The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, has launched the 2025-2028 Regional Composite Budget for all the twenty(29) Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the region with a call on them to ramp up their resource mobilisation efforts and take the necessary steps to address challenges impeding revenue collection.
He said even though the region was doing well in the mobilisation of internally generated funds(IGF), its booming local economy was no entirely reflective of the revenue generated by the MMDAs.
“I am of the view that we can do better, considering the number of residential and commercial properties sited in the region, together with new properties springing up on a daily basis make major revenue from property rates and building permites.
The regional budget hearing is aimed at deepening participatory budgeting and accountability at the local level, and providing avenue for MMDAs to account for their stewardship as managers of the local resources entrusted to them.
The hearing also offers the citizens the opportunity to appreciate the extent to which the assemblies are utilising the fees and rates collected. Additionally, it will also ensure that budget allocations reflect the objectives and strategies of government policies and are also in line with the 2025 to 2028 budget integration guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance.
This year’s event brought together representatives of the MMDAs, a technical team from the Ministry of Finance, the Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Dr Erie Oduro Osae, and the Chief Director of Regional Coordinating Council, Mrs. Lilian Baeka (Esq).
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Hon. Titus-Glover cautioned staff of the Assemblies who were using illicit means to fraudulently issue receipts and permits to residents to divert funds meant for the region’s development into their private accounts to desist from such acts and called on the relevant authorities to intensify their monitoring and evaluations exercises to arrest and prosecute such officers.
“There are people on the ground who are using fake receipts. They know what they write, but when they go down, they write a different thing and at the end of the day, the citizen is expecting government or local government to bring development. Money that should come to central and local governments are going into individual pockets,” he said.
The Regional Minister therefore charged the local authorities to draw development-focused budgets by allocating and utilising adequate financial resources for social services delivery, infrastructure delivery, management, economic development and environmental management.
These, he said, included allocating 20 per cent of the IGF to initiate or complete capital projects for the direct benefits, pursuing anti-corruption measures, mainstreaming climate change and gender activities.