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Mahama Ayariga – Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.
Mr Mahama Ayariga, the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, has announced government’s release of GH¢9.1 billion, covering six quarters of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) nationwide.
The GH¢9.1 billion release, which covers all four quarters of 2025 and the first two quarters of 2026, is for the provision of socioeconomic infrastructure and improved living conditions for the Ghanaian people.
Comparing the disbursement under the previous New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) administration in 2024 and the ruling National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) administration in 2025, the Minister said MMDAs received GH¢390 million total in 2024, whereas under the current administration, disbursements surged to over GH¢5 billion in 2025 alone, representing a more than twelve-fold increase.
Mr Ayariga made the disclosure in his address at the Government Accountability Series Press Conference held at the Presidency in Accra.
Citing the Ketu South Municipal Assembly, the Minister revealed that while the Assembly received GH¢1.31 million in 2024, its allocations climbed to GH¢18.44 million for the first three quarters of 2025, and GH¢21.82 million for Q4 2025 and the first two quarters of 2026 combined.
Mr Ayariga said the funding surge gives local assemblies unprecedented capacity to drive grassroots development. Nationwide, the increased funds have completed 397 out of 566 targeted CHPS compounds, 502 out of 761 classroom blocks, 3,081 out of 4,029 mechanized boreholes, and 97 out of 134 small-town water systems, alongside major sanitation projects.
He reiterated the government’s resolve to advance local government decentralisation in line with President John Dramani Mahama’s vision of resetting the nation.
Mr Ayariga assured Ghanaians that the government led by President Mahama was resolute in disbursing not less than 88 per cent of the District Assemblies Common Fund to MMDAs.
“The President announced that 80 per cent of the funds must hit the accounts of the assemblies,” he said.
“But when we finished the allocations and we did the mathematics, we found out that what is actually going directly to the MMDAs is about 88 per cent of the total sum that constitutes the Common Fund allocation.”
The Minister said with this kind of money, the assemblies had been developing a lot of projects; adding that every single of the assemblies were awarding new contracts and that contractors were moving to sites.
He noted that they had successfully conducted the night cycle of the District Assemblies Performance Assessment Tool (D-PATs), which is a system where district assemblies are assessed based on certain criteria explaining that if an Assembly passed the various criteria, it was graded for all the 261 MMDAs under the District Assemblies Common Fund responsiveness factor grant.
The Minister said apart from the Common Fund, there was a grant element usually coming from their development partners, which they had set out these criteria.
“So, if you take your Common Fund and then you do well and meet certain criteria, you get additional money for doing well and that is a motivation to assemblies to try and do well with whatever we have given them,” he stated.
He said approximately GH¢840 million had been transferred to all MMDAs this year to implement activities in their annual action plans as a result of the D-PAT programme.
Mr Ayariga said to empower Assembly Members, the Ministry for the first time in the history of local governance and decentralisation had facilitated the release and disbursement of four trenches in the sum of GH¢107 million in respect of consolidated monthly allowances in 2025 and GH¢106 million for 2026 to all assembly members.
Mr Ayariga announced that the Controller and Accountant General has transferred this year’s funds to their respective accounts and they should be receiving them very soon.
Source: GNA