Creditors chase MMDAs over non-payment of debts

Suppliers of goods and services are putting pressure on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the country to settle their mounting debts, forcing some officials to play hide-and-seek with the creditors.

MMDAs are saddled with huge debts following the government’s inability to pay statutory funds, including District Assemblies’ Common Fund.

The Finder’s checks have revealed that assemblies have put a freeze on new projects while work on already initiated ones has stalled due to central government’s delay in releasing funds to assemblies.

The assemblies’ share of District Development and District Assemblies’ Common Funds is in arrears for three quarters, and there is no money even for waste collection, exposing people to health hazards.

Few assemblies that are lucky to benefit from Internally Generated Funds (IGF) say the money is not enough to carry out expected development projects.

The IGF is also reducing as businesses complain of difficult times.

The Finder’s investigations reveal that, assembly members in the country fear losing their seats in the forthcoming district assemblies’ elections because they have not been able to fulfil their promises to the electorate.

They attribute their inability to fulfil their promises to undue delay in the supply of building materials such roofing sheets, cement and other items to support specific community assistance development projects in their areas.

Documents available to The Finder reveal that the Banda District Assembly in the Brong Ahafo Region is indebted to the tune of GHC177,976.

The Assembly is indebted to fuel suppliers to the tune of GHC43,000. This is against the background that the Assembly has only two official vehicles, which are used by the District Chief Executive.

The Finder also gathered that drilling and mechanisation of a single borehole in the District costs Ghc27,567.

The Banda District Assembly also owes People with Disability Ghc32,660. This amount constitutes 2% of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund (DACF), which the Assembly is by law obliged to give to people living with disabilities (PWDs) to alleviate their plight.

Other indebtednesses include outstanding bills, Ghc36,766; and car tyres, Ghc3,000.

The rest are Nsawkaw (Auto Plan) Ghc4,000; haulage claim, Ghc48,000; computers, Ghc2,000; motorbike, Ghc2,700, and rent advance, Ghc4,800.

The District Chief Executive, Mr. Alex Bonsu, has allegedly contracted a loan of GHC85,000 to cover recurrent expenditure of the Assembly.

As a result, when the third quarter of the 2013 assemblies’ share of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund was released, the Assembly’s bankers had to deduct this amount with interest, totalling Ghc87,000.

This left the Assembly with only Ghc36,000 – which cannot even pay the current debt in the Assembly’s recurrent expenditure books of Ghc177,976.

Efforts to get Alex Bonsu to get his side of the story proved futile as he would not answer phone calls.