By James Esuon
Agona Swedru (C/R), Oct. 23, GNA – The Agona West Municipal Assembly has adopted strategic and comprehensive plans to rake in more revenue, to help implement government policies and programmes to enhance the living standards of the people.
Mr Saeed Bashiru, the Municipal Finance Officer (MFO) said the Assembly in 2026, estimated GHC5,000,000 as its internally generated revenue and as at September ending, it had collected a total of GHC 2, 99,204.56.
The Assembly had therefore estimated a budget of GHC6,000,000 for 2027, hoping to chalk significant success in the 2026 revenue collection to make good input towards the 2027 budget.
Mr Bashiru said the 2027 share of the Common Fund to be received would go into prioritised projected areas such as inner roads construction, health, education, water, maintenance of traffic lights and sanitation.
The Municipal Finance Officer was briefing the media after the Assembly successfully defended its 2027 budget at a hearing before representatives from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Central Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) at Agona Swedru.
Other Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) which appeared before the Representatives were: Agona East, Gomoa Central and Gomoa West Assemblies, and they also had their 2027 budgets successfully approved and fixed in the 2027 national budget yet to be announced by the Minister of Finance.
Mr Bashiru said the Agona West Assembly performed creditably in its 2026 revenue mobilisation, hence the approval of its 2027 budget which was expected to be implemented to improve education, sanitation and health infrastructural development.
He said the Assembly’s DRIP machines were being used to reshape roads in the Municipality, and admonished the people particularly shop, store and other business operators to pay their taxes, including property rates promptly to the Assembly, to enable it to operate successfully.
He assure the people that the Assembly’s doors were widely opened to all business operators who were finding it difficult to pay permits and other rates for fruitful discussions, to help promote businesses and the Assembly’s financial progression.
Mr Evans Andoh, the Gomoa Central District Coordinating Director, said the two major roads being constructed from Ajumako to Afransi and Apam –Junction to Afransi, had impacted negatively on payment of rates and other taxes to the Assembly but expectations were high to meet its revenue targets before the end of the year.
He said the Assembly had met all guidelines given by the government regarding the usage of the Assembly’s Common Fund, and had received its share of the common fund to serve as motivation to pay contractors as and when they submitted certificates of payment on completed protects.
Mr Andoh announced that the Assembly had completed and handed over all 2025 projects to all beneficiary communities, and would further hand over all projects awarded this year including all legacy projects to communities to improve living conditions of the people.
On boundary dispute, the Coordinating Director disclosed that the Assembly had engaged its sister Effutu Assembly as well as Gomoa and Effutu chiefs to help resolve revenue collection issues and find lasting solution to the land dispute.
Mr Andoh said the MPs for Gomoa Central and Effutu were also holding talks to bring the matter to its logical conclusion to ensure peace, stability and development between the two administrative set ups.
Nana Kweku Esieni V, the regent of Agona Swedru, commended the Agona West Assembly for its hard work and judicial usage of the revenue collected and urged the finance department to put in place more efforts to rake in enough revenue to undertake development programmes.
The Regent called on the Assembly to brief the public on how the revenue collected from drivers, business operators, shop and store owners were being used particularly, in the maintenance of roads and traffic lights and many others to serve as motivation to tax payers.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey/ Christabel Addo