Revenue mobilisation for local development has gained significant global attention in recent years. Attempts to maximise the efforts for improved revenue collection in developing countries are weakened due in part, to the calibre of human resources available, and the kind and extent of available innovative practices used.
Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have reeled without adequate financial resources over the years, compelling them to persistently rely extensively on inter-governmental transfers to fund their activities and for local development.
The challenge of raising local revenue for development has occasioned the situation where developing and low-income countries have had to undertake major reforms in their revenue systems with the hope of a better and more effective revenue mobilisation.
It has come to light that only 12 out of the 258 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) scored above 50 percent in the 2024 Public Financial Management Compliance League Table (PFMCLT).
It represents just 4.5 percent of the total assemblies reviewed. The Centre for Local Governance Advocacy (CLGA) spearheaded the PFMCLT which is designed to promote transparency, accountability and efficient resource utilisation in local governance.
This indicates that no metropolitan assembly crossed the 50 percent mark, although three performed above the national average. Municipal and district assemblies recorded better scores than their metropolitan counterparts.
Although the results mark a marginal improvement over the 2023 assessment when only 11 MMDAs scored above the 50 percent threshold, it highlights the need for targeted reforms. Obviously, quality concerns persist.
The 2024 assessment reviewed 258 out of 284 MMDAS – three district assemblies were excluded due to security concerns.
The La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly emerged as top-performing MMDA in the 2024 Public Financial Management Compliance League Table, with Kwadaso and Kpando Municipal Assemblies placing second and third respectively.
The Deputy Executive Director-CLGA Gladys Gillian Naadu Tetteh noted that many assemblies submitted incomplete or outdated documentation, with some lacking credible evidence of compliance.
Systemic issues included weak alignment between development plans and implementation reports, poor stakeholder engagement, underutilisation of the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS), ineffective internal controls and lack of enforcement for audit recommendations.
Targeted capacity-building for low-performing MMDAs will be required, as well as, public town hall meetings, policy dialogues and greater media engagement. Fiscal decentralisation is key for the successful devolution of power in democracies, and our local government performance in that regard needs to be strengthened.
