Parliament's Public Accounts Committee calls for incentive-based revenue collection

James Klutse Avedzi, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, has reiterated the Committee's recommendation to shift from employing full-time revenue collectors at Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to a commission-based system.

According to Avedzi, the Committee believes that government-employed revenue collectors, when placed on regular payrolls, often neglect their duties, knowing they will receive

Read full articletheir salaries regardless.

The Committee advocates for revenue collectors to be contracted on a commission basis, earning 20 per cent of what they collect. They argue that this approach would incentivize collectors to work harder and increase revenue generation.

These remarks were made during the PAC Zonal Public Hearing in Tamale, where the Auditor-General's Report on the Management and Utilization of District Assemblies Common Fund and Other Statutory Funds for the year ending December 31, 2022, was under review.

During the hearing, officers from the Garu District Assembly cited reasons for low revenue collection, including the lack of collector targets, ineffective monitoring systems, and the adverse impact of the Bawku conflicts on commercial activities.

However, officers from the Wa East District Assembly were turned away after failing to attend with their District Chief Executive (DCE), citing illness. The Committee suspected this as a deliberate attempt to avoid appearing before them and ordered the officers to return with their DCE later.

Districts such as Bawku Municipal, Builsa North, Builsa South, Bolgatanga East, Kassena Nankana, Nabdam, and Tempane were among those that appeared before the Committee.

The Auditor-General's Reports also highlighted issues in pre-university educational institutions, including Sandema Senior High Technical School (SHTS), Navrongo Senior High School (SHS), Zuarungu SHS, and Daffiama SHS.