Assembly launches aggressive revenue mobilization

The Afigya-Kwabre District Assembly has embarked on an aggressive revenue mobilization drive to raise more funds to support the development of the area.

This involves building an accurate revenue database and plugging the leakages, revaluation of all commercial and private properties and intensive tax education to promote compliance.

Additionally, the assembly’s revenue collectors are being adequately resourced to perform efficiently. Mr Kwaku Oppong-Kyekyeku Kaakyire, District Chief Executive (DCE), said it could not be business as usual and that they would do everything to break from the over-dependence on the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).

This had become necessary amid the chronic delay associated with the release of the Fund, something which, he said, was unhelpful to the smooth implementation of the assembly’s development activities.

He told a team of reporters of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after conducting them round to inspect some on-going projects, including a three-storey administration block and staff bungalows at Kodie, that they were likely to exceed the internally-generated revenue target of GH¢642,583.00 they had set for the year.

As at the end of the first quarter, an amount of GH¢225,720.00 had been collected. The journalists were there under STAR-Ghana’s media auditing and tracking of development projects, to put a spotlight on how government’s resources is impacting on the lives of the people, particularly those in the rural communities.

Mr Oppong-Kyekyeku expressed optimism that construction works on the administration block would be completed by the end of the year, to free resources for implementation of more development projects to transform the situation of the people.

He appealed to the assembly members and the workers, to show total commitment to duty, and accept to go the extra mile to make things happen. They should overcome apathy and poor work ethics, he added.

The DCE again called on the people to pay their levies and rates to enable the assembly to carry through its development agenda