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NLA, GRA partner to conduct VAT raffle…to enhance govt revenue mobilisation
The National Lottery Authority (NLA), is working with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to introduce a Value Added Tax (VAT) raffle as part of a strategic move to whip up public compliance with the tax to raise more revenue for the government.
GRA and NLA have been working closely together on the VAT Raffle since April 2019, a statement from NLA said.
“Immediately after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in pursuant to Section 5 of the Revenue Administration Act, 2016(Act 915), GRA and NLA constituted a joint working committee for the development of the VAT Raffle Product.”
“The historic partnership between GRA and NLA is aimed at enhancing the revenue mobilisation efforts of government for national socio-economic development,” the statement said.
The VAT raffle, the first of its kind in Ghana, is expected to ensure voluntary tax compliance in all sectors of the economy, and improve VAT penetration.
It also seeks to strengthen the provision of digital services, e-commerce and the overall digitalisation agenda of government.
“The VAT raffle is expected to fast-track the implementation of the much anticipated Cashlite Society in Ghana. The VAT raffle is an innovative product with the capacity to improve tax compliance and revenue mobilisation in the country,” the statement said.
Source: Ghanaian Times
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
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BY MALIK SULLEMANA
