The Minority in Parliament has accused the government of violating the 1992 Constitution by introducing what it calls an illegal parallel formula for distributing the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF).
Speaking at a press conference on behalf of the caucus, Minority Chief Whip Hon. Frank Annoh-Dompreh contended that the government’s newly issued guidelines are overriding the constitutionally approved formula that Parliament uses to allocate funds among the country’s 261 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
He stressed that Parliament’s formula is not driven by political considerations but is instead data-driven and empirically based, incorporating key indicators such as social needs, education, healthcare, and equitable development priorities.
Hon. Annoh-Dompreh explained that Parliament had already approved the 2025 DACF formula described as a scientifically grounded, equity-focused model allocating a total of GHS7.51 billion for the fiscal year and distributing it accordingly. However, the Minister’s guidelines have introduced fixed expenditure percentages that are absent from the approved formula.
He detailed the ministerial directive, which mandates the following allocations:
- 25% for the 24-Hour Economy Market initiative
- 10% each for CHPS compounds, school blocks, boreholes, and sanitation projects
- 5% for administration
- 20% for legacy projects
The Minority Chief Whip argued that these rigid percentages lack any foundation in the formula endorsed by Parliament and represent an unlawful attempt to impose new spending priorities.
He maintained that no provision in the law empowers the Minister to unilaterally assign such percentages or to supersede Parliament’s authority in setting the distribution formula.
“Article 252 of our 1992 Constitution is clear and unambiguous,” Hon. Annoh-Dompreh stated. “It vests in Parliament and Parliament alone the authority to determine the formula for sharing the District Assembly Common Fund across our 261 MMDAs. That authority is neither symbolic nor advisory; it is binding.”
He continued: “In line with this constitutional mandate, Parliament approved the 2025 DACF Formula, allocating some GHS7.51 billion for the fiscal year and distributing it based on a scientifically grounded equity-driven model. Nevertheless, the 2025 Ministerial guidelines have, in effect, introduced a parallel allocation regime one that imposes new mandatory percentages, new expenditure categories, and new national priorities that do not exist in the Parliamentary formula. In doing so, the executive has stepped beyond guidance into redesign, and that, by every principle of constitutional law, is ultra vires.”
The Minority caucus has therefore demanded the immediate withdrawal of the ministerial guidelines, insisting that any proposed changes to the DACF allocation formula must be brought before and approved by Parliament in strict compliance with constitutional requirements.
Editor:
Obiri-Yeboah
