Dormaa Central MP Pushes For 60/40 Common Fund Allocation To MPs To Facilitate Development.
The Dormaa Central Member of Parliament, Hon. Dr. John Kwame Adu Jack, has called on the government to consider amending the Constitution and the Local Government Act to allocate 60% of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to Members of Parliament, instead of the existing 5%, with the remaining 40% going to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
He explained that MPs are often seen by constituents as agents of development, despite their primary responsibilities being the making of laws and scrutiny of government business.
According to him, MPs face significant developmental and financial demands because they are expected to respond to the needs of communities within their constituencies.
Hon. Adu Jack further noted that MPs engage extensively with communities, particularly during election campaigns, and therefore require adequate financial resources to support development initiatives and address the needs of their constituents and it is prudent for them to get larger share of the DACF than giving them only 5%
Hon. Dr. John Kwame Adu Jack, reacting to claims that MPs are the cause of their own problems due to outrageous campaign promises, acknowledged that parliamentary candidates are often compelled to make development-oriented promises despite the fact that MPs are primarily mandated to make laws and perform oversight functions.
He explained that voters expect to hear development-related issues from parliamentary candidates before supporting them.
According to him, if a candidate tells voters, “I am a parliamentary candidate whose mandate is to make laws in Parliament, not to drive development,” they may reject the message and ultimately vote against the candidate.
He therefore noted that parliamentary candidates are often compelled to make promises that do not necessarily align with their constitutional responsibilities, a situation which later comes back to haunt them, particularly because of the limited resources available to MPs to support development in their constituencies.
Story By: Kwaku Mensah Abrampa (GIFTs FM -Dormaa Ahenkro.
