Tamale, June 2, GNA- The Office of the Administrator of the District Assemblies' Common Fund (DACF), would this week start the disbursement of GH¢ 55.15 million to the 170 district assemblies countrywide as funds for the first quarter of 2008. Mr Joshua Magnus Nicol, Administrator of the Fund announced at the week-end in Tamale that an amount of GH¢ 234 million has been budgeted for the districts this year.

However some of the districts would have their release for the first quarter delayed because they had not yet submitted their supplementary budget for 2008, and their monthly returns. Mr Nicol told a workshop for the Parliamentary Press Corps on the operations of the Fund as a tool for poverty reduction, held in Tamale that, the amount to be disbursed to each district would among other things consider the level of revenue generation by the districts. He advised District, Municipal and Metropolitan Assemblies to enhance their methods of revenue mobilisation, and to be cautious in the use of their releases, especially "in this election year".

Mr Nicol said the prosecution of Government's development programmes has been enhanced since the fund was introduced in 1993, because Internally Generated Funds could not meet the aspiration of the Districts in the implementation of development projects and programmes at the local government level.

The Administrator said a few of the Districts were spending so much of the fund on security to the detriment of the development of the districts.

"Instead of using their vehicles to chase revenue they rather use them to pursue peace; this is not only in the Northern sector, but also in a few areas in the southern sector.

He expressed his worry about the soaring cost of waste collection and management, and said some Assemblies were using about 40 per cent of their fund on waste management to the detriment of other social infrastructure like schools and health facilities. The Administrator announced that a District Development Fund would come into operation next August.

Mr Edward Dua-Agyemang, the Auditor General, regretted the lack of trained accounting staff at the districts to ensure an effective monitoring and evaluation of the use of the fund. He said the delays in the release of the funds from the Ministry of Finance to the Assemblies and his office, causes delays in the implementation of projects and the cost involved.

Mr Dua-Agyemang praised the recent hearings of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament for exposing malfeasance in the use of state funds in public institutions and the Assemblies, and attributed it to misappropriation of revenue, non-retirement of imprest and others. He advised the Assemblies to use some of their share of the fund to develop the Accounting personnel, and offer attractive working condition to staff as a way of ensuring effective monitoring of the use of the fund.

As part of the workshop, the journalists toured some Common Fund sponsored projects in the Tamale Municipal and the Salvelugu Nanton District Assemblies.