The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has said that an amount of GH¢129.26 million, representing five (5) percent of the budgeted Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA), was allocated to the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF).
This according to PIAC follows the decision of the Supreme Court of Ghana in the case of Kpodo and Another versus Attorney-General.
PIAC said in a press statement on the publication of its 2021 semiannual report that notwithstanding the allocation, there was no disbursement to the DACF in the first half of the year.
“Instead of withdrawing from the Ghana Stabilisation Fund (GSF), the Government utilised an amount of GH¢40.17 million from the Treasury Main Account to shore-up the ABFA in the first quarter.
“The Earmarked Funds Capping Realignment Act, 2017, which discontinued allocations to Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) for infrastructural development has been amended to restore petroleum revenue funding to GIIF.
“PIAC reiterates its recommendation in previous reports that the Minister for Finance should grow the GSF to better position it to serve its purpose of shoring up ABFA expenditure when there are revenue shortfalls in the Budget.
“PIAC recommends to the Ministry of Finance that, there is the need for the Supreme Court decision on funding of the DACF with petroleum revenues to find expression in the PRMA, which is being reviewed, with the necessary provisions as is the case with the ABFA and GIIF.
“This will enhance direct implementation and monitoring of ABFA-funded projects at the Subnational level.
“It is the expectation of the Committee that the public will find time to read the Report and provide
feedback during PIAC public engagements and also reach out to the Secretariat via its various contacts, including social media channels.
“The Committee also urges the media to obtain a copy of the 2021 PIAC Semi-Annual Report from its website for further analyses of the issues raised.”
Source: myghanadaily
