The Auditor-Generalโs 2024 report has revealed serious lapses in revenue mobilization across five district and municipal assemblies in the Western North Region, resulting in a shortfall of GHยข277,756.64.
The audit, conducted under Section 52 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), highlighted that 11 revenue collectors collectively received GHยข432,081.64 as salaries and allowances.
However, the revenue they mobilized during the same period amounted to just GHยข154,325.00, representing only 36 percent of the total remuneration paid.
According to the Auditor-General, this situation reflects inefficiency and a lack of accountability, warning that โsuch poor performance undermines the purpose of local revenue mobilization and forces the Assemblies to over-rely on the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) for their operations.โ
Assemblies and Collectors Involved
The five Assemblies cited in the report are Bibiani/Anhwiaso/Bekwai, Bodi, Juaboso, Bia East, and Sefwi Akontombra.
A detailed analysis revealed startling cases of mismatch between pay and productivity. At Bibiani/Anhwiaso/Bekwai, for example, one collector, Mr. Peter Subre, was paid GHยข41,785.92 yet did not collect any revenue throughout the year. His colleague, Mr. John Ador, earned GHยข57,560.04 but managed to mobilize only GHยข12,585.00, leaving a shortfall of GHยข44,975.04.
In the Bodi District, Mr. Chris L. Agyapong received GHยข31,567.09 but collected only GHยข4,660.00, resulting in a deficit of GHยข26,907.09.
In Juaboso District, Ms. Agyeman Rosemary earned GHยข38,896.91 yet raised only GHยข6,790.00, while Mr. Owusu Ansah Stephen collected less than GHยข10,000.00 despite being paid GHยข41,392.85.
Even in cases where some collectors performed relatively better, such as Ms. Dorcas Adomah of Bia East, who mobilized GHยข23,527.00 against a salary of GHยข31,552.32, the gap still left the Assemblies counting losses.
Threat to Development Projects
The report cautioned that these inefficiencies do not only waste scarce financial resources but also threaten development at the local level. With Assemblies failing to maximize internally generated funds (IGF), they remain dependent on irregular DACF releases.
โThis over-reliance contributes to delayed or abandoned projects in health, education, and infrastructure,โ the report warned, stressing that taxpayers are ultimately shortchanged when revenue systems fail to deliver value for money.
Local governance experts have long argued that Assemblies must improve their internal revenue strategies to fund grassroots development. The latest audit findings, however, suggest that little progress has been made in that direction.
Auditor-Generalโs Recommendations
To correct the anomaly, the Auditor-General recommended that the Assemblies should set clear revenue targets for all collectors, ensure that remuneration is tied to actual performance to reflect value for money, and sanction non-performing officers to serve as a deterrent.
โWe recommend to the management of the Assemblies involved to set and enforce the achievement of revenue targets by collectors and ensure that remuneration paid commensurates with their collections to prevent losses to the Assemblies. We also recommend that non-performing revenue officers should be sanctioned.โ The report stressed.
Below is the screenshort of the report
