Tamale, July 2, GNA - The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly last year failed to meet its estimated revenue mobilization target of GH¢791,459.00 but only collected a meager amount of GH¢277,721.58 for the year.

Alhaji Abdulai Haruna Friday, Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) who decried the failure of the Assembly to meet the target, cited inadequate information on rateable properties, lack of commitment among revenue collectors, and inadequate logistics to enhance revenue generation as some challenges that confronted the Assembly. Alhaji Friday was addressing the first session of the ordinary meeting of the Assembly in Tamale on Thursday, which 76 out of the 78-member Assembly were present. None of the three Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Tamale Metropolis was present, leaving only the Assembly Members to deliberate on issues.

The Assembly would review the revenue collection, to ensure that the needed revenue was generated to supplement the Assembly's budget for accelerated development.

Alhaji Friday proposed to the Revenue Mobilization Sub-Committee of the Assembly to as an interim measure, initiate appropriate actions that would improve the revenue generation of the area. He reassured the house that the Assembly would continue all projects started by the previous administration, to ensure that those projects did not remain "white elephants", adding that the government had already initiated new projects and more would be added.

Alhaji Friday expressed regret that the Assembly Hall Complex, which was initiated by the previous NDC government, had been abandoned by the Kufour-led administration saying, "I assure you that the project would be completed under my administration."

Alhaji Friday addressed a wide range of issues including the school feeding programme saying, "The number of beneficiary schools for the Ghana School Feeding Programme have been increased from six schools as at the end of last year to a total of 14 this year." He said every child under the programme is fed at the cost of 40 Ghana pesewas per day and appealed to the government to expand the project to cover all schools in the metropolis.

The MCE noted that the metropolis was challenged with huge problems that the efforts of chiefs and stakeholders in the metropolis were needed to be able to overcome the challenges confronting the city. He said the Assembly has designed a Community Data-based system that would be used to catalogue all the problems of the metropolis for redress. The House debated and approved the budget for the 2009 fiscal year. 3 July 09