By Lawrence Williams
The Budget Advocacy Network (BAN) has sounded the alarm over what it describes as a crippling failure by the central government to release statutory funds to local councils for the 2025 fiscal year, warning that the delay is undermining essential service delivery and weakening public trust in decentralization.
Despite legal obligations under the Local Government Act 2022 and commitments in the national budget, BAN says not a single local council has received its 2025 allocation. Many are still waiting for outstanding funds from 2024, leaving them unable to undertake crucial development projects and deliver essential services in education, healthcare, agriculture, water and sanitation, and rural development.
The network also raised concern over what it called “partial” disbursement of roll-over funds to councils and sectors for FY2024.
“This is not just a political or administrative issue. It’s simply a lack of central government’s commitment to decentralization,” BAN Director, Abubakarr Kamara, told reporters. “It widens the gap between government promises and actual development. Councils are being starved of resources, and citizens are paying the price.”
The figures paint a stark picture. In 2024, councils were allocated NLe199.8 million but received only NLe120.9 million — a 61% disbursement rate. Of that, a mere NLe28.9 million trickled in during April, May, and July this year to cover last year’s arrears. For 2025, the government initially allocated NLe344.1 million to councils, later cutting it to NLe287.4 million in the supplementary budget. Since the start of the year, not a single penny has been disbursed to local councils for FY2025.
“This persistent failure to release funds is crippling local governance,” said BAN Chairman Abu Brima. “Councils cannot implement community projects or respond to citizens’ needs. It widens the gap between government promises and actual development.”
BAN argues that the chronic underfunding, with councils historically receiving less than 2% of the national budge, has now tipped into a governance crisis. It says the withholding of funds undermines the very principle of decentralization, stripping councils of the power to meet local needs and forcing citizens to live with failing health clinics, crumbling schools, and stalled rural infrastructure projects.
The watchdog is demanding that the Ministry of Finance immediately release all outstanding payments and publish a public, time-bound transfer schedule. It is also calling on Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee and citizens themselves to press for answers.
“The promise of decentralization will remain an illusion unless local governments are empowered with timely and adequate resources to meet the needs of the people,” Mr. Brima stressed.