By Prince Ahenkorah
A bombshell revelation has exposed the rotting underbelly of Ghana’s decentralisation agenda, with more than one-third of all projects funded through the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) during the previous administration turning out to be pure fiction.
The damning disclosure came from the Administrator of the DACF, Michael Harry Yamson, who dropped the political grenade at a meeting with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the Volta Region on Wednesday.
Out of 4,767 projects tracked across the country in a nationwide exercise, a staggering 1,587 representing over 33 per cent could not be located. They simply did not exist.
Yamson did not mince words: the ghost projects were traced directly to the previous NPP administration, and they represent what he described as a catastrophic failure of transparency and accountability in the management of public resources.
“Every cedi allocated for development must result in projects that can be seen and verified by citizens,” Yamson thundered, his words hanging heavy in the air at Dzolo-Kpuita in the Ho West District.
The meeting in the Volta Region was no accident. The region, long considered an opposition stronghold, has been a battleground for development promises that have rarely materialised. The DACF Administrator’s decision to make the explosive revelation in the heart of Volta sends a clear signal: the new administration will not bury the sins of the past.
Yamson’s message to the assembled MMDCEs was unequivocal: the era of impunity is over.
He announced that the DACF has introduced sweeping new measures to strengthen accountability, ensuring that funds flowing to district assemblies translate into tangible development, livelihood improvement, and genuine economic growth – not phantom projects on paper.
In a pointed rebuke to district assemblies, Yamson also demanded an urgent overhaul of revenue mobilisation strategies, warning that the days of total dependence on central government transfers are numbered.
Although 80 per cent of the DACF has already been released, he stressed that assemblies must complement these allocations with aggressive and innovative Internally Generated Funds (IGF) mobilisation.
“We can no longer depend solely on central transfers,” Yamson declared. “Any resources available to the assemblies must be optimised through the use of technology.”
It was a clear shot at assemblies that have grown complacent, relying on Accra for survival while ignoring their own revenue potential.
The Volta Regional Minister, James Gunu, did not hold back in his address, warning district chiefs that with 80 per cent of DACF allocations already released, there is absolutely no justification for delaying development projects.
Gunu challenged the assemblies to think outside the box, urging them to forge partnerships with non-governmental organisations and adopt innovative approaches that would create jobs and breathe life into local economies.
“We cannot afford to waste another cedi,” Gunu said, his tone stern. “The people are watching, and they are tired of empty promises.”
The District Chief Executive for Ho West, Professor Francis Duse, welcomed the increased release of the Common Fund, stating that it would be channelled towards critical infrastructure, improvements in education, and enhanced programmes for persons with disabilities.
Duse added that the district would leverage its agricultural and tourism potential to drive socio-economic development, insisting that Ho West would not be caught in the web of ghost projects that have plagued other districts.
The revelation of 1,587 ghost projects is not merely an administrative embarrassment – it is a damning indictment of the previous NPP government’s stewardship of public funds.
With the new administration now in power, the pressure is mounting for a full-scale investigation into the missing projects, with calls growing louder for the prosecution of officials who presided over what appears to be a systematic looting of the DACF.
The districts where these projects were allegedly “completed” but cannot be found remain undisclosed, but sources suggest that the tracing exercise will be expanded to name and shame the specific assemblies and officials responsible.
The NPP administration left behind a trail of empty promises and empty fields. Over 1,500 ghost projects are a national scandal that demands accountability.
The question is: will the perpetrators face justice, or will Ghana’s history of impunity continue to protect the thieves of public funds?