Focus on revenue mobilisation – Hajia Mahama charges regions

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama, has admonished regional ministers and coordinating directors to make revenue mobilization their topmost priority this year.

She said this would help improve service delivery to stakeholders, in particular, to build a better Ghana, adding that they must be able to identify the resources they need to implement their policies.

Hajia Mahama said this at the signing ceremony of the 2018 Performance Contract between the 10 regional ministers and regional coordinating directors in Accra on Friday.

She said the priority areas of the Contract include local revenue generation, education, infrastructural development, social protection, and institutional capacity development.

She said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s commitment to positioning Ghana Beyond Aid was driven by initiatives such as the “One District–One-Factory,” “One Constituency One Million Dollars,” and “Planting for Food and Jobs,” and that they would not see the light without strong local governance institutions to drive them.

“This is mainly because the point of implementation of these projects is at the metropolitan, municipal and district assembly levels, which you supervise, and it is, therefore, timely that the service sets realistic and achievable targets aimed at contributing towards the implementation of these flagship projects,” she said.

She urged the directors to use their experience over the years to guide and support the ministers to succeed and said the government was appreciative of the numerous initiatives undertaken to drive administrative decentralization and ensure effective delivery of quality service and would continue to support their efforts.

Hajia Mahama reminded both parties that it was their collective responsibility to ensure their success, urging the regional minister to support the directors to deliver on targets.