Minister Tasks DCEs Over Revenue Mobilisation
MINISTER FOR Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama, has tasked various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDCEs) to be serious about revenue mobilisation.
According to her, with the various assemblies flooded with properties, active population, businesses, industries, companies and several revenue generating opportunities, it behoves the assembly to collect all revenues for development rather than depending on the central government for funds.
She was worried that some assemblies had relaxed regarding the collection of revenues, believing that internally generated funds can help some of them to embark on developmental projects without solely depending on the Common Fund.
The minister made these remarks during the maiden Town Hall meeting at the forecourt of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) on Tuesday.
“Common Fund is their constitutional right; they will get it, but my concern is that look at Tema, look at the kind of properties we have in Tema and we have active population and there are businesses. They should be serious about revenue mobilization.
“This year, we have given them the guidelines for them to do that and they could use it to train their revenue officers or even engage the private sector so that they raise revenue.
“Look at property rate; sometimes they don’t even bill people and I am sure many people will testify that you are in your house and nobody bills you. Sometimes you even go to pay and you’ll even not get anybody to pay to.
“So I am saying that they should take revenue mobilization seriously and they will be able to take care of sanitation; they will be able to take care of so many development issues in this metropolitan assembly to the extent that the Common Fund will be so meager that they’ll not even bother about,” Hajia Alima underscored.
The Chief Executive for Tema, Felix Anang-La, speaking on sanitation, stated that people found culpable of dumping waste indiscriminately would be arraigned before court to face the full rigors of the law.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema