The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, has criticised the previous administration led by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, accusing it of leaving behind a weak and under-resourced local governance system.
According to him, the situation significantly affected the ability of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to deliver essential services and implement development projects.
“The government of His Excellency John Dramani Mahama inherited in 2025 a dysfunctional local governance sector and decentralisation structure, occasioned by lack of adequate resources for the MMDAs to perform,” he said.
He explained that this had hampered the assemblies’ capacity to fully discharge their statutory responsibilities, ultimately affecting service delivery and infrastructure development across the country.
Mr Ibrahim stressed that concerns about the state of the sector were not only being raised by the current administration, particularly in its handling of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).
“This was highly and fervently voiced out by the former administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund. As a party, the New Patriotic Party… did not take decentralisation seriously. The District Assemblies Common Fund was not fully forthcoming. It was not regular. It was very erratic,” he stated.
He added that over nearly seven years, less than half of the fund was consistently transferred directly to the MMDAs, alleging that the previous administration failed to provide operational guidelines for the use of the fund after its first year in office.
“Less than 50 per cent of the DACF was transferred directly to the MMDAs consistently for almost seven years. They only issued guidelines for the first year, 2017, and stopped,” he said.
He described this as a breach of the Local Governance Act, explaining that the law requires the Minister, in consultation with the Finance Minister, to issue guidelines governing the use of the fund.
“This is what controls the internal system and ensures the proper use of the money,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Minister outlined measures aimed at strengthening accountability and improving sanitation at the local level. He explained that sanitation officers, described as sanitation ambassadors, would assess cleanliness in various areas as part of a new monitoring system.
He said motorbikes had been procured for sanitation officers to enhance monitoring in communities.
Mr Ibrahim also announced the introduction of dedicated phone lines and a call centre to allow the public to report sanitation issues.
“Motorbikes have been bought; youth have been recruited. They will be patrolling all the principal ceremonial streets. When you see any filthy area, you call the call centre, and that one will be registered,” he said.
He noted that the system is designed to reduce human interference and improve transparency, stressing that the new approach will ensure that local officials are assessed based on visible conditions in their jurisdictions.
“It’s not about my interest… the human factor is going to be taken out. You will see the poor nature of sanitation in your area… it is that evidence that will be used to assess performance,” he explained.
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