Makango (Northern Region), 15 Sept.,

The East Gonja District Assembly has called for the active involvement of chiefs and assembly members in the streamlining of revenue collection. Mr. Ibrahim Tijani, Deputy District Coordinating Director launching the revenue collection programme at Makango at the weekend said the exercise aims at rekindling the activities of revenue collectors to meet the assembly's revenue set targets. He said the laxity of the people and revenue collectors in getting the needed revenue has been a worry to the assembly since the Northern ethnic conflict which has made most people reluctant and refusing to pay their basic and other rates to the assembly. Mr. Tijani said the exercise is also aimed at tightening the loopholes detected in the collection of revenue and the flushing out of incompetent and unscrupulous levy collectors from the system. He said "now that there is absolute peace and the people are getting integrated there is the urgent need to put everything in order to allow for the effective running of the assembly and provision of the needed social services." The chief of Makango, Kuliwura Badow the third, suggested that the assembly should appoint revenue collectors who hail from particular areas who can easily identify the people. Chief Badow requested that revenue collection should not be done only on market days but as a regular and routine exercise to enhance revenue generation.