Parliament committee calls for dedicated sanitation fund after assessing Volta and Oti MMDAs

The Nkwanta North District Assembly is expected to appear before Parliament’s Select Committee on Sanitation and Water Resources in Accra for further questioning over its presentation during the Committee’s sanitation monitoring exercise. The Committee said it was dissatisfied with aspects of the Assembly’s presentation and wants clarification on issues raised during its assessment of nine assemblies in the Oti Region. Member of Parliament for Salaga South and member of the Committee, Ibrahimah Mohammed Zuwera, said the Assembly would be invited back to provide further details.

She said the Committee had identified concerns with the presentation and would engage the Assembly further before reaching conclusions. The issue forms part of a broader accountability exercise by the Committee to examine how Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) are accessing and using their District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) allocations for water and sanitation. Ms Zuwera said the exercise goes beyond determining whether assemblies have spent the funds, stressing that Parliament is also interested in whether the money is being used for its intended purposes and producing tangible results.

They are not funds for personal use,” she said. Ms Zuwera also cautioned assemblies against attributing implementation challenges to delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund where allocations have already been transferred. According to her, the two quarterly DACF allocations for 2026 had been paid.

She therefore urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives and their respective teams to provide accurate information during the accountability exercise. “The MCEs, the DCEs and their team [must] pay fidelity to the facts. That’s the only way we can move forward,” she said.

The Committee’s exercise is intended to assess whether the 10% sanitation allocation from the DACF is being used for its intended purpose and whether the funding is translating into tangible improvements in sanitation. The findings will also help Parliament identify challenges facing assemblies in accessing and implementing s Parliament’s Select Committee on Sanitation and Water Resources is renewing its call for the creation of a dedicated national sanitation fund, citing visible projects delivered by local assemblies in the Volta and Oti Regions through existing statutory allocations.

The Committee’s assessment formed part of its second-phase accountability engagement with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), focusing on how assemblies access and utilise sanitation allocations, the projects being implemented and the challenges they face. The Committee said the use of 10% of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) by assemblies for water and sanitation projects has produced visible results and strengthens the case for a dedicated financing mechanism for sanitation. Speaking to JoyNews’ Stephen Mensah, Member of Parliament for Salaga South and member of the Committee, Ibrahimah Mohammed Zuweraa, said the team had inspected several projects funded through the allocation.