The outgoing Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), Irene Naa Torshie is backing the incoming Administrator Micheal Harry Yamson to succeed.
Speaking after attending the vetting of the new Administrator designate in Parliament yesterday, Ms Naa Torshie said she is optimistic Mr. Yamson will receive the needed support to discharge his duties
Naa Torshie is the first outgoing DACF Administrator since the inception of 1992 Constitution to attend the vetting of a new Administrator.
She has shown a lot of maturity considering the fact that predecessors do not show such support for others especially when there is a change in government
Ms Naa Torshie served as Common Fund Administrator under former President Akufo-Addo and earned a lot of praises for the numerous infrastructure projects that were undertaken by DACF across the country.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo praised her for her positive role, particularly in the construction of court buildings and bungalows for Judges across the country.
She was also instrumental in the District Road Improvement Programme [DRIP] which aims to create safer, more efficient roads that would significantly boost local economies and improve the quality of life for citizens
The Administrator-designate, Mr. Yamson, gave the assurance that he will support auditing of the funds sourced from the DACF for the acquisition of equipment under the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) last year.
The DRIP equipment refers to heavy machinery and tools used for road construction and maintenance works including water tankers, backholes, motor graders, rollers and tipper trucks.
He explained that although the DACF budget disbursements for the year 2024 would be audited as the law required, he would also support auditing of the monies taken from the Fund to purchase the equipment when the need arose.
His response emanated from a question posed by Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the Member of Parliament for South Dayi and Majority Chief Whip, who inquired whether the nominee upon his approval, would audit funds taken from the DACF for acquisition of the DRIP equipment by the previous New Patriotic Party government in 2024.
This was because of the failure of the previous government to set up Management Committees in some districts to manage the equipment.
The nominee said he would design a formula in consultation with the ministers of Finance and Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to ensure 80 per cent of the DACF funds were disbursed to the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) for development purposes.
The move was in response to President Mahama government’s policy to ensure that 80 per cent of the DACF funds were released to the Assemblies.
“My duty is to be non-partisan and respond to the inequities in development across the country,” Mr Yamson assured.
He also emphasised the need for the various Assemblies to tap into the e-commerce platforms to enhance their internally generated funds (IGFs) to minimise the reliance on the central government’s support.
The nominee expressed his commitment to ensuring timeous disbursements of the funds to the Assemblies and collaborate with the Regional Coordinating Councils and other sector ministries to ensure accountability and transparency in the utilisation of the funds.
