More than 9,000 Assembly Members across Ghana have received GH¢107 million in allowances, with the government exceeding its initial GH¢100 million budgetary commitment for the initiative, the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, has disclosed.
Addressing Parliament’s Assurances Committee on Thursday, Mr Ibrahim said the payment fulfils President John Dramani Mahama’s promise to provide financial support for Assembly Members.
“The President promised GH¢100 million in the 2025 Budget. By 31st December 2025, the President had paid GH¢107 million to all Assembly Members in the country,” Mr Ibrahim said.
He explained that the beneficiaries include 6,272 elected Assembly Members and 2,813 government-appointed Assembly Members, bringing the total number of recipients to 9,085.
According to the minister, each Assembly Member is entitled to a monthly allowance of GH¢1,300, which is paid quarterly through the country’s 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
Mr Ibrahim said the ministry has streamlined the payment process to ensure there are no unnecessary delays once funds are released by the Ministry of Finance.
“I made sure that the money did not spend a day in my ministry. Once the Finance Minister releases the funds, I instruct the Financial Controller to transfer them to all 261 MMDAs for payment to the Assembly Members,” he said.
He further revealed that the first-quarter allowance for 2026 has already been released and directed to the assemblies for immediate payment.
“The first-quarter allocation for 2026 was released this week, and I have instructed the Financial Controller to transfer it to all the MMDAs for onward payment to the Assembly Members,” he added.
The minister also addressed concerns raised by some Assembly Members over tax deductions from their allowances.
He said that although some beneficiaries had appealed for the allowances to be tax-free, the government was obliged to apply the country’s tax laws.
“They were saying they would not allow tax to be deducted from it, but we explained that all allowances are taxable. That was the only challenge,” he said.
Mr Ibrahim expressed appreciation to Parliament for approving the allocation and supporting the implementation of the allowance policy.
“I also thank Parliament for giving that approval and for supporting my ministry to pay the Assembly Members’ allowances,” he said.
He noted that the consistent payment of the allowances demonstrates the government’s commitment to strengthening local governance by providing Assembly Members with the financial support needed to effectively discharge their responsibilities.
Note: There is a numerical inconsistency in the original figures. Adding 6,272 elected and 2,813 appointed Assembly Members gives 9,085, not 9,090. You may want to verify the official figures before publication.
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