Government to introduce composite budget for MMDAs next year

Accra, Aug. 23, GNA - Government is considering introducing composit= e budget procedures for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the 2012 Financial Year to deepen decentralisation in the country.

Vice President John Dramani Mahama, who announced this explained that the initiative was to increase the overall knowledge about the financial resources of the MMDAs and the integration of various funding sources into one management system to enable the assemblies to improve local delivery systems.

This was contained in an address read on his behalf by Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) at the opening session of a three-week workshop on Joint Decentralisation Sector Review Mission in Accra on Tuesday. It is being organised by MLGRD in collaboration with European Union to come out with pragmatic measures on how to improve revenue mobilisation at the district level.

In addition, it is expected to take onboard the local political, cultural and historical experiences when conducting analyses and making recommendations and draw up international best practices that could be adopted, especially in capacity development. The participants would also consider the role of traditional authorities in the decentralisation process.

Vice President Mahama noted that the MMDAs lacked transfer of resource= s because budgets of the decentralised departments were treated as part of th= e main ministries and did not form part of the overall assembly budget. He said this affected the control and management of resources and development processes at the district level. Vice President Mahama said government was committed in deepening decentralisation by introducing Local Economic Development Programme to promote job creation, establish local industries and facilitate intra and inter-district trade. He said a framework had been developed for the programme and a secretariat had been set up to spearhead the activities to support the assemblies. Vice President Mahama said establishment of District Works Departments had been initiated in significant number of MMDAs to strengthen the local capacity in the management of infrastructure projects. In addition, the passage of LI 1967 would streamline the local governance system with the view of increasing participation of the citizenr= y in the local level decision-making processes.

"The more that 16,000 Unit Committees were reduced to a more managea= ble 5,000 and the membership of each was scaled down from 15 to five elected members," he added. The Government in March this year directed the transfer of functions, resources and personnel from the Civil Service to the Local Government Service to mark the final implementation of Administrative and Fiscal Decentralisation. More than 30,000 personnel were transferred making all the 10 departments in Schedule I of LI 1961 officially district assembly departments.

Vice President Mahama expressed the hope that the review would lead to a more harmonised collaboration and implementation of activities by all partners in the sector.

Professor Kwamena Ahwoi, Former Minister of MLGRD and Decentralisation Expert said the implementation of decentralisation policy had contributed i= n making sub-district structures functional and promoted public hearing at district and sub-district level in decentralised planning system. He said the policy had some challenges such as lack of incentives for members of sub-district structures and lack of legislative framework for participatory planning and budgeting. Prof. Ahwoi called for active and effective participation of non-State actors in local government to help create awareness of the decentralisation process.