The Kassena Nankana Municipal (KNM) Assembly has trained and equipped some revenue collectors to help the Assembly collect property rates on the over 2 million properties with the municipality. The move is to help the Assembly raise its Internally Generated Fund (IGF) from an initial Ghc400,000 to an estimated Ghc2million.
This came to light when Jospeh Adongo, the MCE for KNM spoke on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show.
“The Assembly has contracted people to work to collect property rates. We have trained them, given the Ipads to go round and take property rates. This is what we are doing to raise revenue,” he said.
Mr Adongo said while the property rates have been instituted to help local authorities make money to further development, residents do not voluntarily make payments. To this end, the Assembly is expected to, through the newly improved revenue collection system, raise enough money to augment the total monies realized by the Assembly.
“We have data on every property in Navrongo. We have even started printing out bills for people to begin to make payments. [We have] in excess of 2 million properties [in Navrongo]. While we have the estimates [of the properties] and the bills, it is not easy taking rates from people. [You find] somebody operating a huge guesthouse and they are there, but they do not want to pay,” he lamented.
Admitting the likely reluctance of residents to the payment of the rates, the MCE, Mr Adongo explained that sensitisation programmes and forums have been held at local radio stations and durbar grounds to drum home the need for the payment of same. Mr Adongo hoped that these would help residents understand the role they have to play in the development of the area.
Read Also: Kassena Nankana Municipal: DACF not enough; also in arears – MCE
Meanwhile, Mr Adongo said the renewed revenue mobilisation strategies could see the Assembly realise in excess of Ghc2 million a year.
A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
