The Greater Accra Regional Minis­ter, Ms Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, has urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to adhere to the District Assemblies’ Common Fund (DACF) Guidelines to ensure development in the region.

The guidelines, which was approved by cabinet earlier this month after the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, announced the transfer of GH¢987,965,073.00 from the Consolidated Fund into DACF representing the first quarter disburse­ment for 2025.

Aimed at promoting effective service delivery and transparency, the guidelines for the 80 per cent of the released funds are; 25 per cent goes for the de­sign and construction of 24-Hour Economy model markets, 10 per cent for the construction of health facilities, another 10 per cent into construction of educational facilities while, 10 per cent goes towards provision of potable water.

Also, 10 per cent designated for environmental sanitation, 10 per cent for the provision of school furniture, five per cent for administration, including monitoring and evaluation, and 20 per cent goes into completion of abandoned legacy projects.

The minister who made the call at the Annual Council Meeting in Accra, yesterday emphasised the importance of adhering to cabinet-approved guide­lines for the use of the DACF.

She announced that first quarter allocations were ready and would be released upon submission of 2025 Budget and work plans by MMDAs.

With over 80 per cent of funds expected to be invested in local development projects, she urged members to ensure prudent use of the resources, emphasising that the RCC would monitor fund usage closely to support the government’s reset agenda for sustainable growth and accountability.

“I wish to urge all of you to ensure you stick to the guidelines approved by cabinet for the utilisation of the DACF. Remember, the reset agenda can be achieved when we follow these guidelines,” she said.

Ms Ocloo highlighted the need for improved Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to drive develop­ment.

She commended some assemblies for adopting cashless systems and urged others to embrace digital platforms for greater transparency and efficiency.

“Records from this office indicates that, as at the end of the 1st quarter 2025, all MMDAs in the region had mobilised over GH¢ 80 million which represents 23 per cent of the total budget of the year 2025. Leading this achievement is Kpone Kat­amanso Municipal Assembly with 8.4 million which represents 38.5 per cent of its total budget, while Ayawaso North trails with GH¢316,643.66 which represents 19.8 per cent of its budget,” she added.

The minister urged all MMDAs to prioritise the submission of their 2026–2029 Medium-Term Development Plans to the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) by June 30, 2025.

She said all future budgeting activities must align with the interventions outlined in these plans and called for strong support for planning teams to meet the deadline.

A Local Government and Decentralisation expert, Mr Jonathan Azaso, advised the assemblies to always get their developmental plans approved before putting together budget for approval so as to stay on track.

“It is important you make use of resources made available to the assembly responsible to ensure transparency and accountability to your people and government,” he stated.

He called on the various departments of the as­semblies to collaborate to ensure smooth operations for community development.

 Over 100 Specified Entities SEs, including State-Owned Enterprise (SOEs), Other State Enterprises (OSEs), and Joint Venture Com­panies (JVCs) with majority state interest, are yet to sign the per­formance contract with the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA).

The performance contract is a legal and strategic instrument that compelled entities to adhere to clear objectives, measurable targets, and critical performance indicators.

The Acting Director Gener­al of SIGA, Professor Michael Kpessa-Whyte, who confirmed this at breakfast meeting in Accra yesterday, said SIGA had witnessed tremendous progress in the signing of performance contracts by speci­fied entities over the past five years.

According to him, SIGA se­cured the 70 signed performance contracts in 2024, which was an increase to the 69 secured in 2023.

In addition, Prof. Kpessa-Whyte said SIGA secured a total number of 64 Performance Contracts in 2022 and 2021, as well as 47 in 2020 and 2019.

However, he noted that the 70 Performance Contracts secured by SIGA in 2024 meant there were over 100 specified entities that needed to sign the performance contract, as the Cabinet-approved Register of Specified Entities lists a staggering 174 institutions.

Prof. Kpes­sa-Whyte ex­plained that the compliance gap in the perfor­mance contract was a funda­mental challenge that undermined SIGA’s oversight responsibility of improving transparency and elevating fiscal risk to the state.

Furthermore, he said that the situation impedes the ability of SIGA to ensure that specified enti­ties delivered the public value they were established to provide.

“SOEs, OSEs, or JVCs, are cru­cial to delivering essential services, driving strategic sectors of the economy, and contributing to national development goals.

“Yet, we have seen from evidence that the effectiveness and efficiency of most of the specified entities have often been hampered by a lack of clear performance benchmarks, leading to under-performance, inefficiencies, and sometimes, significant financial losses,” Prof. Kpessa-Whyte said.

He said that SIGA acknowl­edged the peculiar context under which most entities operate, es­pecially in the complex structural and legal transitions they navigate as well as the genuine capacity constraints they grappled with.

Prof. Kpessa-Whyte said perfor­mance contracts were comprehen­sive governance tools that were designed to turn potential into performance and also turn speci­fied entities into high-performing institutions.

For his part, the Presidential Advisor on Economy, Mr Seth Terkper, said it was important for specified entities, including the ministries, local government and other public agencies align their plan to the medium-term developed by the National De­velopment Planning Commission (NDPC).

Aligning their plan to the medi­um-term plan of the NDPC Mr Terpker said would enable such agencies to evaluate their perfor­mance effectively and enhance budget allocation.

• The Minister of Educa­tion, Haruna Iddrisu, has appealed to the Qatar Education Foundation to support the government in the establishment of an Islamic Medical School in the Northern region of Ghana.
• He said the initiative by the ministry is aimed at expanding access to medical ed­ucation and enhancing healthcare delivery in the northern regions.
• “If you can give us a friendly conces­sionary financing to do that in order that the umma in that particular area can make use of it”, he appealed.
• Mr Iddrisu made the call when the Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Ghana, Mr Khalid Bin Jabor Al-Mesallam, paid a courtesy call on him in Accra today.
• He emphasised the need to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries with a particular focus on enhancing cooperation in the field of education.
• The Minister said Ghana was interested in deepening institutional ties between his outfit and that of Qater to support the mutual exchange of knowledge, best practices, and investment in education.
• He revealed that the the country’s Is­lamic curriculum for basic schools would be reviewed for basic education beginning with kindergarten to encourage the teach­ing of Arabic in basic schools across.
• Furthermore, he expressed interest in Ghana’s participation in the upcoming global Education Conference scheduled to take place in Geneva in September 2025, to enable the country showcase its progress and priorities in the education sector.
• For his part, Mr Al-Mesallam ex­pressed strong interest in the discussions and reaffirmed Qatar’s willingness to explore collaborative opportunities in sup­port of Ghana’s education sector.

The visit forms part of ongoing diplo­matic engagements aimed at strengthening education-focused partnerships between Ghana and its international allies.