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AMA targets property rate collection of GH¢ 60
million
Accra, Sept. 10, Ghanadot/GNA - Mr
Stanley Nii Adjiri Blankson, Chief Executive Officer of the
Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), on Monday said the
Assembly would be 60 billion cedis (GH¢ 60 million) richer
by the end of the year if they collected property rate from
residents in the city.
He noted that, last year alone the AMA realized 11 billion
cedis (11 million Ghana cedis) from the business operation
permit fee paid by those operating businesses in the city
and said the Assembly was starting an exercise to collect
arrears from those owing up to December 2006.
Nii Adjiri Blanson was speaking at the beginning of a
revenue mobilization exercise by the Assembly's task force
to rope in all prospective ratepayers.
He explained that this year's revenue mobilization exercise
was divided into two categories - property owners and the
business owners.
"For property owners, the task force will deal with arrears
up to 2006…. For business operating permit fee, the task
force will be dealing with all arrears including the
outstanding for 2007 bills.”
Nii Adjiri Blankson said the second phase of the revenue
collection programme would deal with rent on billboards and
announced that a special task force was currently finalizing
the outstanding debts for the various firms.
The billboard task force would start its fieldwork on
October 1, 2007.
The AMA boss said another task force would deal with rents
at the markets and all other facilities of the Assembly.
"We believe that by the end of the year we would have
finished with the first phase of our data updating and
management project which would enable us to bill accurately
and collect taxes from all rate payers."
Nii Adjiri Blankson expressed the belief that the exercise
would reduce significantly the revenue leakages that the
Assembly had been experiencing for some years now and enable
the AMA to improve their revenue projection abilities and
overall planning and management of the city.
He advised residents and business owners to co-operate with
the various task force teams to make the exercise a success
while cautioning those who intentionally released their dogs
on the task force to be careful.
He also urged the task force members to work diligently and
ensure that they collected the right amounts.
"I will monitor this exercise personally," he stressed.
Apart from one shop, which sells electrical products, all
other shops visited within the Central Business District
around Opera Square produced receipts for payments.
GNA
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