Assembly Members in Ho Demand Investigation into GRA and DCS Property Rate Collection
Press Conference by the Coalition of District Assembly Members (CODAM) on Investigation into Property Rate Revenues Collected by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The Presiding Member of the Ho municipal assembly, Honourable Mawunyo Agbe, and some assembly members in the Ho municipality held a press conference.
According to the Presiding Member, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Digital City Solutions Ltd. (DCS) have been responsible for collecting property rates on behalf of all the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) from 2023 to 2024.
Unfortunately, these arrangements have led to significant financial difficulties for these assemblies, impacting their ability to function effectively and deliver essential services.
Our concerns stem from several resolutions passed by various assemblies, including the Ho Municipal Assembly and Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, which highlight the severe financial strains experienced due to the actions of GRA and DCS.
These issues raise serious questions about the legality and transparency of how property rates were collected and distributed.
Honourable Mawunyo Agbe said, according to Section 114 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) District Assemblies are the sole authorities for levying property rates.
The involvement of GRA in this process seems to contradict this provision, raising legal and procedural concerns, concerning the involvement of the third party in revenue collection.
Section 146(I) of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) specifically states the District Assembly may, for collection of rates, appoint any person or a company as an agent to collect the rate on behalf of the assembly.
The above provision in the Local Governance Act was not fulfilled by any assembly in the country. To fulfill the above, it can only be a resolution from the General Assembly or an agreement by the General Assembly to cede the collection of property rates to a third party.
This enables the assemblies to outsource the collection of the property rates to private entities or third parties to improve efficiency in revenue collection.
Based on this, illegal agreement, the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies are responsible for providing designated bank accounts and authorizing daily transfers of the revenue.
Request for Action: We are formally requesting the office of the special prosecutor to conduct a comprehensive investigation.
Initiate a thorough investigation into the total property rate revenues collected by GRA and DCS and scrutinize how these funds are allocated to the assemblies.
