The Rural Initiatives for Self-Empowerment Ghana (RISE-Ghana) says the 5% cap on administrative spending from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) is doing more harm than good. The group wants it bumped to at least 10%.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Awal Ahmed Kariama, RISE-Ghana argued that the current cap is weakening local governance and contributing to the financial mess that keeps popping up in Auditor-General reports year after year.
“The continuous capping of oversight administrative expenditure for MMDAs at 5% of their District Assemblies Common Fund allocation is weakening local governance systems and contributing to the recurring financial irregularities repeatedly identified by the Auditor-General,” the statement said.
The numbers are sobering. Between 2020 and 2024, irregularities linked to the management of the DACF exceeded GH¢452 million. In 2024 alone, that figure jumped to GH¢205.9 million. All 261 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies audited that year recorded some form of irregularity.
Most of the problems come from poor compliance with laws, weak internal controls, and failure to follow procurement and payroll procedures. RISE-Ghana says these issues aren't just about bad behaviour — they're also about lack of funds for the people who are supposed to catch the problems before they blow up.
Activities like project monitoring, record keeping, procurement checks, financial oversight, inspections, and following up on audit recommendations all need money. Without enough cash for administration, assemblies struggle to supervise projects, keep reliable records, or enforce accountability.
RISE-Ghana isn't saying the bulk of the DACF shouldn't go to infrastructure, sanitation, health, and education. It's saying that without proper administrative support, those projects can't be supervised properly, and the money ends up wasted or stolen.
The group is calling on Parliament, the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, the Administrator of the DACF, development partners, and civil society to start a national conversation on reviewing the cap. It wants the administrative limit raised from 5% to at least 10%, and it wants human resource development spending excluded from that cap.
“In practice, many assemblies struggle to adequately supervise projects, maintain reliable records, conduct regular inspections and enforce accountability mechanisms,” the statement noted.
If the reforms go through, RISE-Ghana believes assemblies will be better equipped to oversee projects, keep proper accounts, and deliver value for money. The idea is that a small increase in administrative spending could save much larger sums lost to irregularities.
The DACF is a pool of money set aside by the central government for local assemblies. It's supposed to fund development projects and services at the grassroots. But for years, audit reports have flagged how the money is managed — or mismanaged.
RISE-Ghana's proposal is now on the table. Whether Parliament and the Ministry of Local Government will pick it up is another matter. But with audit reports showing irregularities in every single assembly, the pressure to fix the system is growing.