'In the history of Ghana when has such quantum of Common Fund monies released to the assemblies?' — Regional Minister praises Ato Forson
Northern Regional Minister Ali Adolf John has commended Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson for improving the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
He said the increased flow of funds had brought relief to local authorities, enabling them to better appreciate the financial support available for development at the district level.
Speaking at a meeting with regional ministers, MMDCEs and coordinating directors in Tamale, Mr John challenged participants to compare the current releases with what assemblies received under previous administrations.
“The Common Fund that comes to the various assemblies, tell me in the history of Ghana when have you ever experienced such quantum of monies coming to the assembly?” he asked.
He said several MMDCEs were pleased with the level of funding reaching their assemblies, particularly those who had taken the time to understand the financial difficulties faced by their predecessors.
“Our MMDCEs who are here are very happy about what is happening in their assemblies, especially those of them who have taken the pain to know from those of us who have been DCEs before what we went through,” he said.
According to the Northern Regional Minister, assemblies had previously struggled to access even the relatively small amounts of money promised to them, especially during the past eight years.
“The monies that used to come, and especially in the past eight years, the money that was even promised them, that peanut that was promised them, was not even coming,” he stated.
Mr John attributed the change to the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama and Dr Ato Forson at the Ministry of Finance, praising the improvement in the disbursement of funds to local assemblies.