Education Minister Urges Phased Increase of District Assemblies Common Fund to 7.5%

Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has called on the government to begin implementing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) manifesto pledge to raise the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) from 5% to 7.5% of total projected national revenues.

Speaking at the second National Dialogue on Decentralisation and Responsive Governance on Monday, August 10, the minister and Member of Parliament for Tamale South proposed a gradual approach.

He recommended a one-percentage-point increase in 2027, followed by another one-percentage-point rise in 2028.

“We said in the NDC manifesto that we would adjust the DACF from 5% to 7.5%. So, as a government, we have said that we will increase the DACF,” Iddrisu stated.

He noted that the fund stood at 7.5% under the late President John Evans Atta Mills and that a measured path would allow the current administration to honour the commitment.

Iddrisu argued that the higher allocation would give Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) greater financial independence to deliver essential services and advance Ghana’s decentralisation agenda.

He suggested dedicating part of the additional funding to health, enabling assemblies to recruit doctors and nurses directly, with another portion directed toward education.

The proposal, he said, aligns with President John Dramani Mahama’s vision for deepening democratic decentralisation, including the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).

Iddrisu stressed that without adequate and reliable DACF resources, local authorities would struggle to function effectively if forced to depend heavily on central government releases.

The dialogue, organised by the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation, focused on resetting local governance for improved accountability and service delivery.

The DACF currently operates at the constitutional minimum of 5% of total national revenue.