Local assemblies building financial buffers for emergencies

Accra-Ghana, April 14, GNA – Local Government Authorities have started exploring sustainable financing mechanisms for emergency preparedness and prevention for epidemics and other disasters.
Drawing lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, Municipal and District Assemblies across the country are partnering with local businesses and enhancing internal revenue mobilisation measures to have special Funds to deal with any emergency.
The fund would make provisions for infrastructure development, capacity building and other relevant tools to cater specially for epidemics, while attending to other emergencies like floods, fire outbreaks, and agricultural-related disease outbreaks.
Speaking at a sharing and learning forum in Accra on Thursday, representatives from 13 Municipal and District Assemblies from five regions, welcomed the initiative, spearheaded by SEND Ghana.
Together with the Global Health Incubator Advocacy, SEND Ghana, under its epidemic preparedness, financing and response project, is building the capacities of local assemblies in all regions to set up such Funds.
Sources identified for revenue generation for such a Fund include funeral levies, and internally generated funds from property rates, business taxes, licences and fees, money from fund raising programmes and donation from local businesses.
The participants noted that apart from an endowment scheme like the COVID-19 National Trust Fund, borne out of the pandemic, it was important for local assemblies to have emergency preparedness and preventive financing systems.
This is necessary because emergencies usually emerge from communities in local Assemblies before becoming a national issue, therefore, when there are adequate funds and resources available, containment of emergencies becomes easy.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Samuel Laweh, Planning Officer, Tema Metropolitan Assembly, said it was important for local Assemblies to set aside emergency budget in their annual and medium-term plans.
He urged local Assemblies to devise innovative ways to be able to secure an average emergency fund of about GHS800,000 annually, to help save lives, livelihoods and properties during emergencies.
Ms Joana Ankomaa Addey, Communication Officer, SEND Ghana, said the forum was to allow Assemblies to share and learn from each other to be able to establish epidemic preparedness and emergency Funds.
She said the project, which started about two years ago, had seen Tema Metropolitan Assembly and Lower Manya Krobo District established their funds.
“Disease outbreaks always start in communities, so, when the response is there, then it would mitigate the spread. If the Assemblies have funds to respond immediately, then they wouldn’t have to wait for the national response team,” she said.
On sustaining the fund, Ms Addey encouraged local Assemblies to deepen their partnerships with private sector players, saying, “when COVID came, we saw how the private sector supported the idea and donated to respond to the pandemic”.
“We shouldn’t end such critical financial support with the pandemic, we can continue to support. Local Assemblies should explore ways to get funding support from companies and businesses in their localities,” she said.
“Businesses are the first to suffer impact when there’s an outbreak because they could be closed down, employees would stay at home and in the circumstance that mortality goes up, it would affect profits – private sector support is imperative.”