New Juaben Municipal Assembly generates more revenue

The New Juaben Municipal Assembly collected GH¢2,004,019.00 revenue last year out of the budgeted GHv2,036,126.00, representing 98.4 per cent.

For 2010, the Assembly budgeted to collect GH¢1,770,198.00 and actually collected GH¢1,213,246.00, representing 68.5 per cent.

Mr Alex K. Asamoah, the Municipal Chief Executive, said this at the first ordinary meeting of the second session of the sixth Assembly in Koforidua on Friday.

He commended management and the revenue collectors, especially the private ones, for the sterling performance last year.

Mr Asamoah said the revenue situation as at the end of the first quarter of 2012 had not deviated much from the good performance achieved last year. He said as at March 3, GH¢612,836.00 had been collected as against the year’s estimated amount of GH¢2,650,256.00 or the quarterly target of GH¢662,564.00.

This represents 23.1 per cent of the total expected revenue for the year or 1.9 per cent below the 25 per cent projected for the first quarter of the year.

Mr Asamoah said the assembly was yet to receive its quarter allocation of the Common Fund for 2012.

The assembly however received the fourth quarter allocation of the Common Fund for 2011 and that amounted to GH¢294,856.10, bringing the total Common Fund receipts for 2011 to GH¢1,089,680.92.

Deductions from the amount were GH¢739,582.01 and the remaining GH¢350,098.91 (32.1 per cent) had been utilized for various projects and programmes of the assembly.

He said payment advice regarding the assembly’s allocation of the District Development Facility Fund (DDF) for 2009 had been received and that the total amount involved was GH¢312,738.00.

Out of this amount, GH¢273,699.00 (87.5 per cent) is meant for development or investment, while the remaining GH¢39,039.00 will go into capacity building.

Mr Asamoah said the main investment activity for the utilization of the DDF would be the second phase of the reconstruction of the Koforidua-Accra Lorry Park as captured in the assembly’s budget for 2012.

He said the assembly was completing projects initiated by the previous government adding that 18 out of the 21 of those projects were completed.

“The remaining three have been repackaged by Social Investment Fund (SIF) and re-awarded accordingly”.

Mr Asamoah said the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) had rolled-out additional 12 modules from the previous five modules in the Municipality, with 2,000 beneficiaries as against 353 in 2008.**