The Minority in Parliament has served notice it will resist all attempts by the government to centralize collection of property rates.
The government, in the 2022 Budget has proposed centralization of the collection of property rates on behalf of the MMDAs.
According to the side, such a move runs counter to efforts made by successive governments to decentralize governance at the local government level and also an affront to section 152 of Act 936 of the Local Government Act, 2016.
Member of Parliament for Agona East, Queenstar Maame Pokuah Sawyerr, issued the warning during an interview in Parliament on Tuesday.
The MP earlier read a statement to the House and indicated centralization of property rates is an affront to the MMDAs because there is a danger the collected revenue will not be disbursed back to the districts.
She stated that the example of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) and the associated challenges is an eye-opener with disbursements and politicization of the revenue generated.
She said, “One can cite directive by the Akufo-Addo-led administration to re-route DACF transfers to fund the “One Village project. “
“Yet another difficulty with centralization of the property rate collection is that if and when the country chooses to elect its MMDCEs, they will be left virtually impotent as almost all sources of revenue generation would have been removed from them.”
According to her, property rates are one of the most promising sources of income to accelerate socio-economic transformation despite the fact this avenue has not been harnessed effectively.
She stated that Act 936 grants MMDAs the autonomy to plan and generate revenue and superintended development in their administrative authorities.
She said, “There is no question that the MMDAS need to have their capacities significantly enhanced to undertake rate collection at the local level.”
“This could be done through the re-organization of the local structures to bring in more qualified or competent personnel or where necessary entering into partnerships with the private sector to enable them to meet and even exceed collection targets,” she added.
Hon. Queenstar Sawyerr noted that a decentralized collection of property rates by the MMDAs is the way forward as it creates an enabling environment and provides the right leadership for the assemblies and will be deemed accountable and legitimate.
The future of the MMDAs, she said, depends on a tax policy that is workable, equitable, improves local service delivery and encourages cooperation between the taxpayers and the state for development.
Centralizing the collection, she said, is therefore not an option because it will deprive the MMDAs of the needed funds to embark on development projects and insist the Minority will not support such a decision.
Contributing to the statement, Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Mr. Osei Bonsu Amoah denied the assertion the collection of property rates will be centralized.
According to him, the government has only directed the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) by way of policy as captured in the 2022 Budget, to assist the Assemblies in the collection but not to take over.
Source: Mypublisher24.com