Former Local Government and Rural Development Minister Kwadwo Adjei Darko has called for a major review of Ghana’s local governance system, including the removal of Members of Parliament from benefiting from the District Assemblies Common Fund.

Adjei Darko said the portion of the Common Fund currently allocated to MPs should instead be given to elected Assembly Members to strengthen grassroots development and deepen decentralisation.

He argued that MPs do not have voting rights in District Assemblies and therefore should not receive a share of the fund.

He made the proposal while delivering a keynote address at the Conference of Ashanti Regional Presiding Members in Kumasi, held under the theme of strengthening local governance.

Adjei Darko said the current arrangement undermined the constitutional principle of decentralisation and weakened the role of Assembly Members, who serve as direct representatives of communities.

Adjei Darko traced Ghana’s decentralisation process to 1988, when District Assemblies were established under PNDC Law 207.

He said the system initially transferred responsibilities to the local level without providing adequate financial resources, resulting in what he described as “deconcentration” rather than genuine decentralisation.

He said the 1992 Constitution further advanced the process through the establishment of the District Assemblies Common Fund under Article 252.

Article 240, he added, also requires Parliament to ensure the transfer of functions, powers, responsibilities and resources from central government to local government institutions.

Despite these constitutional provisions, Mr Adjei Darko said Ghana had yet to achieve true devolution, in which local authorities have meaningful autonomy, adequate resources and corresponding accountability.

He argued that strengthening the financial position of Assembly Members would enable them to respond more effectively to the needs of their communities.

The President of the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG), Alfred Asiedu Adjei, meanwhile urged Presiding Members to put politics aside and prioritise development in their communities.

He said local leadership should be judged by the positive impact leaders make rather than the positions they occupy.

“Leadership is not measured by the authority we possess but by the positive change we inspire. Communities do not remember leaders for the titles they held; they remember them for the problems they solved,” he said.

Mr Asiedu Adjei described Presiding Members as critical to the effective functioning of Ghana’s local governance system.

He said their responsibilities extended beyond chairing Assembly meetings to promoting accountability, consensus-building and development at the grassroots.

He urged them to use their positions to strengthen local governance and deliver tangible improvements to their communities.