Ghana is retrogressing in local governance – O. B. Amoah

Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament, Osei Bonsu Amoah, has bemoaned the depreciation of gains in Ghana’s local governance spheres, attributing the phenomena to failed policies and the lack of funding for projects in that sector.

The situation, he said, has even been compounded by several irregularities associated with the management and utilization of the District Assemblies Common Fund.

For instance, misappropriation of funds, unaccounted value books, failure to recover assembly funds, unearned salary payments, procurement and statutory tax irregularities are key issues affecting the progress of the local government sector, he said.

“There is little progress and that there is nothing too bright to be consolidated. The Local Government Sector is rather characterized by retrogression and stagnation. It is obvious that the 2016 Budget does not offer major solutions to the challenging situation regarding poor waste management service, weak decentralization, congested and dirty urban centers, flood-prone communities, poorly managed assemblies and poverty and its associated deaths.”

“The Auditor-General is saying that year after year, he makes serious reports about running our MMDA’s and he expects the Ministers to ensure that these infractions are addressed or curtailed but is regrettable to note that as if they’ve not heard what he is saying,” he lamented.

Mr. Bonsu who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akwapim South was contributing to the motion for the adoption of the 2016 Budget and Financial Policy of the Government which was moved in the House by the Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, on November 13, 2015.

He said apart from the MMDA’s not being run properly, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development also appears to be making little progress considering the fact that “for all these years, we depend on donors to fund our programs and when they don’t bring the funds we are stuck.”

“For environmental sanitation, we allocated 31% for 2014 and we reduced it to 18% in 2015. For 2016, the figures are even far lower. For sanitation and waste management, it was cut down from 17% to 2%. Environmental Health and Sanitation – it went down from 1.3% in 2014 to 0.38% in 2015 and 2016 is no better.”

“Indeed, as I said, for 2014, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development was donor-driven to the extent that 65% of the budget was to be supported by the Ministry. In 2015, it went to almost 84% and here is the Ministry that has been tasked to ensure that there is good local governance and then rural development,” he noted.

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, he contends, has also fallen short of clear-cut policies to ensure growth in the sector, especially, the areas of rural development and national urban development policies.

“The 2016 Budget does not talk about the challenges confronting urbanization in Ghana. No or little funding is earmarked to deal with population growth and development in our cities, urban poverty, slums and squatter settlements, increasing environmental degradation, inadequate urban infrastructure and services, lack of urban safety and security and congestion in our cities.”