As part of measures to boost domestic revenue, Friends of the Nation (FoN), in collaboration with the Shama District Assembly, has organised a stakeholders’ engagement on Tax Dialogue and Validation of Annual Percentage Rate.
It was attended by traditional rulers, heads of departments, market women, assembly members and the media.
Opening the workshop, the Planning Officer at the Shama District Assembly, Alhaji Abu Mahama, said the programme, the first of its kind, was to showcase the Assembly’s financial report for stakeholders to make inputs and to give account on how the revenue was utilised.
Giving an annual progress report of 2021, he said the Shama District was working hard to become a model district in Ghana.
Its performance improved from 2020 to 2021 with 59 projects implemented out of the planned 64, AlhajiMahama said.
Last year 251 projects out of 274 planned projects were implemented, he said, adding that the Assembly delivered in all the sectors of the local economy.
Mr Emmanuel Nana Yartel, the Budget Analyst at the District Assembly, in an annual progress report, said the rapid socio-economic development of the district hinged on the solid revenue base of the assembly.
He noted that there had been widespread misconceptions about management of the Assembly’s revenue and commended the bold step taken by FoN to assist in intensifying education on the purposes of taxation.
Nana Yartel reiterated the need to widen the net to improve on the Internally Generated Fund (IGF) and account for the use of the IGF.
“On the way forward, the Assembly will strengthen its tax payer services and tax education and display its income and expenditure on the dashboard to ensure accountability and transparency in a bid to engender confidence in the tax payer,” he said.
Touching on the challenges, Nana Yartel said the delay in the release of the Common Fund was a problem adding that many of the projects between 2017 and 2021 were still not completed due to lack of funds.
He said the Assembly would continue to meet stakeholders and explain its developmental initiatives to elicit their views.
In an open forum, the Queenmotherof Nyanikrom, NanaAkosuaGyemfiaba, appealed to the assembly to be moderate in the budget proposal in order not to project unrealistic budget, which could not be realised. -GNA
