GRi Business, Economics &
Finance 10 – 02 - 2003
The Association said for
instance that, black marketers now operate openly on tables in the
This situation, the Association
said, was not only throwing licensed forex bureau operators
out of business and doing serious damage to the economy.
Speaking to the Ghana News
Agency in
Bio said the forex
bureaux were contributing to the socio-economic development of the country
through the taxes they paid, whereas these black marketers enjoyed their
profits without paying anything to the state.
"We are subjected to
regular scrutiny by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), pay renewal
fees and taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Kumasi Metropolitan
Assembly (KMA), while these people who reap huge profits pay nothing to anybody
and the law enforcement agencies look unconcerned.
Bio added, "Are we now
being told that certain categories of people doing genuine business should pay
taxes while another category take the law into their own hands and reap huge
profits without paying anything to the state".
He wondered why the security
agencies who used to arrest these people had stopped their regular swoops on
them but had allowed them to have a field day. He therefore called on the
security agencies to clamp down on these black marketers.
Bio said the activities of these
people who were operating on tables and on street corners was not only
encouraging the spread of fake currencies but also put many unsuspecting
customers in danger.
GRi.../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 10 February
2003-The United Nations Volunteer UNV) Programme has embarked on a pilot
project to boost the income of Tema Municipal Assembly (TMA) as part of a
long-term measure to improve on the income levels of local government
administrations in Africa.
"The UNV project in Tema is
a large success. The municipality authorities have testified to a net increase in
their revenue generation and also a remarkable improvement in confidence and
trust between the Assembly and tax payers," Joseph Oji, UNV Programme
Officer in
Oji, who quoted a number of
documents to elaborate on the merits of the two-year project, said the focus
was on the causes of the deficiency in the municipal system of collection and
management of taxes.
"This deficiency
constitutes a serious and recurring problem in Tema and many other cities. It
has a direct effect on the capability of the local government to provide urban
infrastructure and services."
Oji said the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank Global Initiative were
supporting the project to reverse the low revenue problem, which is the bane of
the development efforts of local government administrations on the continent.
Oji noted that there was a high
degree of default in the payment of taxes, a problem, which is fundamentally
related to lack of social cohesion and confidence. He said: "Tax payers do
not trust local authorities regarding the management of taxes collected."
As a result, a team of UN
Volunteers and other stakeholders embarked on a civic education process to
build trust in people to honour their tax obligations. Oji said an important
component of project was the funding of the technical capacity of TMA Revenue
Department, traders, butchers, drivers, artisans, restaurant, chop bar and
drinking bar operators and other tax payers to streamline revenue collection.
The series of consultations led
to the production of an Action Plan for the development of Tema that tackles
issues like "governance and development," "market potentials and
economic development," "waste management and health," and
"security and development."
Oji announced the formation of a
UN Volunteers Association in
The UNV supports human
development globally, by promoting volunteerism. It is administered by UNDP
with focus on economic and social development. In
GRi.../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Tema (Greater Accra)
In the year 2001, CEPS collected
revenue of over 1.2 trillion cedis and exceeded its target by 167.3 billion
cedis. Isaac Ankrah, Assistant Commissioner in-charge,
who made this known at the end-of-year party held at the TDC Club house on
Saturday noted with appreciation that the Tema Collection Point mobilized a
total of 3.2 trillion cedis approximately representing 11.5 percentage points.
He commended the officers and
stated that the collection point was looking into 2003, well prepared for all
challenges that may confront it adding, "The management will as usual run
an open door policy and was prepared to accommodate all views with the
intention of lifting the performance of the collection beyond
expectation."
To this end, the programme to
introduce the Ghana Trade Network (GCNET) and Ghana Customs Management System
(GCMS) in the collection for that matter at the Tema port would now migrate
from the manual system as ASYCUDA to a fully automated system to facilitate
clearance of goods.
The Assistant Commissioner said,
already the Collection Point has already well-trained officers in waiting,
saying, "Most of these officers require only a day or two refresher
courses to fine-tune them for serious business."
Ankrah said in 2003, the collection
point would seek to enhance on all the positives it achieved in 2002 and correct
and possible shed all the negative factors that militated against revenue
mobilization.
GRi.../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com