The Honourable Eastern Regional Minister, Mr. Eric Kwakye Darfour has urged Municipal and District Assemblies to devise appropriate ways of collecting their Internally Generated Fund (IGF) without antagonising tax payers.
He urged the Assemblies to train their revenue collectors on how they can perform their lawfu duties l in a more civil manner taking into consideration the fact that nobody love to pay tax.
He also encouraged the Assemblies to used part of the IGF to finance physical projects and not only goods and Services, that he said will motivate the public to honour their tax obligations. The policy of using at least 20% of total IGF on Development projects set by government is still in force, he reminded them.
Hon. Darfour made these statements when he opened the Eastern Regional Budget Hearing in Oda , the Municipal Capital of the Birem Central in the Eastern Region.
Touching on the weight of Compensation in the National Budget, Hon. Darfour pleaded with the Assemblies to support the effort of government to control the wage bill by fishing out “Ghost Names ” that may be found in their books.
The purpose of Budget Hearing is to deepen Decentralization and Local Governance for accelerated national development by ensuring that Assemblies programmes and activities are synchronized with their Medium-Term Development Plan which is geared towards achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Birem Central, Hon. Victoria Adu in her welcome address called on her colleagues District Municipal Chief Executives to maintain good economic governance principles, accountability and transparency as stated in section 33 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016, Act 921.
She thanked the President of the Republic, H. E. Nana Akufo-Addo for the confidence reposed in her to represent him in the Municipality. She also expressed her appreciation to the Regional Minister, the Assembly Member, the Chiefs and all the stakeholders for the love shown during her confirmation as MCE some few days ago.
By: Austin Ofori Addo/ritefmonline.org.austinofori.addo@gmail.com
