Some Assembly members in the Volta Region, have called for the scrapping of Members of Parliaments’ (MPs) share of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), which they say conflicts with the works of the Assembly.
The formula for disbursement of the District Assemblies Common Fund allows MPs to receive four percent of the total allocation to the fund, for purposes of initiating development projects in their constituencies.
But some Assembly members in the Volta Region say the decision to allocate part of the common fund to MPs is a misplaced priority.
“You only hear the MP; I am putting up a school building, a market store etc. That money is not meant for that. The money should be shared at least into three parts and one portion given to the Assembly Member because we are on the ground, we go to the people and engage in day to day activities, ” an Assemblywoman suggested.
“The MPs Common Fund should be scrapped. It has become a terrain where the MPs compete with the Assembly in terms of development projects. Sometimes for a whole year, you don’t see an MP coming to the constituency but he manages to get time to get to the area and then carries out his activities even without the Assembly member being aware” another Assembly member lamented.
The assembly members were speaking at a Social Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (SPEFA) forum held in the Ho Municipal Assembly.
In collaboration with Community Development Concern; an NGO based in Ho, the Municipal Assembly organizes such fora to educate citizens on good governance processes and how to hold public officers accountable.
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By King Norbert Akpablie/citifmonline.com/Ghana