The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, has commended the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly for what he described as the effective utilisation of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) on projects that are delivering tangible benefits to residents.
The commendation came during a stop at the Assembly as part of the Ministry’s ongoing District Accountability Series Tour, an initiative aimed at assessing how Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) utilise decentralised funds allocated to them.
Ledzokuku was the fourth assembly visited under the programme, following engagements at the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, Tema West Municipal Assembly and the Krowor Municipal Assembly.
Addressing officials and stakeholders, Mr Ibrahim said preliminary assessments of projects undertaken by the Assembly pointed to prudent management of public resources and compliance with the objectives for which the Common Fund was established.
He explained that the District Accountability Series, the first initiative of its kind, seeks to promote transparency and accountability in local governance by scrutinising how assemblies spend public funds and whether projects undertaken provide value for money.
According to him, the Ministry has compiled expenditure records and project documentation from assemblies across the country to evaluate the impact of decentralised funding on local development and service delivery.
“The exercise is intended to interrogate how assemblies have utilised funds allocated to them, whether expenditures align with approved guidelines, and whether projects undertaken provide value for money,” he stated.
While praising the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly for its performance, the Minister stressed that all assemblies must remain accountable to the public and ensure that resources entrusted to them are used for their intended purposes.
As part of the engagement, Mr Ibrahim reiterated his directive to Heads of Social Services Departments within the assemblies to undertake a comprehensive review of their Persons with Disability (PWD) beneficiary registers.
He gave officials a two-week ultimatum to clean up existing records, remove ineligible and ghost beneficiaries, and compile updated registers that accurately capture all eligible persons with disabilities within their jurisdictions.
The Local Government Minister emphasised that disability support programmes must remain inclusive and accessible to all qualified beneficiaries.
“Disability has no party colour,” he said, insisting that registration exercises should be open to all eligible persons rather than being restricted to existing beneficiaries.
He further directed officials not to remove genuine beneficiaries from the register while creating opportunities for newly identified persons with disabilities to be enrolled.
Ahmed Ibrahim also instructed assemblies to intensify public education and outreach efforts to encourage eligible persons with disabilities to register and update their records.
According to him, the clean-up exercise is necessary to ensure that limited resources are directed to deserving beneficiaries and to strengthen public confidence in the administration of disability support funds.
The District Accountability Series Yiir is expected to continue in assemblies across the country as government seeks to deepen transparency, strengthen local governance and promote the judicious use of public resources for community development and social protection.
