propaganda and make sure that what we are saying is what we are doing on the ground. We cannot announce to the whole world that every constituency has received GH₵8 million worth of projects; meanwhile, they have not transferred even GH₵500,000.00 to the assemblies. What kind of local governance are we talking about here?
Mr Speaker, the Local Government Service sit in Accra, do recruitment, transfer or post these officers to the local assemblies. The District Chief Executives (DCEs) are not aware; they do not know their background. You go to some assemblies and they have about three deputy coordinating directors sitting idle, with no space to even work. But every month, they draw salaries from the Consolidated Fund. Are we not wasting resources? So, these are some of the issues we need to come together as a House and deal with them. If we do all the computation, you come to the conclusion that GH₵5.3 billion is transferred to the local assemblies for let us say 2024. What is the impact? One should check from 2023 to 2024, and he or she would see that Common Fund is still owing the assemblies, including Members of Parliament here. Our project fund has not been paid.
The year has ended. A new Government is in power now. They are going to put together a new formula for approval. What about the arrears? But on paper, it is written we have transferred this money to the assemblies for development. Where is the money? Where is the project? So, you see projects springing up at various communities. Contractors have abandoned sites because of nonpayment of certificates. So, these are some of the issues we need to avert our minds to so that we come together as a House and deal with them. But 7.5 per cent will be released in this 2025 Budget because we have signed a social contract with the people. We have promised the people and we will deliver.
Mr Speaker, with these few words, I thank you very much for the opportunity.
AskParly