Release funds for salaries; our workers suffering – KMA presiding member to government

The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has not paid its workers for the past four months due to financial constraints, Presiding Member of the Assembly, Patrick Kwame Frimpong has said.

Not only are the workers of the Assembly paid from the Internally Generated Fund (IGF) whom the Assembly owes arrears, Mr Frimpong noted that the sitting allowances of the Assembly Members have been in arrears for the same period.

The financial constraints, Mr Fimpong told ClassFM's Ashanti Regional Correspondent, Elisha Adarkwah, is a result of the government's delay in releasing the Assembly part of the property rate it collects.

The government through the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has taken over the collection of the property rate from the various Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

The government collects the property rate and gives 70 percent of the revenue to the MMDAs.

However, Mr Frimpong said that for the past seven months, the KMA has not received its part of the revenue from the government to run the internal affairs of the Assembly.

The situation, he indicated has taken a toll on the Assembly’s, finances as it is unable to pay its workers including cleaners and city guards as well as the allowances of the Assembly Members.

Mr Frimpong, therefore, appealed to government to release the revenue to KMA, and also allow the MMDAs to collect the property rates since “they are suffering”.