Gov’t Urged to Change DACF Formula

A Governance Expert, Dr. Eric Oduro Osae, has called for a change in the formula of the District Assemblies Common Fund.

According to him, the formula should be changed according to the national development plan.

Addressing the media at a public forum organized by the Centre for Social Democracy (CSD-Ghana) in Accra, he said “We have moved from GPRS1, GPRS2, ESGDA 1, ESGDA 2 and then currently we are implementing a new development agenda yet we have the same formula it is not helping us as a nation.”

Parliament last year approved a formula for the distribution of the District Assembly Common Fund last year.

The formula states the various factors that should be taken into consideration in determining what should be paid to each Assembly.

The factors include the availability of health service, education service, water coverage and tarred road coverage in the respective districts.

Dr. Eric Osae believes the formula should be tweaked in line with the current development agenda to ensure development at the local government.

He further mentioned that the assemblies should be allowed to make input into the formula, when it is introduced in parliament.

Increase in Common Fund

Dr. Osae called for an increase in the District Assembly Common Fund from 5 percent of total revenue to 40 percent.

According to him, this would help promote faster development of the local communities.

“We haven’t costed as a nation the functions and services we give to local government. It will come to about 40% if we want to scientifically cost it,” he stressed.

He mentioned that the total revenue must include loans of other grants that comes to government since they all involve development.

“No development partner will give you a loan for recurrent expenditure. We give you a loan for development project and these projects are executed at the district level so why don’t we include it into the common fund and transfer same to the local government,” he said.

By: Emmanuel Yeboah Britwum