The Local Government Ministry has been urged to devise measures to sanction all non-performing Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) and their staff for failing to qualify for the District Development Facility (DDF).

The Ghana Country Director of the Global Media Foundation (GLOMEF), Clement Boateng, who made the call, said if sanctions are put in place by the ministry, it will cause non-performing appointees and their staff to sit up and work effectively to enable them to benefit from the fund for development.

The DDF is a multi-donor performance-based funding facility for assemblies and is accessed based on each assembly's performance every two years.

He noted that MDCEs and their staff who failed to qualify for the facility are not only denying their people the benefits of further development but also serving as a disservice to the government since it is another avenue to get more resources for development.

"Assemblies that qualify for the facility stand to benefit from an amount almost equal to the Annual Common Fund allocation, so why should an appointee or staff of the assembly be made to go scot-free for failure to qualify for the DDF?

"I believe if punitive measures are in place, all assemblies will meet the criteria for qualification to free other government resources for further development of the districts,” Mr Boateng stated.

He encouraged all MDCEs in the country to ensure that their assemblies qualified for every assessment to justify their capability of managing the assemblies.

He stated further that the Regional Co-ordinating Councils (RCCs) must also be determined to enforce effective monitoring of the activities of the assemblies to ensure that all of the Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the country qualify for the DDF.

He noted that during assessments, some districts fail to qualify for the DDF simply because of their inability to produce fundamental documents such as mid-year and annual reports, minutes of District Co-ordinating and Planning Unit, General Assembly, Entity Tender Committee and Municipal or District Security Committee meeting, among others.

“The quantum of resources a district misses by failing to produce these simple but essential documents is too high to be countenanced repeatedly.

The remedy, therefore, is to build their capacities in these areas as managers and leaders, to ensure that responsible persons perform their duties with diligence,” Mr Boateng stressed.

He urged all MDCEs to actively and personally get involved in the performance of the fundamental functions of the assemblies to ensure that their assemblies qualify to access the DDF for accelerated development.