CSPS Social Policy Seminar: Review of the District Assembly Common Fund

A Review of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF): a Pathway to Equity-based Disbursement

The transfer of funds from central to local governments through the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) is an important policy instrument that is meant to ensure equitable distribution of national resources across the country. However, the disparities in the lives of residents of different parts of Ghana show that this goal is yet to be achieved.

In this study, CSPS examined the ways in which the current DACF formula may lead to inequitable distribution of resources to metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies. In 2017, for example, districts such as Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), one of the wealthiest local governments in the country, received more than 3.6 times the transfer of Bole district, one of the country’s poorest districts. The presentation discusses a revised formula that includes data on district poverty levels and analyzes its potential to make DACF disbursement more equitable.

Researchers

Prof. Charles Godfred Ackah, former Director of CSPS and Associate Professor at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana

Prof. Philip Duku Osei, Vice-Chancellor of the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS)

Dr. George Domfe, Senior Research Fellow at CSPS

Dr. Aba Obrumah Crentsil,  Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana.

Dr. Kwadwo Opoku,  Research Fellow at CSPS