President John Dramani Mahama has revealed that the government is preparing to delegate sanitation management responsibilities to Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assembly assemblies (MMDAs) across the country.
This was disclosed during a courtesy visit by investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.
“I also asked for an update on this and the reform of the sanitation management he had promised, and he responded.
“A team is working on a document to guide the government’s decision to give the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) the power to manage their sanitation,” President Mahama revealed in his reply of Mr. Azure.
The journalist also thanked the President for terminating the 19-year Zoomlion-YEA contract, which he labelled as fraudulent.
The conversation further touched on reforms to the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).
Mr. Azure relayed that the President had committed to decentralizing the Fund’s distribution, stating:
“…government had decided to ensure the District Assemblies Common Fund is distributed to the assemblies, instead of the money being spent in Accra. In the past, the assemblies got only 43% of the Fund, while the remainder was used for shady procurements and contracts at the DACF in Accra. Of course, a chunk (if not all) of those procurements went to Zoomlion and its subsidiaries.”
President Mahama acknowledged the challenges involved in shifting public attitudes, including those of his own appointees. Nonetheless, he emphasized his goal of resetting the nation and strengthening democratic governance.
“While acknowledging the difficulty in changing the mindset of Ghanaians, including some of his appointees, President Mahama said he was focused on resetting Ghana and helping to strengthen our democracy.”
According to Mr. Azure, their discussion focused on governance and accountability, where the President reaffirmed support for accountability journalism describing it as “very difficult.”
