Budget analyst urges government to expand Common Fund

Mr. Julius Dabuo, Wa Municipal Assembly Budget Analyst, has proposed to the government to expand the disbursement of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) to cover Area Councils and Unit Committees.

This, according to the Budget Analyst, would not only make the Area Councils and Unit Committees to function effectively but would also go a long way to enhance the decentralisation system.

Mr. Dabuo made the proposal during a sensitization workshop on the DACF organised by SEND-Ghana at Wa on Thursday.

He expressed concern about the quality of the Area Councils’ staff and appealed to the government to employ qualified people to manage these Area Councils in order to make them vibrant.

He suggested to the government to direct the National Service Secretariat (NSS), to post National Service Personnel (NSP) to help run these Area Councils for a start while it put in measures to employ permanent people.

Mr. Dabuo said the institution of the DACF in 1994 had indeed boosted the effectiveness of the decentralisation system but noted that it would further be deepened if it was expanded to cover Area Councils and Unit Committees.

Mr. Adamu Munkaila, SEND-Ghana Programme Officer in Wa, said in their monitoring of the first phase of the DACF Project, it was revealed that many people had no or little knowledge about the Fund.

He said the second Phase of SEND-Ghana’s DACF project seeks to improve the quality of life of the poor and marginalized through increased access and utilization of the DACF.

Mr. Munkaila said the project also had the objective of increasing citizens’ awareness and participation in the development of the District Development Plans (DDPs).**