Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has raised concerns over the 2025 District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) Guidelines, alleging that aspects of the document depart from constitutional provisions and undermine Parliament’s approved formula.
Addressing journalists at a press briefing, he contended that the newly issued guidelines are inconsistent with the disbursement formula endorsed by Parliament under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution.
According to him, the formula approved by Parliament was developed using objective indicators including equality components, needs-based assessments and service pressure metrics to ensure fair allocation of resources across the country’s 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
He argued, however, that the ministerial guidelines introduce fixed national percentage allocations for certain projects that are not reflected in the constitutionally approved formula, noting “This is not interpretation; this is substitution,” he stated, describing the development as constitutionally problematic.
Mr. Annoh-Dompreh also pointed to what he described as an imbalance in statutory fund disbursements. He claimed that while funds such as GETFund and the National Health Insurance Fund have received significant releases, DACF allocations continue to face arrears and delays.
“The Constitution does not rank DACF as secondary. It is entrenched, protected and mandatory,” he emphasised.
He further referenced the Supreme Court’s 2019 decision in Benjamin Komla Kpodo & Richard Quashigah v. Attorney-General, which affirmed that DACF allocations cannot be capped below five per cent of total national revenue. Any departure from that benchmark, he argued, would amount to a breach of constitutional requirements.
“We cannot preach decentralization and practice fiscal centralization,” he added.
The Minority Chief Whip called for immediate corrective action, proposing the introduction of a binding automatic computation mechanism to ensure strict adherence to the constitutional five per cent allocation threshold.
He maintained that the Minority caucus would continue to exercise its oversight responsibility to safeguard constitutional compliance.
“When executive action drifts beyond constitutional boundaries, it is our duty to expose it. Accountability is not optional; it is the lifeblood of our democracy,” he declared.
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