The Minority in Parliament has accused the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, and the Controller and Accountant General of unlawfully withdrawing 1.4 billion Ghana Cedis from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) account at the Bank of Ghana this November.
Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh, addressing the media said the latest action follows an earlier controversial sweep of 11.3 million Ghana Cedis between February and April 2025, which he claims has disrupted operations and development projects at various assemblies.
“It’s becoming clear that that was a deception. It was a clear deception. They pay with the right hand and then they are unpaid, so to speak, or they take out their money with the left hand,” Annoh-Dompreh said, emphasizing the irregularity of the transactions.
He added, “Between February, March, and April, the Controller and Accountant General swept some 11.3 million Ghana Cedis and 3.2 million Ghana Cedis from the account of the common fund… As you do know, the District Assembly Common Fund are constitutional funds… earmarked towards a certain project, assemblies, the MPs, contractors, the youth, a lot of variables.”
Annoh-Dompreh warned that the sweeping of funds is unconstitutional and has broader implications, particularly as parts of the DACF are financed by international grants.
“The funds are released into our accounts for a certain specific purpose in our various assemblies. And the Comptroller in cahoots with the Minister of Finance can’t just go there and block the account and sweep the monies… They divert it to other functions as they so please,” he said.
He urged President Mahama to intervene immediately, noting, “We must restrain the Comptroller and the Minister of Finance. The Comptroller cannot take these actions without the blessings of the Minister of Finance. If it is the case that the Minister of Finance do not know anything about it, then he will have to come and defend himself and speak to these matters.”
Annoh-Dompreh also highlighted that the Minority intends to raise the matter in Parliament under Order 93-1 if no corrective action is taken, calling the actions “an insult to the intelligence of the Ghanaian people.”
