E/R: MMDA’s charged to mobilize revenue properly

A five days training workshop on improvement of revenue mobilization across the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) has commenced in Koforidua at the Catholic Training Centre in the Eastern Region.

The Regional Minister, Eric Kwakye Darfour speaking at the launch said that the assemblies are the rating authorities and accordingly empowered to fix appropriate fees, rate licenses to raise funds to meet the operations and functions.

However, he added evidence across the assemblies proved that they are performing below their targets and heavily dependents on the central government transfers.

He said there have been challenges in the revenue generations at the assemblies and believed that the training will unearthed the cause of the revenue shorts falls and other strategies and solutions to the revenue issues at their assemblies.

Mr. Darfour indicated that, revenue targets set by the MMDA’s are usually not met, adding that even if they do, there are no scientific data available to use as baseline to project the percentage increment on performance for the issue ensuing year.

“Today, with the advent of technology, revenue mobilization can easily and conveniently be increased by use of data collection tools, such as appropriate ICT software and the street naming and property addressing system which could be employed to keep data such as register of properties at their main offices”.

The minister therefore was hopeful the knowledge acquired after the training shall be put into the outmost practice to improve the collection of revenues in the MMDA’s across the country as they cannot depend largely on government’s inflows for their functions and operations.

Source: radiooneghana.com/ Adjanor Andrews.