Some Members of Parliament have bemoaned the frustrations they go through at the hands of some Regional Ministers and District Chief Executives (DCEs) with regard to accessing the MP’s Common Fund. The MPs made the call on the floor of Parliament when the Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and the Environment, Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng appeared before his fellow MPs to answer some questions pertaining to his outfit. He admitted that the MP for Lawra/Nandom, Dr. Benjamin Kumbuor had personally written to him about the conduct of the Upper West Regional Minister, Mr. Ambrose Dery, who through some DCEs in the region, had blocked some MPs from accessing their share of the Common Fund on occasions they needed the money for development programmes. Dr. Kumbuor later told the Daily Guide in an interview that he felt very frustrated on two occasions when he tried to access his share of the Common Fund and the HIPC Fund from the Lawra District Assembly to put in place a community library and street lights for the Dommine and Babile communities respectively. On another occasion when he tried to support tertiary students from his share of the Fund, the assembly, notwithstanding its guidelines which permitted the MP to support needy students, passed a resolution that “the list of students who need financial support should be prepared by the Education sub-committee of the Assembly and not the MP.” Dr. Kumbuor, also the ranking member on the Finance Committee, disclosed that his investigations revealed that Mr. Dery was mainly responsible for the assembly’s reluctance in releasing the money to him. Earlier, Hon. Asamoah-Boateng assured the Lawra/Nandom MP that he would investigate the allegation and take the appropriate measures. He advised the MPs to bear in mind that though the Legislature and the Executive were two different arms of government, they needed collaboration to function more effectively. “As the Sector Minister, I have taken immediate action to resolve any disagreements and conflicts whenever my colleague MPs have brought them to my attention. “My ministry has also made it a policy to discuss the issue of harmonious working relationship between DCEs and MPs during mid-year annual review meetings for DCEs.” DCEs, he noted, had also been made aware of the fact that managing their relationship with stakeholders in their communities was a key criterion used to assess their performance. Credit: Daily Guide