ASSESSMENT OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF INTERNALLY GENERATED FUNDS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF KARAGA DISTRICT OF NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

Internally generated fund plays an important role in the overall development of District Assemblies in Ghana. DAs in Ghana are entitled to mobilise resources locally for their expenditure needs. Internally Generated Fund (IGF) of the sub-national Governments is basically their own-sourced revenues of District Assemblies'. The study examined the contribution of internally generated fund to the overall development of the Karaga District. It is identified that the IGF mobilisation in the district is very low due to under declaration of revenue by some collectors, low tax base, low level of property rate generation, politicisation of revenue collection, lack of physical planning department for proper zoning of towns and villages and weak monitoring system. A case study approach was used for the study. Statistical tools such as correlation and charts were used to find the linkage between Actual IGF and development expenditure. The study shows a weak positive direct relationship between IGF and development expenditure of the District. Similarly, the IGF trend over the years reveals that rates are highest source of IGF for the district; however the district largely depends on other sources of revenue other than IGF. The study recommends that, the existing monitoring system in the District needs to be strengthened in order to increase IGF mobilization.!t added that at least a Medium Term Strategy of the IGF unit should be put in place. Also, each revenue zone needs to have its own plan. More importantly there should be an active involvement of the staff and other stakeholders, and the final plan should be well communicated among them. To this end building reliable planning base and supporting the system is necessary for effective mobilisation of IGF for development.