Generate revenue to support common fund

Page 27, Dec 27, 2007
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Dormaa District Chief Executive, Squadron Leader (retd) Ben Anane-Asamoah, has called on district assemblies to adopt new innovations in order to generate more revenue internally to supplement their share of the common fund.
He said although the Dormaa District Assembly estimated to collect GH ¢293,079 this year, only GH ¢184,395, representing 65 per cent was collected as of September.
“This means that the assembly’s revenue collection mechanism is not effective and needs to be revamped”, he said.
Sqd Ldr Anane-Asamoah was delivering his sessional address at the general meeting of the assembly at Dormaa-Ahenkro.
He said the assembly intended to re-value properties in the district and widen its revenue net in order to collect more revenue for its development programmes.
“The very survival of our district depends on our ability to generate more and how the revenue generated is judiciously utilised for the overall development of our district”.
The DCE informed the assembly about the creation of Dormaa East District out of the Dormaa District with its capital as Wamfie while Dormaa had been raised to a municipal status.
On development projects, he said, the assembly had projected to fence the DCE’s residence and re-roof the assembly’s conference hall in 2008.
Other projects to be executed are a six-unit classroom block at Amasu, six unit classroom block at Dormaa Akwamu, a six unit classroom block for the Dormaa Ahenkro Methodist School and a three-unit classroom block at Akontanim.
He stated that contracts had already been awarded for the execution of the projects and appealed to the assembly members in the beneficiary communities to assist the contractors to complete the projects on schedule.
The Presiding Member of the assembly, Mr Daniel Kumi-Djan, advised the assembly members to embark on public education on the payment of their taxes to enable the assembly to generate more revenue.
He thanked the government for the creation of another district out of the Dormaa District and expressed the hope that the gesture would speed up the development of the area.
Mr Kumi-Djan advised farmers and hunters not to lit fire in the bush during the dry season so as to curb the incidence of bushfire.