Regional News of Friday, 20 August 2010

Source: GNA

Bole Assembly exceeds revenue target

Bole, (N/R), Aug. 20, GNA - The Bole District Assembly generated an amount of GH¢121,459.94 internally as at June this year as against a target of GH¢82,458.13, representing 147.30 per cent.

The Assembly out of this amount made a total expenditure of GH¢101,679.23 against a budgeted expenditure of GH¢115,460.00.

Alhaji Seidu Sampson Abudu, Bole District Chief Executive (DCE), announced this at the last ordinary meeting of the Assembly at Bole on Thursday.

The DCE said the ability of the Assembly to raise its expenditure to budgeted levels stemmed from the fact that, its revenue collection was very good.

He commended the revenue collectors of the Assembly for exceeding the target and said to further increase the revenue the Executive Committee of the Assembly had recommended the recruitment of more revenue collectors.

Alhaji Abudu announced that the Assembly received an amount of GH¢171,353.28 as its share of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) for the first quarter in June this year.

He said after some statutory deductions for waste management, fumigation, ICT and NALAG, the net transfer to the Assembly from the DACF was GH¢114,804.95.

Alhaji Abudu said the Assembly used part of the DACF to undertake some development projects some of which include: the construction of health insurance office at a cost of GH¢5,918.00, transfer to mandarin, Mankuma and Malwe Area Councils GH¢ 3,000.00, sponsorship of teacher trainees GH¢ 6,600.00, support to brilliant but needy students GH¢ 233.00 and medium term development planning preparation GH¢ 2,647.00.

On rural electrification of communities in the district, the DCE said the Assembly had so far released low tension poles to Teselima, Jama and Bamboi for them to be connected to the national grid adding that more communities would be hooked on when the need arises.

Alhaji Abudu said as part of measures to improve access to justice and security in the district the Assembly had embarked on measures to improve upon conditions of the police cells and the completion of a police station at Bamboi.

Mr James Jaaga, Presiding Member of the Assembly expressed concern that although the Assembly had provided facilities for the town and area councils to operate, they were not functioning and said until central government took over the payment of the technical staff, sustaining the facilities would not be possible.

The Presiding Member also suggested the formation of an environmental management committee to put in place measures to regulate the rate at which the environment was being degraded.

He suggested that chiefs as custodians of the land should be made to play a vital role in the said committee to check bad environmental practices.