By Razak Baba
Africa Smart Towns Network, an international organization is partnering with the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), in the implementation of an electronic-tax project. The electronic tax or E-tax project is being piloted within the Nhyiaeso sub-Metro District Council in the Kumasi Metropolis.
The focus of the project is to procure appropriate modern revenue collection tools that will eliminate human intermediaries and enhance revenue collection.
A forum to sensitise stakeholders on the E-tax project has taken place at Atasemanso, a suburb of Kumasi.
GBC’s Razak Baba reports that the issue of leakage poses a major challenge to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly in its revenue mobilization efforts. According to officials of the Assembly, there was a lot of fake General Counterfoil Receipts in the system being used to collect monies that are accounted for.
The Assembly has therefore initiated moves to improve the Assembly’s revenue mobilization processes. As a step, Africa Smart Towns Network, an international organization, is partnering the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly in the implementation of an electronic-tax project.
The electronic-tax or E-tax project is being piloted within the Nhyiaeso sub-Metro District Council in the Kumasi Metropolis. Among the objectives of the project are to use software for revenue management, and procure appropriate modern revenue collection tools that will eliminate human intermediaries and enhance revenue collection.
The total funding of the project is $100,000 for two and half years.
It is being implemented in three phases including training of all staff whose activities affect revenue generation and enhancement and engagement of stakeholders, mainly traders.
At a forum at Atasemanso in the Nhyiaeso sub-Metropolitan area, the Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr. Sam Pyne explained the importance of introducing E-tax and the warned staff against shortchanging the Assembly as ‘those caught will not be spared’.
The Director of Finance at the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Mr. David Abbam Adjei emphasised the need for the Assembly to ‘improve upon its revenue mobilization processes’.
The Queen Mother of Atasomanso, Nana Afia Konadu commended the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly for efforts to maximize revenue collection and reduce revenue leakages to the barest minimum.
