The Minority Chief Whip Kwame Governs Agbodza has criticized the government for the inability to release the funds to the various district assemblies to enable them to perform their functions.
Mr Agbodza indicated that the lack of funds is creating inefficiencies and challenges for the assemblies to provide the needed developments in their districts.
To that end, he is demanding the payment of GHS4 billion owed to the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) before the presentation of the mid-year review.
The Adaklu lawmaker told TV3’s Parliamentary correspondent Komla Klutse in an interview on Tuesday, July 18 that “The inability of the government to pay or release money collected through tax revenues as required by law to the common fund administration, for onward distribution to the district assemblies in the country is creating inefficiencies and challenges at the assemblies.
“Part of that money which is tax revenue is five percent, which is supposed to be distributed equally to the number of district assemblies in the country. However since 2018, the government continued to default in prompt releases of money that have already been collected.
“This is not money the government is supposed to borrow, it is a component of tax revenue so we are not asking the government to go and do anything different, it is just five percent of what you have you have collected that is given to the assemblies.
“This money, when sent to the assemblies, forms part of the critical interventions the assemblies make in our various communities, either it is used to fix the roofs of the only basic school in your hometown or is used to support the district health directorate to provide a place for CHPS Compound.”