The New Juaben South Municipal Assembly has introduced night revenue collection targeted at persons who operate night businesses.
The Assembly ceded collection of this revenue to the Zonal Councils as part of efforts to ensure the Councils are financially independent as well function effectively to facilitate development at the local levels.
The New Juaben South Municipal Coordinating Director, Musah Yahaya, disclosed this in Koforidua during a panel discussion on ‘Citizens Participation and Inclusive Service Delivery’ organized by 4H Ghana with funding through STAR GHANA by UKaid, DANIDA, and the European Union.
“From this year we have revised the ceded areas and what we have done is that we want to facilitate night revenue collection. We have noticed that some areas in the municipality in the night are busier than even during the day. So we want to give that exclusively to the Zonal Councils and facilitate the collection,” Mr. Yahaya said.
He added, “the idea is that the Zonal Councils should be near independence even though they still have attachments to us and getting financial independence is near independence enough.”
The Municipal Chief Executive for New Juaben South, Isaac Appaw-Gyasi stated that the Assembly has resolved in its engagement with 4H-Ghana, to resource the Zonal Councils in the Municipality to function effectively.
On his part, Appiah Kwaku Boateng, Executive Director of 4H-Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organization focused on positive youth development, bemoaned the lack of resources for numerous elected Assembly Members in Ghana as a major challenge to the effective functioning of local governance system at the grass root level.
He said currently, Zonal Councils created under the Local Government System to facilitate revenue mobilization, local participation and development are not functioning, creating a deficiency in service delivery and participatory decision making at the grass root levels.
Mr. Boateng is, however, hopeful the ‘Promoting Citizen’s Participation and Effective Service Delivery’ project in the New Juaben South Municipality will help to change the narrative by ensuring the operationalization of the Zonal Councils which serve as the sub-structure for Municipal Assemblies to provide effective services, bring governance to the doorsteps of the people and enhance revenue mobilization at the zonal levels.
Also, the project, he said is expected to increase by 30% active involvement of persons sidelined and vulnerable groups in the local governance processes such as Persons with Disability and the youth.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Kojo Ansah
