Public Agenda (Accra)
Milton Abeinga, Bolga
2 February 2009
Petty traders in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region have demanded fair representation in the fee fixing process of the assembly. In this respect four key proposals to the district assembly were made at a meeting at Zebilla.
The meeting which was coordinated by the Afaataba Multi Purpose Cooperative and funded by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund ( BUSAC Fund) was meant to impress on the Bawku West District Assembly to implement the best practice approach to revenue collection.
The four key proposals were the out come of a research conducted in Sapeliga, Zebilla, Gbatongo and Binaba into the revenue collection activities of the district assembly.
In his welcome address a consultant to the project,AFAACOM, Mr. Ernest Aayel, said that multiple taxation of goods in the district made the running of business quite expensive and unprofitable. He therefore urged parties in the dialogue to discuss and consider the proposals dispassionately for their mutual benefit.
On behalf of the petty traders, Mr. Abugre Robert, Coordinator of AFAACOM, presented the four proposals to the district finance officer, Mr. Alexander Ottopa, who received them on behalf of the District Assembly. The four proposals are;
1.That the Bawku West District Assembly should ensure that a sizeable number of 100 traders representing petty traders in the four main commercial towns of the district namely Sapeliga Zebilla, Gbatongo, and Binaba are put on the fee-fixing committee of the district assembly.
2. The district assembly in collaboration with assembly members, area council chair persons, and unit committees should work out an effective information dissemination modality to ensure that annual approved fees are disseminated effectively.
3. The assembly should double steps on its planned construction of ware houses to enable traders to store unsold goods which can then be sold on the next market day to avoid double taxation.
4. The District Assembly should provide Revenue Collectors with Identification Cards. The DA should also stop revenue collectors from appointing subordinates since the practice encourages pilfering.
Speaking in support of petty trading in the district Mr. Alexander Ottopa said that modern trade was not likely to flourish without networks. He therefore called on petty traders in the district to form associations to enable them to network effectively with relevant partners and institutions to grow their businesses.
Speaking during open forum, a revenue collector said that one major problem hindering revenue collection in the district was political interference. He said that some contractors who were sympathizers of the ruling political party refused to pay fees and assaulted revenue collectors for daring to collect such fees.
A revenue collector who pleaded anonymity recalled that in 2003 when he tried to collect revenue from a contractor who was also a constituency chairman of the ruling party, he rained insults on him and later reported him to the District Chief Executive which resulted in the seizure of his official motor bike. When the deputy finance officer Mr. Alexander Ottopa was contacted he said that he was not aware of such an incident.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Public Agenda. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
