Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Northern Region have been empowered to increase their Internally Generated Fund (IGF) for development.
The National Development Planning Commission (UNDP) and the Ministry of Finance in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) held a capacity building workshop on the Integrated Assembly Financing Frame (IAFF) for the MMDAs to help improve on their IGF.
This is expected to reduce over reliance on the support of the central government for development projects in the Assemblies.
The training held in Tamale comes on the back of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on implementation of National, Regional and District Medium-Term Development Plans and its trickling effects on the MMDAs.
The UNDP Resident Representative to Ghana, Dr Angela Lusigi, in her remarks observed there is a wide gap between available financial resources and spending needs – particularly in the Northern Regions.
She disclosed by August 2022, MMDAs in the northern region had achieved only an average of 46 percent of their budgeted revenue, which resulted in an unfulfilled gap of 54 percent.
Dr Angela indicated this gap is likely to increase from a rising demand for services, infrastructure and maintenance due to rapid urbanization and the impacts of frequent natural disasters caused by climate change.
She stated this is why enhancing IGF is a priority to reduce dependence on unpredictable central government transfers.
The UNDP Resident Representative emphasized improved revenues from property taxes, government services and other revenue streams will also help to increase investment in critical development projects such as the provision of sufficient waste management facilities, providing access to clean drinking water in rural areas, and strengthening school and health infrastructure in the region.
Intervention
Dr Angela Lusigi noted the UNDP has been at the forefront of identifying gaps, policy options, and capacity issues in order to unlock innovative financing for development at local level.
“In 2021, UNDP, in partnership with the Ministry of Finance and the National Development Planning Commission, joined forces as part of our COVID 19 recovery efforts, to support five pilot MMDAs, including the Sagnarigu Municipal Assembly, to craft what we proudly named the “Integrated Assembly Financing Framework (IAFF).”
She intimated this ground-breaking framework was designed with a clear purpose – to provide these MMDAs with a comprehensive strategy for enhancing their internally generated funds to finance their development plans.
Mr. Jonathan Azaasu, a Senior Technical Advisor at the NDPC, for his part said the MMDAs in terms of growth were doing very well before the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020. He lamented however that the rate of growth fell drastically to 1.49 from 12.44 percent.
He revealed only 71 out of the 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in Ghana were able to either maintain and improve on their Internally Generated Funds (IGF), emphasizing the rest of the assemblies fell significantly and consequently could not provide their services to the people.
Mr. Azaasu lamented that the assemblies could not even pay sitting allowances for Assembly members in some instances as well as maintaining stationery materials for administrative purposes.
“Having noticed that, the UNDP in collaboration with the National Development Planning Commission with other stakeholders like Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development and Local Government Service teamed up do this assessment to see how we can support these districts to be able to survive in case any other disaster occurs so that they can be resilient” he stressed.
Meanwhile, the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Alhassan Shaibu whose speech was read on his behalf expressed confidence that the MMDAs will record remarkable improvement in their Internal Generated Funds in the aftermath of the training.
“It is my belief and desire that in a not-so-distant future, Assemblies will become self-reliant and the culture of over reliance on Central Government for funding will be a thing of the past.”
