Assembly kicks against privatisation of revenue collection
Members of the Birim Central Municipal Assembly in the Eastern Region have kicked against the privatisation of revenue collection by the assembly.
By 37 to 17 votes, the assembly has abrogated the contract.
According to them, Locrev Ghana Limited, the company contracted to collect revenue for the assembly, has been performing abysmally.
Again, the assembly members felt it was a waste of resources to privatise revenue collection, while the revenue collectors sit aloof and collect their monthly salaries.
The assembly members expressed the concern at the assembly’s first ordinary meeting for this year at Akyem Oda on Tuesday.
They also condemned the private collection of fees for public places of convenience in the various communities.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akyem Oda, Mr Yaw Owusu-Boateng, noted with concern that the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Miss Ophelia Koomson, refused to release part of his share of the MP’s Common Fund to a contractor to prepare a layout for areas in the municipality without electricity to be hooked to the natiqnal grid.
He said some months later, the MCE clandestinely awarded the contract to the same contractor to execute that job without his knowledge in order to score political points.
Mr Owusu-Boateng said the MCE had persistently refused to release his share of the Common Fund to finance a number of development projects he had initiated to improve the lot of the people.
He, therefore, appealed to the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, to impress upon the MCE to turn over a new leaf to promote peace and accelerated development in the municipality.
In her sessional address, Miss Ophelia Koomson said the assembly was successful in the 2010 FOAT assessment after failing in previous years.
She expressed gratitude to the assembly members, departmental heads concerned and the core staff of the assembly for their hard work and commitment in chalking up the success.
Miss Koomson also announced that the schools under the Ghana School Feeding Programme had been increased from three to 19 in the municipality.
She said 10 persons had been recruited and trained as municipal guards to maintain sanity at Oda and also help sustain the decongestive exercise.
Source: Daily Graphic
Ask the Assembly members what they mean by abysmal performance. Is it the issuing of receipt when money is collected? Is it the proper accountability of monies collected? Is it the education of the rate payers on the exact fee fixing rate they are to pay? Is it the constant encouragement of rate payers by some of the assembly members not to pay their task to the company in charge of collecting rates in the oda municipality? Corrupt leaders will never change.