The Ranking Member of the Local Government and Rural Development Committee, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has accused the government of breaking the Constitution and the Local Governance Act in its handling of the 2026 Budget.
Addressing Parliament, Asenso-Boakye said the Budget unlawfully outlines Utilization Guidelines for the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) before Parliament approves the DACF Formula. He explained that, by law, the Ministry of Local Government must prepare such guidelines in consultation with the Ministry of Finance only after Parliament gives approval. Issuing guidelines ahead of time, he argued, is outside the government’s legal mandate.
He referenced the new utilization proposal from the Minister of Finance, approved by Cabinet, which sets out the following allocations:
24-hour economy – 25%
Health facilities – 10%
Educational facilities – 10%
Potable water – 10%
School furniture – 10%
Administration – 7.5%
According to Asenso-Boakye, these allocations could centralize authority that should rest with local assemblies, undermining Ghana’s decentralization system. He noted that the DACF was created to give local communities the power to choose their own development priorities, not to follow directives imposed from Accra. “This Budget seeks to dictate how those priorities should be funded, effectively removing local discretion,” he said.
He cautioned that if Parliament allows the current approach to continue, it will be enabling a constitutional breach and giving the Minister of Finance control over resources that the Constitution assigns to local authorities.
Asenso-Boakye warned that such centralization destabilizes local governance and risks inefficiency. He said that once assemblies lose the freedom to allocate funds based on community needs, development becomes top-down and less effective.
He urged Parliament to protect its oversight role and resist any attempt to bypass legal procedures governing the DACF. The Minority, he said, will continue to push for transparency, legal compliance, and true decentralization.
“We must protect the autonomy of local assemblies and ensure that every cedi allocated through the DACF serves the people for whom it is intended,” he concluded.
