President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to increase the allocation of disability funds for Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) under the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) by two per cent. The upcoming increment expected to take place effective 2026, will raise the current three per cent to five per cent.

The President made this announcement on Friday, October 24, during the launch of the Free Tertiary Education Programme for Persons with Disabilities. He disclosed that each Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assembly (MMDA) will receive a Disability Desk to coordinate and address issues concerning persons with disabilities. According to him, the adjustment aims to assist persons with disabilities (PWDs) in meeting their needs.

“Next year, in the District Assemblies Common Fund formula, we intend to increase the allocation to persons with disability from 3% to 5%. And the disability desk in every District Assembly will, in consultation with the local branch of the Ghana Federation of the Disabled will prepare a budget each year for how they intend to spend the 5% that has been allocated to them,” he said.

In May, Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) were cautioned against redirecting the funds meant for projects for personal interests.

Speaking during his Thank You tour of the Bono East Region on Friday, May 30, President John Dramani Mahama stressed that anyone found liable will be dismissed.

MMDCEs in the coming days are expected to receive 80% of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF).

The remaining 20% will be designated for projects managed by agencies such as the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), ensuring continued support for critical national initiatives.

According to President Mahama, the Fund is to support district assemblies in executing their duties in the regions.

He noted that although the initiative is a decentralized one, he indicated that each year, the government will assess the performance of each MMDCE to ensure accountability.

He warned the MMDCEs that anybody who falls below the belt shall be sacked.

“The Minister of Finance is about to release the first quarter of the District Assemblies Common Fund. As I said, 80% of the money is going directly to the regions for you to decide how to use it. So, MMDCEs, you have no excuse.

“We will send you the guidelines, approved at the last Cabinet meeting, to show how the funds should be disbursed. This will serve as your Key Performance Indicators. Every year, we will assess your performance, and based on that, we will decide whether you stay or go,” he said.

Meanwhile, Swiss Ambassador H.E. Simone Petra Giger expressed confidence in the government’s commitment to decentralization and reaffirmed Switzerland’s continued collaboration with Ghana in supporting local governance and national development.

“Ghana has a long history of decentralization reforms. While this was a courtesy meeting, we also received a positive signal from the minister, indicating that Ghana is entering a new phase of decentralization, which I believe will benefit the country.

“My visit today also signifies that Switzerland stands with Ghana, and we are here to stay. If Ghana is truly committed to taking the next step by granting more power and authority to local governments, we will be extremely happy to support that effort,” she stated.

President John Dramani Mahama has shared that his government, in the coming years, will allow citizens to elect the next Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).

He explained that this is to allow citizens to have a direct say in choosing their local leaders.

Addressing the MMDCEs during an orientation and training programme on Wednesday, July 18, in Accra, he noted that the upcoming system will be dependent on the recommendations by the National Review committee established by the government.

“MMDCEs, you may be the last batch of MMDCEs appointed. The National Review committee is going round and will present its recommendation in August this year, and one of the major items that has come up is the election of the MMDCEs. There is no doubt that Ghanaians want the MMDCEs elected. Those who succeed you might have to go through elections,” he stated.

President Mahama further called on all MMDCEs to declare their assets by July 15.

"I wish to remind you that you are among the office holders required to declare your assets, and so I expect that by July 15, all of you will have declared your assets," he said.

The legal framework guiding asset declaration is the Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act, 1998 (Act 550). The Act mandates public officials to declare their assets before assuming office, every four years, and at the end of their term, submitting the forms no later than six months after any of these events.

Importantly, Section 8 of the Act provides that allegations of non-compliance must be referred to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), which is empowered to investigate and take appropriate action.

President John Dramani Mahama submitted his asset declaration forms to the Auditor General on February 18 and issued a firm order to his appointees to follow suit by March, warning of sanctions for defaulters.

A report by The Fourth Estate revealed that several high-ranking officials have yet to fulfill their constitutional obligations. Out of 55 ministers and deputy ministers, nine have failed to declare their assets.

Additionally, eight out of 32 presidential staffers and 37 out of 84 heads of state institutions appointed between January 15 and March 18 had not complied with the president’s directive.

On May 6, the president sanctioned his appointees who missed the March 31 deadline by directing them to forfeit their three months' salary, which he noted will be channeled into the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, also known as The MahamaCares, a landmark initiative aimed at providing financial assistance to individuals living with chronic diseases across the country.

He gave a May 7 ultimatum, emphasizing that any official who fails to meet the deadline will be sacked. As no government official has been relieved of his or her duties, it is believed that all government officials have declared their assets.In the meantime, civil society groups and anti-corruption advocates have supported the full publication of asset declarations as a means to promote integrity and accountability.

Meanwhile, Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has expressed his opposition to the declaration of assets by government officials as mandated by the Public Office Holders Act.

Justifying his opposition, he indicated such an initiative puts public officers in a position where they expose themselves to unnecessary attention and potential threats against their lives and their loved ones.

“I do not and I will not add my voice to calls for the publication of assets for public scrutiny. In our experience, it will be unhelpful and would merely subject public officers to inordinate public curiosity and a specter of the real likelihood of reprisals against the assets,” he said.

To him, fighting corruption effectively in the country requires striking a balance between transparency and the protection of individual rights.

“In my estimation, publication of who has declared or has not declared his assets in the context of a workable asset verification and treason model would be sufficient to assure the integrity of the asset declaration system,” he added.