MOBILIZING LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUE TOWARDS FINANCING LOCAL LEVEL DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF WA MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY

Abstract

The Local Government Act, Act 462 (1993) mandates the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to mobilize sufficient revenue to supplement allocations from the central government in order to be effective partners in local level development. In Ghana local government authorities are partners to the Central Government, and are mandated to mobilize sufficient revenue in order to be able to pursue their local level developmental agenda. The study aimed to assess how local government revenue mobilization could be strengthened to finance local level development in the Wa Municipality. A descriptive study design and a non probability sampling technique were used for the study. The study found that rates, lands, fees and fines, licenses, rent, investment, miscellaneous and DACF are the major sources of revenue for the Assembly. The study revealed low level of education on the payment of revenue, small nature of businesses in the municipality, unwillingness of revenue payers to pay the appropriate amount as revenue, dishonesty of revenue collectors and lack of accountability as the major challenges of revenue mobilization in the Municipality. The study concludes that the Wa Municipal Assembly like many local authorities in Ghana had tendered to over-rely on the Central Government Transfers in order to meet its developmental needs due to their inability to generate enough revenue. The study recommends that the Wa Municipal Assembly should use Public, Private Partnership to finance infrastructural development, relationship marketing to reach out to stakeholder through seminars, tax education and sensitization, establish databank on revenue sources, force the bye-laws and prosecute defaulters constantly, invest in hostel accommodation, shuttle transport, mortuary services, funeral services and other profitable ventures in order to increase their revenue to finance local level development in the Municipality.