By Jenneh Braima
A former Member of Parliament has urged ward committee members in the Moyamba District to pay their taxes for the development of their communities. Addressing participants at a tax promotion and revenue mobilisation training organised in Taiama, Joseph Kaindoh said that tax payment was very important as it not only helped local councils to develop but also reduced burden on the central government.
Kaindoh, who is the executive coordinator at Concern for Public Accountability & Transparency (COPAT), pleaded with all ward committee members, councillors and chiefdom administrations to take the issue of tax seriously, adding that the training was aimed at “bringing about inclusiveness, openness, rule of compliance and oversight of citizens on the payment of tax to the local council and to promote revenue generation”.
At the end of the training he urged participants to be a part of the tax mobilisation team in each of the 24 wards and their chiefdoms. He said they should also be able to advocate for revenue and tax mobilisation and to perform oversight role in ensuring tax collected was accounted for and that all developmental activities for their communities were tracked and monitored.
Host Councillor, Sylvanus Williams of Ward 286, also lauded COPAT for the training as he said they had long longed for such trainings because “we have several questions that need to be answered and we seek clarifications”.
He said that for "far too long" they had been faced with challenges with regards to the effective monitoring of funds from their councils, adding that with the knowledge they would gain out of the training, they would be able to monitor revenue generation from councils and to perform their oversight role in ensuring that tax collection was accounted for.
In his presentation, economics lecturer at Fourah Bay College, Ishmael Kamara, encouraged participants to take the training seriously as it would be in their own interest to be well grounded in the monitoring of taxes in their various wards and constituencies. He explained extensively on book-keeping, introduction to financial management, basic concept in public financial management, evaluation form for an open budget system and budget monitoring amongst others.
(C) Politico 17/07/14
