Sunyani West District grappling with revenue mobilisation

The Sunyani West District in the Brong Ahafo Region is counting on revenue collection to boost its Internally Generated Fund (IGF) to supplement the District Assembly Common Fund and drives more development projects, as it [the district] has for many years been failing to meet its revenue target.

The District projected GH¢298,975 as its 2013 annual revenue target, but as at May 31st 2013 only GH¢72,685 representing 24.31% of the set target has been achieved, Agnes Kusi, DCE-Sunyani West, announced at the First Ordinary Meeting of the Third Assembly.

The situation, she said, is seriously affecting socio-economic advancement of the District, which was carved out of the Sunyani Municipal Assembly in 2007. Many development projects initiated by the Assembly have come to a standstill, largely as a result of unavailability of funds to complete them and pave the way for new ones.

Lack of a comprehensive database of the District and alleged revenue leakage from the hands of tax collectors has been identified as some of the impediments to revenue maximisation in the District.

The DCE also mentioned cross-boundary invasion by tax collectors from the Sunyani Municipal to areas like Fiapre and Berlin-top as another practice taking a toll on the revenue purse of her jurisdiction, adding that the matter is before the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Paul Evans Aidoo, for redress.

“The Assembly is to constitute a taskforce to mitigate all identified anti-revenue activities so as to maximise revenue in order for us not to rely solely on the Common Fund, as well as to enhance our share of the District Development Fund (DDF) which is calculated based on districts’ performance on the scale of IGF. The move is in consonance with Government’s attempts to freeze revenue leakages in all sectors of governance,” she told Business & Financial Times.

As tourism has become one of the fastest growing drivers of the global economy, the District is making efforts to benefit from the ever-growing industry -- though there are no physical attraction-sites within the area. To this end, Madam Kusi said they could pinpoint the cottage industry in some communities as a potential tourism avenue if well-managed as a local economic development tool.

She, therefore, called on private developers to come help give the sector a face-lift so as to attract the attention of tourists, adding that the doors of the Assembly are wide open to partner prospective investors.