This paper assesses the effectiveness of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana’s Northern Region in mobilising internally generated funds (IGF) to finance development projects. The study gathered both primary and secondary data from three MMDAs: Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Yendi Municipal Assembly and Saboba District Assembly. It employed a multi-stage sampling technique of questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and key informant interviews to collect data from respondents and obtain a snapshot of their situation in the 2013 fiscal year. It established that fines, property rates, licences, annual rates, investment income, permits, sales of tender documents, and business taxes were potential sources of revenue for the assemblies. Also, the study identified a range of strategies employed by assemblies to raise revenue: engagement of revenue collectors, use of a mobile revenue taskforce, registration of businesses, visits to markets and business centres, commission payments for revenue collectors, security checkpoints, incentivisation of revenue collectors, establishment of revenue collection points, and rotation of revenue collectors. Nevertheless, the study found that the MMDAs studied could not meet their IGF revenue targets for the 2013 fiscal year, with all three falling below 50%. This poor performance was attributed to: inadequate logistics to support effective IGF mobilisation; under-declaring of revenues; not enough revenue collectors; poor supervision and monitoring; poor compliance by ratepayers; corruption; political interference; inadequate knowledge and skills among revenue collectors; poor service delivery by the assemblies; ineffective collaboration; and lack of revenue data.

This study seeks to assess the determinants of property rates default in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to study 540 respondents from one municipal and five district assemblies within the region. A structured questionnaire collected data from the sampled respondents. Descriptive statistics (means, frequency distribution and percentages) and the probit regression model were then used to analyse the data with the help of SPSS and STATA respectively. The study found that most respondents who default are not aware of their obligation to pay property rates, and those who are aware fail to pay because they don’t know where to go to pay, or think the rate is too high. The study also revealed that a demographic characteristic such as income level, property value and property location influences rates of default. The study recommends raising awareness about the need to pay property rates and the penalty for any default.

Population growth in many of Africa’s towns and cities has outpaced local authority capacity to provide efficient management, infrastructure and financing. There is already debate over the capability and capacity of urban local governments to provide basic services to a growing population, due to budget constraints and inability to raise the required local-level revenue. This paper looks at how the potential of property rating can be harnessed to generate the bulk of revenue needed for local-level development, despite the huge default rates across Ghana. Focusing on Wa Municipality as a case study, the study finds that the major hurdles to property rating are poor property data systems, political interference, non-enforcement of the law, low budget deficit in financing revaluation, insufficient staffing, and insufficient technical capacity of the few staff available at the municipal valuation and rating divisions. Despite these constraints, however, field data still indicates that property rating in Ghana, and especially in Wa Municipality, can generate up to 30% of local government revenue needed. This is conditional on streamlining current challenges and improving resources for the rating and valuation units. There is extensive non-payment of property rates in Wa Municipality due to lack of awareness of the purpose of this tax, of how to pay and of the penalties for defaulting payees.

District Assemblies in Ghana are charged with the responsibility of developing their areas of jurisdiction mainly through internally mobilised revenue. As a consequence, the assemblies are empowered by various pieces of legislation to impose local taxes within their jurisdiction. The local taxes include property rates which are a form of tax that only the District Assemblies may levy. The study therefore looked at the levying of property rates in the Upper East Region and assessed the role and institutional capacity of the Land Valuation Division of the Lands Commission in the tax administration. Findings included limited coverage of the tax, use of flat rates due to absence of up-to-date property values, inadequate technical personnel and logistics for the Land Valuation Division (LVD) and lack of political will to levy the rates fully. Relevant suggestions are made, such as the need to introduce mass valuation, widen the tax coverage, establish a fund for revaluation and revive the Valuation Training School, as well as provide requisite logistics for efficient performance of the LVD.

The establishment of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) in 1993 and concomitant percentage set aside for Members of Parliament (MPs) in 2004 aims to support local governments and legislators in pro-poor development activities in their communities and constituencies. In spite of the importance of the MPs’ share of the District Assemblies Common Fund (MPsCF) in financing local level development in Ghana, very little is known about monitoring systems and procedures on the disbursement and utilization of the funds. The study therefore assessed qualitative data derived from interviews with officials from selected Local Government Authorities (LGAs) as well as other key stakeholders in the disbursement and utilization of the fund. The study findings point to the absence of legislative instrument on the management of the MPsCF. Further, monitoring of the fund was a responsibility shared by the LGAs and other external stakeholders. Finally, the effectiveness of monitoring the disbursement and utilization of the MPsCF was strongly influenced by the relationship between the Chief Executive of the Local Government Authority (LGCE) and MPs in the local government area.