New Local Governance bill empowers Common Fund Administrator

The Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund has now been given the authority to invest in securities monies that have been released to his office and which could not be immediately disbursed to the District Assemblies.

The dividend on such monies would be ploughed back into Consolidated Fund where the government can use it for other purposes to benefit the nation.

This follows the passage of the Local Governance Bill, 2016 into law by the Parliament of Ghana on Thursday.

Chairman of the Committee on Local Government, Dominic Azumah Azimbe told journalists on the sidelines of the passage of the Bill that the new law now consolidates all the existing laws affecting local government and decentralization in Ghana into one Act.

But prior to the passage of the Bill, Minority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu cautioned the House to hasten slowly in considering the policy.

“Mr. Speaker, this is a major government policy which if passed will make a fundamental change in the governance system of the country. But just seeks to the elections what impact is the Bill going to make on our local governance system? Besides, we don’t have the numbers to consider this. In my view we should take our time and consider this Bill,” he noted.