MMDAs urged to prioritise digital property databases

– Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have been urged to prioritise the digitisation and regular updating of property valuation and ownership databases to improve billing, reduce errors and strengthen property rate collection.

Mr Nii Addo, a Consultant at Green Tax Youth Africa, said reliable digital property databases would enable MMDAs to maintain accurate records of properties and ownership, improve billing processes and identify properties that were not captured in the revenue system.

Mr Addo made the call while presenting findings from the 2025 Gap Analysis on Property Rate Collection in Ghana at a high-level multi-stakeholder dialogue on strengthening property rate administration and collection in the country.

He said digitisation would also help reduce inaccuracies in property rate bills, improve payment tracking and provide local authorities with more reliable information for revenue planning and administration.

Organised by the Norsaac in Tamale, the dialogue brought together stakeholders to examine challenges affecting property rate administration and identify practical measures to improve local revenue mobilisation, transparency and accountability.

Mr Addo said weaknesses in property data management remained among the administrative challenges undermining effective property rate collection.

He said MMDAs needed to regularly update property valuation and ownership records to reflect new developments, changes in ownership and other relevant information that could affect property rate assessments.

The Consultant said clear and accurate bills were also critical to improving compliance, adding that property owners needed sufficient information to understand the amount they were required to pay, the basis for the charges and the period covered by the bill.

He said confusion arising from multiple bills and unclear fee structures could discourage compliance and called for simpler, standardised and easily understandable billing systems.

Mr Addo further urged MMDAs to provide alternative payment channels for elderly property owners and residents, who had limited access to digital platforms, saying technology should make payment easier rather than create additional barriers.

Mr Addo also called on MMDAs to intensify sustained public education to address misconceptions surrounding property rates and improve voluntary compliance among property owners.

He said residents, required to pay property rates, needed to understand what property they were, how the rates were assessed and how revenue generated was used to support local development.

He emphasised that community meetings, local radio, information centres, traditional authorities and other accessible platforms could be used to reach property owners particularly those in underserved communities.

He recommended that the MMDAs regularly provide information on how property rate revenue was utilised and link the funds to visible development interventions including roads, drainage, sanitation and other community infrastructure.

He said residents were more likely to comply with their obligations when they could see tangible development benefits from the taxes and rates they paid.

He said combining digital systems with effective public education, transparent revenue utilisation and fair enforcement would help create a more efficient and citizen-responsive property rate of administration.

Mr Addo said closing the identified gaps would strengthen the financial capacity of the MMDAs to mobilise internally-generated funds and improve their ability to provide essential services and undertake development projects.

— GNA