In the event that he wins the presidency in the 2024 elections, National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer John Dramani Mahama has pledged to give assembly members a stipend.

Mr. Mahama recognized the crucial role that members of the local governance structure play and stated that in order for them to do their jobs well, they require financial support.

After casting his ballot in today’s district assembly elections, Mahama spoke to the media in Bole. He said that his administration would take decentralization seriously and make sure that the District Common Fund disbursement increased from 5% to 7%.

“As I have said, assembly members carry great responsibilities, and if I am elected president, we will pay them an allowance so that it helps them carry out the duties they have been elected for,” he said.

“If God smiles on us and we win the 2024 elections, we are going to take decentralization seriously, the rest of the ministries seriously, and the rest of the MMDAs that are still centralized. We are going to complete the decentralization so that we truly hand over power to the people at the local government level. Until we get our decentralization right, Ghana is not going to go anywhere, so we are going to take it seriously.”

“We are going to make sure that District Common Fund disbursement increases from 5% to 7%, as enforced in 2016, and that the District Assemblies Common Fund is going to be regular so that districts can take advantage of it to increase the pace of their development. So, for those who haven’t voted, please go to the polling stations and select your assembly members.”