The Member of Parliament for Oda constituency Alexander Akwasi Acquah has reallocated his share of the District Assembly Common fund to all eighteen (18) electoral areas in the Constituency to facilitate development at the local level.
The decision by the MP, arguably first of its kind in Ghana, aims at depeening decentralization, participatory governance and empowering the electoral areas to fix local challenges.
Each electoral area was given initial amount of Ghc8,400.
The MP and the MCE for Birim Central municipality Victoria Adu joined six out of the eighteen beneficiary electoral areas to cut sod for commencement of projects settled on by residents to use their share of the MPs common fund to execute.
The projects include multipurpose sports court, construction of foot bridges, construction of mechanized boreholes, construction and expansion of drainage systems, refurbishment of classroom blocks and many others.
“We have done assessment for the six electoral areas and have approved their cheques to carry out their projects .Other ones will continue next week.By the time we reconvene in Parliament all 18 electoral areas will have its share,” the MP said.
Speaking to the media during the sod cutting ceremony, the lawmaker explained that “the disbursement of the MP’s common fund to the eighteen electoral areas is in fulfilment of the promise I made to my constituents prior to the 2020 elections that if I am voted into office as member of parliament for the area, I will disburse my common fund equally to all the electoral areas in the constituency because of that so far about two quarters of the common funds that I have received, I decided not to touch it”.
“This is the time that we have made the modalities so that we disburse the funds to each electoral area directly. This is the first time we are doing such a thing so the assembly officials took their time to ensure that we do not breach any of the acts of the financial system of government, therefore every electoral area in Akim Oda has opened a bank account for which the check goes directly into the account,” he explained.
On her part, the Municipal Chief Executive for the area Victoria Adu commended the MP for the initiative which she believes will facilitate development in the electoral areas.
“Before we disburse the funds to these electoral areas, we asked the assembly members in all the electoral areas to carefully assess and select one most pressing need in their various electoral areas and I the MCE and the assembly officials also went to assess and validate the projects before it was subsequently approved to receive part of the MP’s common fund that he promised to give to each electoral area”.
The assembly members whose electoral area cut sod for the six projects commended the MP for his the initiative which they believe will financially empower the electoral areas to undertake developmental projects .
“This will promote inclusiveness to the development of the area is a step which is worth emulating and needs to be recommended ”
Source : Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Kojo Ansah
