The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), James Klutse-Avedzi, has restated the committee’s recommendation that the government should avoid hiring full-time revenue collectors at Municipal and District Assemblies.
According to the Chairman, government-employed revenue collectors often neglect their duties, knowing they will receive their salaries regardless.
The committee proposes that all revenue collectors should be contracted on a commission basis, receiving 20% of what they collect. They believe this approach would motivate collectors to work harder and increase revenue collection.
These views were expressed at 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 ended 31st December 2022, and Pre-University Educational Institutions for the same period, were under consideration.
During the hearing, officers of the Garu District Assembly cited reasons for low revenue collection, including lack of targets for collectors, ineffective monitoring systems, and the adverse impact of the Bawku conflicts on commercial activities in the district.
However, officers from the Wa East District Assembly were turned away after failing to attend with their District Chief Executive, citing illness.
The Committee suspected this as a deliberate attempt to avoid appearing before them, and they instructed the officers to return with their DCE on a later date.
Districts such as Bawku Municipal, Builsa North, Builsa South, Bolgatanga East, Kassena Nankana, Nabdam, and Tempane were among those that appeared before the Committee.
Schools mentioned in the Auditor-General’s Reports included Sandema SHTS, Navrongo SHS, Zuarungu SHS, and Daffiama SHS.