Regional News of Tuesday, 12 September 2006

Source: GNA

BAK realises one billion cedis as revenue by June

Kokoado-Ashanti, Sept. 12, GNA 96 Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District Assembly realised about one billion cedis as internally generated funds by the end of June this year.

Mr Bright Addai-Mununkum, the District Chief Executive, who announced this at the last meeting of the assembly at Kokoado near Kuntanase, said the amount represented 50 per cent of its estimated target of two billion cedis for the year.

He was optimistic that the assembly would exceed its target by the end of the year.

Mr Addai-Mununkum said 80 per cent of the amount collected was from land revenue while 20 per cent accrued from property rates that had been identified as the greatest revenue-generating potential.

However, he noted that the attitude of the people towards the payment of basic rates, licences, tolls and special levies had contributed to the low revenue generation and therefore called on the people to honour their tax obligations to improve revenue mobilisation. Mr Addai-Mununkum said during the tenure of the assembly that had been dissolved, four clinics, four nurses' quarters, 25 classroom blocks and three teachers' bungalows were constructed with funding from the Social Investment Fund (SIF), the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) and the European Union (EU).

The DCE said the assembly spent about 317.5 million cedis on scholarships for needy but intelligent students in secondary and tertiary institutions.

Mr Albert Marfo, Presiding Member of the assembly, called on the next assembly to be established to adopt pragmatic measures to step up revenue mobilisation to boost socio-economic development in the area.