Records disclosed by the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) show that more than half of the GH¢1,140,621.23 District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) allocated to the Sekondi Constituency for 2025 was spent on items that do not clearly correspond with any of the categories permitted under the national “Guide for Selection of Projects.”
The disclosure, made in response to a Right to Information (RTI) request, has prompted the Assembly Member for the Asemensudu Electoral Area, Osmanu Ibrahim (Sansiro), to publicly demand that the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sekondi, Blay Armah Nyameke, account for the spending, including a separate, recurring GH¢73,500.00 monthly charge for a school bus shuttle service that is billed well above its quoted lease cost.
The Guideline Infractions
Under paragraph 8 of the Guide for Selection of Projects, any project supported through an MP’s Constituency Fund must conform to National Policy Frameworks, Government Priorities, and District Medium-Term Development Plans (MTDPs), and must:
- fall within the scope of functions of District Assemblies;
- contribute to the poverty reduction strategy of District Assemblies;
- provide infrastructure in the areas of education, health, agriculture, water, sanitation, roads, street lights, markets, drains and ICT;
- promote Local Economic Development (LED) culminating in youth employment;
- aim at income generation and wealth creation;
- contribute to security, disaster prevention and management; or
- support revenue mobilisation.
Paragraph 9 additionally requires that projects falling within the functions of sector ministries, such as clinics under Health or school buildings under Education, obtain the approval of the relevant sector ministry before commencement.
Measured against these rules, two of the four MP-approved disbursements listed in the STMA’s response are difficult to reconcile with the guide:
- Christmas festivities support to constituents — GH¢469,052.90 (41% of the entire year’s DACF allocation for Sekondi). This is the single largest disbursement approved by the MP for 2025. “Festivities support” does not correspond to any of the seven permitted categories under paragraph 8 — it is not infrastructure, not a poverty-reduction programme, not LED/youth employment, and not security, disaster management or revenue mobilisation.
- Instruments/stage lighting and others/GRA — GH¢150,000.00 (13% of the year’s allocation). Entertainment or event equipment likewise does not fall within any listed infrastructure sector (education, health, agriculture, water, sanitation, roads, street lights, markets, drains, ICT), nor does it evidently promote LED/youth employment or poverty reduction.
Combined, these two items total GH¢619,052.90 — roughly 54% of Sekondi’s entire GH¢1,140,621.23 DACF allocation for 2025. No feasibility justification, or link to the District’s Medium-Term Development Plan is cited anywhere in the STMA’s response for either item.
By contrast, the free school bus shuttle (GH¢220,500.00 combined for October–December 2025, or 19% of the year’s allocation) sits on firmer ground under the guideline: transport support enabling students to get to school reasonably falls within the “education” infrastructure category under paragraph 8(iii), and free-bus schemes of this kind are a recognised use of Constituency Fund resources. The underlying purpose of the shuttle programme is not, on its face, in conflict with the guide.
The Billing Discrepancy That Triggered the Complaint
While the shuttle programme’s purpose appears justifiable, the amount charged for it does not go unquestioned. The Assembly Member’s press release — dated August 9, 2026, flags a billing discrepancy specific to this line item:
- Billing for October 2025. The shuttle service was launched on October 18, 2025, piloted on October 23, and began regular operations on October 27 — meaning it ran for only five days that month. Despite this, a full monthly sum of GH¢73,500.00 was debited from the MP Common Fund for October 2025.
- Gap between lease cost and amount billed. The press release states that the STMA Transport Department’s own records put the actual lease cost for the three shuttle buses at GH¢18,000.00 per month, yet the MP Common Fund has been billed GH¢73,500.00 every month, including full payments for November and December 2025 — roughly four times the quoted lease rate.
This is a value-for-money question distinct from the categorical infractions above: the programme itself may be a legitimate use of the Fund, but the price attached to it is what the Assembly Member is disputing.
The Assembly Member is demanding that the MP, within seven days of the release:
- provide an itemised breakdown explaining how the monthly cost of running the three buses totals GH¢73,500.00 against a base lease cost of GH¢18,000.00; and
- justify the withdrawal of a full month’s allocation for October 2025, when the service operated for only five days.
The statement warns that failure to provide “clear, verifiable answers” within the stipulated period will see the matter escalated to “relevant statutory accountability and anti-corruption bodies for further investigation.”
What the STMA’s Records Show
A response letter from the STMA, dated June 22, 2026 and signed by Mohammed Alhassan Yakubu, Metro Co-ordinating Director (for the Metro Chief Executive), sets out the figures at the centre of the dispute.
Total DACF received for 2025: GH¢1,140,621.23, broken down by quarter:
- 1st Quarter: GH¢178,979.17
- 2nd Quarter: GH¢331,744.41
- 3rd Quarter: GH¢269,230.44
- 4th Quarter: GH¢360,667.21
Disbursements approved by the MP:
- Payment for free bus for SHS & JHS (October 2025): GH¢73,500.00
- Payment for free bus for SHS & JHS (November & December 2025): GH¢147,000.00
- Payment for instruments/stage lighting and others/GRA: GH¢150,000.00
- Christmas festivities support to constituents: GH¢469,052.90
Separately, the STMA confirmed it received GH¢250,000.00 in MP’s Health Fund allocation on February 9, 2026, which it says was used entirely to purchase medical equipment, including delivery beds, hospital beds, an electrocardiograph machine, a drip stand, and oxygen concentrators — all issued to the Sekondi Zongo Health Centre. The Assembly said it could not provide information on GETFund allocations, stating it does not receive or disburse GETFund resources.
MP Responds: “I Only Put in a Request”
Contacted for comment, Blay Armah Nyameke said his role was limited to submitting a request, and that the authorisation and payment of funds were made at the discretion of the Assembly.
He did not offer any further comment on the specific figures, the gap between the quoted lease cost and the amount billed, or which guideline category the Christmas festivities and instruments/stage-lighting disbursements fall under.
Outstanding Questions
Taken together, the records confirm that GH¢73,500.00 was billed to the MP Common Fund for October 2025 and repeated in November and December, as the Assembly Member alleges, and that just over half of Sekondi’s 2025 DACF allocation went to two categories not clearly covered by the national guideline. What remains unresolved:
- An itemised justification for why the monthly shuttle charge (GH¢73,500.00) is roughly four times the GH¢18,000.00 lease cost the Assembly Member says was quoted by the STMA Transport Department;
- Why a full month was billed for five days of service in October;
- Under which of the seven permitted categories in the Guide for Selection of Projects the Christmas festivities support (GH¢469,052.90) and the instruments/stage-lighting expenditure (GH¢150,000.00) were approved; and
- Where responsibility lies between the MP’s office and the Assembly for authorising and disbursing funds, given the MP’s position that approval and payment rested with the Assembly’s discretion.
By Abraham Mensah
