The Minority caucus in Parliament has insisted that its opposition to the 2025 District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) Guidelines is not a rejection of government development priorities but a defence of constitutional order.

Addressing a press conference, Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh stated emphatically: “We are not opposed to development; we are opposed to illegality.”

He argued that the controversy surrounding the DACF is fundamentally about constitutional compliance rather than partisan disagreement.

According to him, Parliament had already approved the 2025 DACF formula in line with Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, which vests exclusive authority in Parliament to determine the formula for sharing the Fund among Ghana’s 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

However, he said the Ministerial Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Local Government introduce fixed national expenditure percentages that do not appear in the approved formula.

“When Parliament determines a formula, it is binding,” he stressed. “Administrative circulars cannot amend constitutional mandates.”

Mr Annoh-Dompreh maintained that while the Minority supports investments in markets, sanitation, school infrastructure, and health facilities, such priorities must be pursued within lawful parameters.

He cautioned that substituting Parliament’s data-driven allocation model with executive directives risks eroding the separation of powers and weakening decentralised governance.

“This is not about resisting markets or CHPS compounds,” he clarified. “It is about respecting the constitutional architecture that governs public finance.”

He further warned that permitting executive reinterpretation of a parliamentary formula could set a dangerous precedent, where constitutional safeguards are gradually diluted through administrative instruments.

The Minority Chief Whip concluded by urging the government to withdraw or align the 2025 Guidelines with the parliamentary formula to restore institutional clarity.

“Development thrives when legality is preserved,” he said. “The Constitution is not an obstacle to progress — it is the foundation of sustainable progress.”