Each Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assembly (MMDA) in Ghana will receive a minimum of GHC25 million in 2025 to support grassroots development initiatives, Finance Minister Dr Casiel Ato Forson has announced.
Addressing Parliament on Tuesday, 3 June 2025, Dr Forson disclosed that a total of GHC987,967,073 has already been disbursed under the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) for the first quarter of the year. The funds are expected to be used for key projects across all assemblies nationwide.
The allocation, he noted, marks a renewed commitment by the central government to strengthen local governance and infrastructure, particularly in underserved communities.
“Every assembly is guaranteed a minimum of 25 million Ghana cedis this year to address pressing local development needs,” Dr Forson said. “This funding is a critical step in empowering district-level institutions to take charge of their transformation.”
He explained that assemblies are required to use 10% of their allocations on essential infrastructure such as designing model markets, constructing Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds, providing boreholes, improving educational facilities, and supplying school furniture.
Another 20% of the allocation is earmarked for the completion of abandoned projects that were initiated by the now-defunct Northern, Middle Belt, and Coastal Development Authorities. These projects, which span across various sectors, had been left in limbo following the dissolution of the authorities.
In a directive to ensure transparency and legal compliance, Dr Forson instructed the Administrator of the DACF to ensure that 80% of funds are transferred directly to the assemblies in line with statutory requirements.
“This directive is not merely administrative,” the Minister said. “It is a legal obligation. The timely and full release of funds is essential to accelerate development at the local level.”
He also confirmed that all other statutory transfers—including allocations to the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), covering the period from January to April 2025, have been fully disbursed.
Lawmakers across the political divide commended Dr Forson for the releases, describing them as timely and essential to restoring public confidence in local government.
“This is a commendable step in the right direction,” one MP remarked. “Development cannot remain centralized. Local governments must be resourced adequately to meet the needs of their people.”
The announcement comes at a time when many assemblies have struggled with delays in statutory disbursements, often hindering the execution of critical development projects. The assurance of a baseline figure per assembly is expected to offer greater predictability and planning capacity to district managers.
For many communities, the emphasis on health facilities, potable water, and educational infrastructure addresses long-standing gaps in basic services.
As the nation heads into the mid-year budget review period, stakeholders are expected to closely monitor how the assemblies utilise their allocations and whether the central government will sustain the momentum of disbursements.
The 2025 allocation could set the tone for a more decentralised and responsive development agenda—one that brings policy decisions closer to the people they affect most.
