Nii Lante Vanderpuye, the National Coordinator of the District Roads Improvement Programme (DRIP), has disclosed that numerous Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have not yet accurately accounted for operational funds distributed under the program in 2024.
According to Vanderpuye, this has prevented the release of additional funding.
In an interview with TV3’s Hot Issues on Sunday, June 21, Vanderpuye pointed out that during the previous administration, each Assembly was given GH¢500,000 per quarter for DRIP operations and management.
However, he claimed that the current government found it challenging to defend more expenditures due to the inadequate responsibility for the monies.
He said that several Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), who were also running for parliament, gained direct control of the monies prior to the 2024 elections rather than letting the Assemblies handle them using recognised accounting procedures.
“Unfortunately, when we came in, the accountability for that money was horrible. Because it was close to elections, some MMDCEs were parliamentary candidates, they did not allow the Assemblies to have access to the money, they managed the money themselves. So, accounting it becomes difficult.”
“A lot of the times also, some of these monies were given directly to the parliamentary candidates of the then governments instead of the money going directly into the accounting system of the Assembly, he stated, adding that in several cases, the GH¢500,000 allocations were not fully reflected in Assembly accounts.”
“Some of these monies were given directly to parliamentary candidates of the then government instead of going through the accounting system of the Assemblies,” he said.
According to Vanderpuye, the Ministry of Finance’s reluctance to disburse more cash when prior allocations had not been sufficiently accounted for was justified.
“So, the Ministry of Finance was reluctant to give out more money when accounting of the previous one has not been properly done and I agreed with him,” he stated.
He revealed that although talks are still underway, attempts to address the accountability issues and clear pending financial records have not produced the anticipated outcomes.
“Subsequently, we were thinking that all those accounting processes will be cleared out. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, we are still talking,” he stressed.
“Up till today, I don’t think all the Assemblies have accounted for the GH¢500,000 which was given as far back as 2024,” he said.
The DRIP Coordinator emphasised that the program’s finance and execution have been impacted by the accountability issues, highlighting the necessity of sound financial management to guarantee the sustainability of road maintenance initiatives nationwide.
Source: newsthemegh.com