The Coalition of District Assembly Members has alleged mismanagement and misapplication of property rate revenue collected on behalf of assemblies nationwide by third parties.

According to the Coalition, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Digital City Solutions (GCS) which it said were illegally contracted to levy and collect property rates have failed to comply with the components of the agreement.

The Coalition, therefore, petitioned the Office of the Special Prosecutor to launch an investigation into the collection and disbursement of property rates by the third parties from early 2023 to date, audit the accounts, and ensure transparency.

This was mentioned by the Coalition of District Assembly Members, Mawunyo Agbe during a press encounter in Ho in the Volta Region.

“We are formally requesting the Office of the Special Prosecutor to initiate a thorough investigation
into the total property rate revenues collected by GRA and DCS, and scrutinize how these funds are allocated to the Assemblies”, he said.

Mr. Agbe cited disregard for the Local Governance Act which mandates only the assemblies to levy property rates and General Assembly to sanction and approve the engagement of third parties to collect the rates.

“According to section 144 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 [Act 936], District Assemblies are the sole authorities for levying property rates. The involvement of GRA in this process seems to contradict this provision, raising legal and procedural concerns concerning the involvement of the third party in revenue collection”, he said.

He further indicated that the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives failed to comply with Section 146(1) of the Local Government Act 2016 [Act 936] which stipulates that assembly members must approve the engagement of third parties for property rate collection.

“Section 146 (1) of the Local Governance Act, 2016 [Act 936], specifically stated "A District Assembly may, for the purpose of collection of rates, appoint any person or a company as an agent to collect the rates on behalf of the Assembly in accordance with such conditions as may be prescribed by the Assembly"

“The above provision in the Local Governance Act was not fulfilled by any Assembly in the country. To fulfil the above, it can only be a resolution from the General Assembly or agreed by the General Assembly to cede the collection of property rate to the third party.

“This enables District Assemblies to outsource the collection of property rates to private entities or third parties to improve efficiency in revenue collection. Based on this, the agreement was considered not legal for the Municipal and Districts Chief executives to sign on behalf of the Assemblies”, he stressed.

He also noted that the third parties have failed to deposit the agreed 70% of the revenue collected, between early 2023 and 2024, into designated bank accounts of the assemblies, adding that “checks so far exposed the irregularity and non-compliance by GRA and DCS with the illegal agreement.”

He outlined financial mismanagement and mis-allocation of the property rate revenue as the assemblies have experienced financial constraints, impeding the effective administration and service delivery of the various assemblies.

He also said that the assemblies were unable to pay the ex-gratia of the 8th Assembly Members due to financial constraints.

Mr Agbe also mentioned a lack of transparency as there is scanty information on the property rate revenues mobilized and its disbursement.

“The financial challenges facing the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies are urgent and require immediate action since this action seems to be a looting system that crippled the assemblies to be financially on their knees.

“Ensuring proper management and distribution of property rate revenues collected by GRA and DCS is critical for the effective operation of these local bodies and the well-being of the communities they serve. We trust that the Special Prosecutor's office will address this matter with the urgency”, he concluded.