The recent Auditor General’s report on District Assemblies’ financial operations for the year ending December 31, 2024, has exposed a significant revenue shortfall at the Old Tafo Municipal Assembly.
According to the report, two revenue collectors who were responsible for collecting a total of GH¢43,923 failed to properly account for GH¢43,863, leaving only GH¢60 accounted for in the municipal records.
Breakdown of Discrepancies
• Number of defaulting collectors: 2
• Total amount collected: GH¢43,923
• Amount accounted for: GH¢60
• Amount unaccounted for: GH¢43,863
This stark discrepancy suggests that the majority of the revenue collected has gone missing, raising serious concerns over financial management practices within the Assembly’s revenue collection system.
Implications and Risks Highlighted by the Audit Service
The Audit Service stressed that “Failure to account for GCRs (Government Collection Receipts) and revenue collections could lead to misappropriation of revenue and would deny the Assemblies resources to carry out their operations.” “When revenue is unaccounted for, Assemblies have to depend heavily on their District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) allocations to manage their day-to-day administrative expenses.”
This dependence often leads to delays or abandonment of vital local development projects, undermining the Assembly’s mandate to serve the community.
Recommendations for Accountability and Recovery
To address this issue, the Auditor General’s report recommends immediate action from the Assembly’s management. The primary measures include:
• Retrieving all GCR booklets from the defaulting collectors and ensuring thorough accountability for all collections recorded therein.
• Calculating the average collection per GCR booklet for the year across the 10 booklets and recovering the total unaccounted amount from the collectors involved.
• Recovering the full amount of GH¢43,863 directly from the revenue collectors who failed to account for it.
• Should the collectors fail to refund the amount, the responsibility shifts to the Coordinating Directors, Finance Officers, and Revenue Superintendents of the Assembly, who would be held liable to refund the missing funds into the designated Internal Generated Fund (IGF) accounts.
• Imposing sanctions on the defaulting collectors and urging Assembly Management to strengthen supervision over revenue collection to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Source: www.Kumasimail/Kwadwo Owusu
