MMDAs task to explore alternative source of funding

Mr Frederick Danquah, a Researcher on Wednesday called on government to encourage the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to explore alternative sources of funding for its operations.

He said the government should provide the enabling environment and build the capacity of the MMDAs to go out and explore other forms of funding to take them off government’s subvention.

Mr Danquah was speaking at a day's consultative workshop on innovative Municipal Finance option in Ghana for MMDAs for finance officers, experts in Municipal Finance, CSO and the Media.

The workshop is to solicit inputs from participants to shape the research on innovative approaches to traditional sources of Municipal Finance in Ghana: Municipal Bond option.

The workshop is organized under the Land Service Citizenship Project II, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Institute of Local Government Service.

He said assemblies have the potential to source for funds in various forms but the challenge has to do with the regulatory system being put in place by government.

He said initially, the limit to borrow money was GHc2,000.00 but with the introduction of the public financial management system, assemblies could borrow beyond that amount but with the approval from the Minister of Finance.

Mr Danquah said government did not see assemblies as a viable entity and they also faced the challenge of not putting their accounting systems right with their reporting system not the best.

He said MMDAs have the potentials to explore but these potentials have not been identified, just because they were satisfied with the traditional forms of funding from the Central government.

"MMDAs have been getting their source of funding from government on regular bases, so they do not see any need to go beyond what they use to earn but if they are challenged to embark on alternative source of funding, they will," he added.