Boundary Disputes Hampering Revenue Mobilisation

Boundary disputes are affecting revenue mobilisation in some districts within the Greater Accra and Eastern regions. The Kpone Katamanso District Assembly (KKDA), which seems to be the worst affected, shares boundaries with the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, (TMA), the La Nkwantanag-Madina Assembly, Adentan Municipal Assembly and the Akuapim South Municipal Assembly respectively. As a result of the boundary disputes between the KKDA and TMA, for instance, both assemblies have lost a lot of revenue as the companies situated within the disputed areas cannot identify which assembly had the legitimacy to collect taxes and levies from them. Concern The District Chief Executive of KKDA, Alhaji Antiaye Tetteh, who raised the issue at the assembly�s meeting last Thursday, said the numerous boundary disputes with neighbouring districts was affecting the efficient and effective administration of the district. In particular, he said, the disputes were hampering the efforts of the assembly to deliver services, especially to the people in the district. Alhaji Tetteh said the executive committee of the assembly recently directed management to pursue TMA to pay back a building permit fee of GH�80,000 collected from UT Properties at Saasabi near Oyibi, GH�26,000 being property rate and another GH�34,000 being business operating permit, which he alleged were wrongfully paid to TMA this year by the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation, (BOST) and the Kpone Landfill Site. He said the boundary dispute was taking a toll on KKDA and appealed to the National Boundary Dispute Committee to resolve the issue with the TMA to help promote the development of the area. Intervention Addressing the assembly session, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, directed the TMA to collect taxes and levies from the more than 26 companies along the boundary corridor on behalf of the two assemblies and share the accrued revenue in the ratio of 60: 40 with the TMA taking the larger chunk. Mr Afotey Agbo, who is also the MP for Kpone Katamanso, challenged the KKDA to do more, especially in other avenues of revenue mobilisation. "There are a lot of revenue generating items such as property rates, development permits, fees, street parking and fines, including night tolls and fees for businesses in your areas of operation that you should explore further to improve your internally generated funds (IGF)." The Regional Minister charged.