Numbering of houses will improve revenue collection � Budget Officer

Dr James Awaitey, Tema Metropolitan Budget Officer, has stressed the need to properly number houses to create a data base that would enable district assemblies to improve upon revenue collection. He explained that the data base would enable people and clients who normally failed to honour their financial obligations to the district assemblies to be easily identified. Dr Awaitey said this on Monday when the Parliamentary Select Committee on Local Government and Rural Development paid a working visit to the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA). The 20-Member Committee, chaired by Mr Dominic Azumah, interacted with heads of departments, assembly members and sectional heads at the Assembly. Dr Awaitey further said the data base would enable assemblies to effectively plan and implement projects and programmes to improve the living conditions of people. The Metropolitan Budget Officer noted that currently most assemblies could not recruit the needed human resource capacity because of their inability to provide adequate remuneration from their limited Internally Generated Funds (IGF). He said the paying of employees and other administrative financial obligations normally had adverse effect on the financial positions of district assemblies. Mr Kwaku Akportorsu, Tema Metropolitan Coordinating Director, who read a speech on behalf of Mr Robert Kempes Ofosuware, Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, said TMA generated GH�4,391,254.38 as its IGF in 2009. Mr Akportorsu added that the figure represented 91.79 percent of the 2009 budgeted figure of GH�4,783,777.00. He further stated that TMA�s total expected IGF for 2010 was GH�5,648,807.00, which was 130 per cent higher than the expected Common Fund of GH�2,485,618.00. Mr Akportorsu said the Assembly was facing challenges such as increases in fuel prices, greater number of employees on its limited IGF payroll, salary increases and the inability of some companies to honour their financial obligations to TMA. The Chairman of the Select Committee, Mr Azumah commended the TMA for the amount of revenue mobilized in 2009 and entreated it to widen its revenue mobilization base in order to increase its revenue. He further urged the Assembly to seal all loopholes in the revenue mobilization system, pointing out that about 50 to 60 per cent of revenue collected on behalf of district assemblies by revenue collection officers did not get to them. Other Committee members, who spoke, advised assembly members to desist from creating political tensions in their electoral areas and rather they should focus on taking initiatives that would develop their areas.