By Albert Futukpor, GNA
Sagnarigu (N/R), Oct. 19, GNA – A project to empower citizens to support their assemblies to mobilize revenue as well as monitor how the revenues are spent has begun in the Northern Region.
The project dubbed: “Citizens’ for Domestic Revenue Mobilization” (C4DRM), is being implemented at Sagnarigu Municipality and the Zabzugu District by NORSAAC, a civil society organization.
Madam Hafsatu Sey Sumani, Head of Programmes and Policy at NORSAAC, who discussed the project at its inception meeting with officials of the Sagnarigu Municipality at Sagnarigu, said the capacity of some youth and women groups would be built to ensure the success of the project.
The meeting was to present the details of the project to the officials of the Assembly amongst other stakeholders and strategize on the way forward towards its effective implementation.
The C4DRM began in September and will span for a period of one and a half years and may be extended for a five-year period.
Its intention is to support the two assemblies to develop strong revenue mobilization strategies to enhance their pro-poor development funding, and will eventually mobilize citizens' groups with young women leaders to mobilize revenues.
The citizens’ groups will be given basic budget advocacy skills and it is envisaged that once they are involved in raising revenue, such groups will be able to influence how such resources are invested in pro-poor services that benefit them such as health, education and small-holder agriculture.
Sagnarigu and Zabzugu assemblies, like other assemblies, have three sources of funding, which include central government disbursements, donor grants, which are regular but inadequate and internally generated funds (IGFs), which are to be a major source of funding support for their operations.
The IGFs’ sources include fees, licenses, and rates but poor data, inadequate personnel and revenue leakages amongst others at the assemblies contribute to low IGF mobilization to support development initiatives.
Madam Sumani said there is need for assemblies to showcase what they do with revenues to whip up interest in the citizenry to honour their tax obligations.
She said the project would empower the citizenry at the two assemblies to monitor their projects to promote accountability whiles encouraging the citizenry to also pay the various levies charged by the assemblies.
She said the involvement of various interest groups at the assemblies would help ensure the sustainability of the project to address the revenue gaps whiles delivering pro-poor development initiatives to address the needs of the people.
Mr Mahamud Haruna, Sagnarigu Municipal Budget Analyst, lauded the project as it would help increase the assembly’s revenue to be able to deliver development projects to the citizenry.
He said the assembly has a lot of revenue streams but inadequate personnel amongst other challenges have led to poor domestic revenue mobilization, which was affecting its operations.
GNA
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