Ho Municipal Assembly intensifies efforts to boost revenue mobilization
The Ho Municipal Assembly has announced renewed measures to strengthen its internal revenue mobilization system as part of efforts to accelerate development across the municipality.
Municipal Budget Officer, Dickson Agbenya, disclosed this during the presentation of the 2026 Draft Fee-Fixing Resolution at a stakeholder engagement meeting held on Monday, November 3, 2025. He said that although revenue collection has improved steadily over the past nine months, the Assembly continues to face challenges with compliance and public cooperation.
Mr Agbenya assured residents that all concerns raised during the meeting would be forwarded to the appropriate authorities for consideration, emphasizing that decisions on rate adjustments would only take effect after official approval.
He revealed that the Assembly collected GH₵4.9 million between January and September this year, compared to GH₵4.2 million for the entire previous year. This represents 62 percent of the annual target and has encouraged the Assembly to project GH₵6.5 million in revenue for 2026.
According to him, improving tax and fee compliance could significantly boost revenue beyond current levels, enabling the Assembly to undertake more community development projects.
Touching on property rates, Mr Agbenya said the Assembly had collected GH₵580,000 so far this year. He urged both small and large property owners to honour their obligations to support the municipality’s growth. Beginning this month, the Assembly will print and distribute property bills to ensure timely payments.
He explained that while property rate collection was initially low due to limited public understanding of its purpose, there has been marked improvement this year. The Assembly plans to intensify efforts from December to February, followed by monitoring and enforcement to ensure compliance.
Mr Agbenya cautioned that the Assembly would strictly enforce regulations to recover monies owed by property owners who have failed to obtain the necessary permits, warning that defaulters could face higher charges and penalties.
The Budget Officer also revealed that the Assembly has invested in revenue-generating assets such as canteens and market stalls. However, some tenants have defaulted on rent payments. To address this, the Assembly has developed a recovery strategy targeting defaulters operating in markets and stalls.
He noted that voluntary compliance remains low among Keke riders, many of whom are not registered with the relevant association. While members of registered groups comply better, unregistered operators often evade payments. Mr Agbenya acknowledged their concerns about the current GH₵150 fee, saying a proposal to reduce it to GH₵100 would be reviewed by the Assembly next year.
“The challenge with Keke riders is their reluctance to join an association, but the Assembly can’t compel them. We are engaging them to encourage registration, which will help improve compliance,” he explained.
Mr Agbenya stressed that despite progress made, the revenue generated remains inadequate to finance major development projects. He urged residents, business owners, and stakeholders to cooperate with the Assembly, stressing that improved compliance will lead to better infrastructure and municipal services.