Parliament's Ranking Member for Local Government, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, has expressed concerns over the lack of development in Ghana's mining districts.

His comments during an interview on Joy News' PM Express were in response to CCD Ghana's Mining Districts Scoreboard, which highlighted how minerals mined from these areas have not translated into improved living conditions for the local communities.

Most districts, according to the Scoreboard, were found lacking in development, with communities remaining impoverished despite the extraction of valuable resources.

The Odododiodio MP criticised government for neglecting local governance, stating that if more attention were given to local authorities, “almost 95% of our problems will be solved.”

He argued that funds due to the district assemblies from stool lands, royalties, and the District Assemblies Common Fund are disbursed at the "whims and caprices" of the central government, which often ignores legal requirements.

“What is even required by law, statutory—they don’t even do it. They don’t even respect the law,” he stated on Monday, stressing that government often fails to meet its obligations regarding the distribution of revenues to local districts.

He cited that it took a legal challenge in the Supreme Court by some members of parliament to clarify what constitutes total national revenue and prevent the government from capping the District Assemblies Common Fund arbitrarily.

Mr Vanderpuye specifically mentioned the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Obuasi, who was also on the show, struggling to justify the lack of development in the city, calling the situation "unjustifiable."

He insisted that government has no legal authority to withhold any revenue due to district assemblies for their development.

"No government has the right to deny the district assembly what is due them for the development of their district," he declared, adding that this situation is happening regardless.

"How do we compel the government to do what the law already mandates them to do? We need to revisit our laws."

He contrasted Ghana's situation with Kenya, where the government strictly adheres to legal provisions on remittances to districts and counties.

In Kenya, districts know the exact allocations they will receive from the Common Fund and other revenues, allowing them to plan their budgets and development programs effectively.

“If you deny the assembly the amount they are supposed to get, even if it is 1%, the development programs of the assembly will suffer,” Vanderpuye warned, stressing the need for Ghana's government to follow suit and honour its financial commitments to local authorities.