Dormaa gears up to improve revenue generation

Dormaa-Ahenkro (B/A), Oct. 11, GNA - Poor internally-generated revenue mobilization over the years has compelled the Dormaa Municipal Assembly to engage the services of Revsol Ghana Limited, a private revenue collecting firm, to assist in its revenue collection. Mr Vincent Oppong Asamoah, the Municipal Chief Executive, said this at the assembly's general meeting at Dormaa-Ahenkro. He said the firm, which uses electronic revenue collection devices to store information on all revenue receipted, was expected to plug loopholes in the manual revenue collection.

Mr Asamoah said before the firm took over from the manual collectors, the assembly had generated only GHC 161,111.00 representing 54 percent of its estimated GHC 295,807.00 for 2010. He appealed to the people in the area to cooperate with the firm to enable it to lift the assembly from its present low revenue status. Mr Asamoah said through the assembly's initiative, the central government and the Japanese Embassy in Ghana had sponsored some development projects in the municipality. They include a six-unit classroom block for a primary school at Agyemankrom, girls' hostel for Dormaa Vocational Training Institute. Other projects are a six-unit classroom for the Salvation Army Senior High School at Aboabo and allocation of five transformers to provide electricity at Agyemankrom, Yawkrom, Krakrom, Sawaba and Nyameama/Brofoyeduru, all cocoa growing communities in the municipality. Mr Asamoah said the assembly had qualified on two consecutive occasions for the District Development Fund (DDF) facility and was granted a number of development projects some of them completed and handed over for use. He said the assembly had submitted a list of 53 communities whose populations ranged between 600 and 3,500 to the Energy Ministry for consideration to be hooked to the national electricity grid in 2011. On roads in the municipality, the Municipal Chief Executive expressed regret about their deplorable state and that this did not augur well for normal economic activities. He said though the Assembly had received assurances from the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Ghana Highways Authority it was yet to see any positive action.

As regards agriculture, Mr. Asamoah said a proposal had been submitted to the Minister of Food and Agriculture for the construction of a market for the poultry industry at Dormaa-Ahenkro to provide ready market for poultry products and also to boost employment for the youth. Mr Asamoah deplored the activities of illegal chainsaw operators in the municipality whom he said came from Techiman and aided by Chinese timber merchants some of whom allegedly steal teak from people's plantations.