Three Municipal Assemblies in the Greater Accra Region have made a strong case for the various assemblies to have direct control over the collection of property rate.
They are Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KoKMA), Ayawaso North Municipal Assembly (ANMA) and Ayawaso East Municipal Assembly (AEMA).
According to the Municipal Assemblies, in addition to a decrease in revenue accrued from property rate, there were delays in the disbursement of property rate collected by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), resulting in the poor implementation of developmental projects.
Speaking at a budget hearing in Accra yesterday, Chief Executive of KoKMA, Samuel James Nii Adjei Tawiah, said the 2023 fiscal year had been challenging for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) due to a change in the collection of property rates, which forms a significant portion of internally generated funds of the assemblies.
He noted that delays in the disbursement of the property rate to the assemblies, had crippled their development mandate.
“The collection of the property rate has been one of the backbones of KoKMA. Contrary to this view, it has become an open secret that the 2023 fiscal year has been challenging to the assembly and other MMDAs.
This has greatly affected programmes and projects in the assembly,” Mr Tawiah added.
He called for immediate steps by the Ministry of Finance and the GRA and its partners to put in place effective measures to curb challenges impeding property rate collection.
Despite the challenges, he stated that, KoKMA by the end of the third quarter this year, was able to mobilise more than GH¢8.175 million as business operating permits revenue translating into 48 per cent as against the previous year’s figure of GH¢5.155 million.
“I am by this, urging all MMDAs to come out with strategies in mobilising other forms of revenue in the future to enhance service delivery in our assemblies,” Mr Tawiah noted.
Expressing similar concerns, Dorcas Ekuban, Ayawaso East Municipal Budget Analyst, stated that the Municipal Assembly had been compelled to postpone the execution of developmental projects due to the lack of funds.
Ayawaso North Municipal Budget Analyst, Mashiru Iddisah, also indicated that the assembly was facing some development gaps including prior drainage systems, drugs and substance abuse, low revenue mobilisation and youth unemployment.
Chief Director of the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (GA/ RCC), Lilian Baeka, noted that it was mandatory for MMDAs to prepare annual plans and budget for inputs by the national technical working team from the RCC.
She said the budget heading process was instituted to help fine tune the budget of the various assemblies before it was finalised and submitted to the RCC.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS AND EMMANUELLA AKIMBI
