By Sedi Bansah
Ongoing investigation by The Herald into operations at Birim Central
Municipal Assembly (BC MA), indicate that all is not well with the
collection of the assembly’s Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR).
Locrev Ghana Limited, the company temporarily engaged to collect revenue on
behalf of the assembly on 30 per cent commission basis, has been pocketing
all the money instead of paying it to the assembly.
The Herald has gathered that since assuming the responsibility for
collecting the IGR for the assembly on February 1, 2011, up to date, Locrev
has not paid a pesewa into the assembly’s coffers.
This shows that the company has opened its own account and has been paying
the assembly’s revenue into it as against the Financial Memorandum which
frowns upon anybody collecting public funds and paying into his personal
account.
As required, the GCR is to be issued with that of the company receipt.
The investigations revealed that although Madam Ophelia Koomson, the
Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), has been informed about the malpractice,
she has, so far, done nothing to rectify the situation. There are
allegations that she has an interest in Locrev.
It has also been found that the assembly’s revenue collectors on government
payroll, numbering 58, roped in by Locrev to assist in the revenue
collection, have not been given enough receipt/tickets to collect the
revenue.
None of them, it is estimated, has been able to collect even half of his/
her pay for the month.
“This means financial loss to the state”, an insider lamented adding “even
revenue areas, which are easy to collect, such as rent on market stores and
business operating permit on stores have been given to Locrev”.
Worst of all, The Herald has discovered that, the conditions required for
the engagement of Locrev were not satisfied.
Locrev apparently did not have any experience in revenue collection, and has
never worked with the Kumasi Municipal Authority (KMA) as it claimed.
The company did not go through any interview; it was handpicked. Therefore,
it did not produce any work plan, neither caliber nor strength of staff to
the assembly.
The Herald has discovered that though the formal assembly approved the
private collection of the revenue (IGR), the Presiding Member (PM), Mr.
Quatoo Quaye, as required by law, had to sign the contract.He refused to do
so because the conditions required for the engagement of Locrev had not been
met.
In addition to that, there was no security bond in the contract. Revenue
collectors, The Herald gathered, are bonded before they are given their
GCR.
When The Herald got Madam Koomson on the phone, she declined to talk,
demanding to see the face of the reporter before answering any questions.
Mr. Williams Ompong, the Municipal Finance Officer, also declined to talk to
the paper on the basis that he is not expected to talk to outsider on
financial matters related to the municipality.
Mr. Anthony Hadjor, the Internal Auditor, believed to be on his way out
because of his disagreement with the malpractices going on, also refused to
comment on the matter.
This paper has been made to understand that the best solution to the
assembly’s revenue collection problems should have been the assembly getting
the services of a consultant to write software for the assembly to be able
to track its revenue.
“But because of personal interest, the assembly has awarded all the major
revenue areas to a company which does not have any knowledge or experience
in revenue collection, to the detriment of the development of the
municipality in particular and the vision of the Better Ghana Agenda by the
NDC government in large”, remarked an insider at BC MA.
Revenues that Locrev has been collecting include property rate, business
operating permit (BOP), signage (bill boards) and rent.
