By Yussif Ibrahim
Drobonso (Ash), Sept. 26, GNA – Vision for Action Foundation (VAF), a civil society organisation, has organised a refresher training for revenue collectors of the Sekyere Afram Plains District Assembly to strengthen revenue mobilisation and improve the Assembly’s internally generated funds (IGF).
The one-day training, organised in collaboration with the Assembly’s Revenue Department, formed part of activities under the ‘I AM Aware Project’, being implemented by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) with funding from the Hewlett Foundation.
The ‘I AM Aware Project’ seeks to empower citizens with free, accessible and user-friendly socio-economic data to promote public accountability and improve local government service delivery.
The training was aimed at updating revenue collectors on revenue collection tools, identifying and sealing revenue leakages, motivating collectors and equipping them with practical skills to improve revenue mobilisation.
It also sought to encourage collectors to work harder to increase the Assembly’s financial position and generate additional resources to support development in the district.
Mr. Daniel Appiah Awiemfuor, Executive Director of VAF, explained the purpose of the training and urged the collectors to actively participate to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to improve the Assembly’s revenue performance.
He said increased revenue mobilisation was important to enable the Assembly to expand infrastructure and improve development outcomes in the district.
Resource persons from the Finance Office took participants through practical sessions and demonstrations on revenue collection tools and processes.
Mr. Douglas Osei Yeboah, the District Coordinating Director, encouraged the collectors to take their responsibilities seriously and expressed appreciation to VAF for its longstanding collaboration with the Assembly.
The training identified areas requiring attention, including leakages in revenue mobilisation and the need to broaden the Assembly’s revenue collection base.
Participants were also encouraged to explore daily revenue collection from traders and other economic activities to complement collections traditionally made on market days.
Night food vendors and other operators whose activities generate revenue were also identified as potential sources that could be brought into the Assembly’s revenue mobilisation efforts.
The exercise further provided an opportunity for revenue collectors to seek clarification on issues affecting their work, while refreshing their knowledge of statutory fees and levies.
GNA
Edited by Kwabia Owusu-Mensah/Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Yussif Ibrahim
yussif.ibrahim.gna.org.gh