Influence of Revenue Mobilization Practices on Service Delivery in Decentralized Governments: The Case of District Assemblies in Ghana

George Kojo Scott

Abstract


This study analyzed how revenue mobilization practices in the District Assemblies (DAs) of Ghana influence service delivery. The research adopted the mixed methods research design and gathered qualitative and quantitative data using questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis. Multi-stage sampling method where thirty four out of 170 districts were selected from which the study sampled 612 DA officials and 1020 citizens who responded to questionnaires. The sample also included 28 key interview informants and 20 participants in two focus group discussions. The study analyzed quantitative data using descriptive statistics and regression, while qualitative data were interpreted thematically. The study established that revenue mobilization practices at the DAs had a positive and significant effect on service delivery. The study recommends that the DA authorities should audit and review automated revenue collection tools to ensure optimal benefits from these automations. The parliament and District Assemblies are encouraged to review and consolidate the existing financial management legal framework to ensure faster transfer of funds to the district assemblies and specify sanctions on national government officials who mishandle or delay the funds.


Full Text:

PDF

References


Adu-Gyamfi, E. (2014). Effective revenue mobilisation by districts assemblies: A case study of Upper Denkyira East Municipal Assembly of Ghana. Public Policy and Administration, 2(1), 97-122. Retrieved from pparnet.com/journals/ppar/Vol_2_No_1_March_2014/7.pdf

Afoom, N. O. (2011). Impact of HIPC on poverty reduction in Ghana (2000-2008). Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1767829

Akorsu, P. K. (2015). An evaluation of the effectiveness of revenue mobilisation in the public sector of Ghana: The case of Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, 3(1), 1-16.

Akpa, A. (2008). Public finance and budgeting: Issues, imperatives and challenges from Nigerian perspectives. Ibadan: Spectrum Books Limited.

Akudugu, J. A., & Oppong-Peprah, E. (2013). Local Government Revenue Mobilisation and Management: the case of Asante Akim South District Assembly, Ghana. Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 3(2), 98-120. https://doi.org/10.5296/jpag.v3i2.3977

Andrews, R., Boyne, G. A., Law, J. & Walker, R. M. (2008). Organisational strategy, external regulation and public service performance. Public Administration, 86(1), 185 – 203. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2007.00695.x

Ayee, J. R. (1995). Financing sub-national governments in Ghana: The District Assemblies' Common Fund. Regional & Federal Studies, 5(3), 292-306. https://doi.org/10.1080/13597569508420940

Badunenko, O., Fritsch, M., & Stephan, A. (2008). Allocative efficiency measurement revisited—do we really need input prices? Economic Modelling, 25(5), 1093-1109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2008.02.001

Bahl, R. (1999). Fiscal decentralisation as development policy. Public Budgeting and Finance, 19(2), 59-75. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0275-1100.1999.01163.x

Bahl, R., & Solomon, D. (2003). Overview of the local government revenue system. In R. Bahl & P. Smoke (Eds.), Restructuring local government finance in developing countries. Lessons from South Africa (pp. 71-93). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

Bardhan, P., & Mookherjee, D. (2002). Relative capture of local and central governments: An essay in the political economy of decentralization. CIDER Working Paper No. C99-109. Berkeley: University of California

Baumann, P. (2000). Sustainable livelihoods and political capital: Arguments and evidence from decentralisation and natural resource management in India. London: Overseas Development Institute.

Betley, M., Bird, A., & Ghartey, A. B. (2012). Evaluation of public financial management reform in Ghana 2001-2010: Final country case report. Oxford: Fiscu/Mokoro Ltd.

Bhatia, H. L. (2009). Public finance. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House.

Bird, R. M., & Slack, N. E. (2010). Taxing land and property in emerging economies: Raising revenue... and more. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/katjrj

Botchie, G. (2000). Rural district planning in Ghana: A case study (No. 21). IIED. Retrieved from pubs.iied.org/pdfs/7825IIED.pdf

Buertey, J. I. T., Miezah, A. K., & Adjei-Kumi, T. (2013, August). Delays to large construction projects in Ghana: A risk overview. In S. Laryea, & S. Agyepong (Eds.), Proceedings of 5th West Africa Built Environment Research (WABER) Conference (pp.235-245). Reading, UK: University of Reading

Chitere, P. O., & Ngundo, V. M. (2015). Devolution as a means for self-governance: Its potential for poverty reduction in Kenya. Constitution, 3(1), 38-49. https://doi.org/10.13189/ijrh.2015.030105

Chitiga-Mabugu, M., & Monkam, N. (2013). Assessing fiscal capacity at the local government level in South Africa (No. 201376). Retrieved from www.up.ac.za/media/shared/61/WP/wp_2013_76.zp39597.pdf

Coşgel, M. M., & Miceli, T. J. (2009). Tax collection in history. Public Finance Review, 37(4), 399-420. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1091142109331636

Crook, R. C., & Manor, J. (1998). Democracy and decentralisation in South Asia and West Africa: Participation, accountability and performance. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511607899

Finch, C. (2015). Participation in Kenya’s local development funds: Reviewing the past to inform the future. World Bank Group, Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/oZNR7H.

Fjeldstad, O., Chambas, G. & Brun J. (2014). Local government taxation in Sub-Saharan Africa: A review and an agenda for research. CMI Working Paper WP 2014: 2

Fosu, C., & Ashiagbor, G. (2012). GIS Application for local government revenue mobilization. Proceedings of Global Geospatial Conference 2012 Québec City, Canada, 14-17 May.

Hamid, K. T. (2013). Good governance and new public sector financial management reform: A panacea, or placebo for transparency and accountability. A Paper Presented at the Executive Mandatory Professional Training Programme for Fellows of the Chartered Institute of Finance and Control of Nigeria (CIFCN), Abuja, Nigeria.

Hyman, D. N. (2013). Public finance: A contemporary application of theory to policy. Singapore: Cengage Learning.

Jang, S., & Eger, R. J. (2018). The effects of state delinquent tax collection outsourcing on administrative effectiveness, efficiency, and procedural fairness. American Review of Public Administration. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074018759435

Khan, A., & Hildreth, W. B., (2004). Financial management theory in the public sector. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

Kimutai, B. D. (2017). Revenue mobilization approaches and their influence on county socio-economic development in North Rift Region, Kenya. Doctoral Thesis. School of Human Resource Development, Moi University: Eldoret Kenya. Retrieved from http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/731

Latema, M. O. (2013). Business models for revenue generation and enhancement adopted by county governments in Kenya. Unpublished MBA Thesis, University of Nairobi. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/EasQyj

Leruth, L., & Paul, E. (2006). A principal-agent theory approach to public expenditure management systems in developing countries. IMF Working Paper. Retrieved from SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=934463

Livingstone, I., & Charlton, R. (1998). Raising local authority district revenues through direct taxation in a low - income developing country: Evaluating Uganda's GPT. Public Administration and Development, 18(5), 499-517. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-162X(199812)18:5<499::AID-PAD39>3.0.CO;2-M

Mangan, J., Lalwani, C., & Gardner, B. (2004). Combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies in logistics research. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 34(7), 565 – 578. https://doi.org/10.1108/09600030410552258

Misch, F., Koh, H-J., & Paustian, N. (2011). SME taxation in Zambia. Lusaka: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit

Mogues, T., & Benin, S. (2012). Do external grants to district governments discourage own revenue generation? A look at local public finance dynamics in Ghana. World Development, 40(5), 1054-1067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2011.12.001

Mrutu, L., & Mganga. P. (2016). Outsourcing or Giving All Out? Experience from Tanzania Local Government Revenue Collection. Macrothink Institute Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 6(3), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.5296/jpag.v6i3.8695

Nkrumah, S. A. (2000). Decentralisation for good governance and development: The Ghanaian experience. Regional Development Dialogue, 21(1), 53–67.

Oates, W. E. (1998). On the welfare gains from fiscal decentralization. College Park, MD: University of Maryland. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/KIa211

Oduro, K. N. (2003). Results-oriented public expenditure management: Case study of Ghana. London: Overseas Development Institute.

Ojide, G. M., (2015). Federation account allocation in Nigeria: Implication for growth. Journal of Poverty, Investment and Development, 7, 8-11.

Ola, R. O., & Tonwe, D. A. (2005). Local administration and local government in Nigeria. Lagos: Amfitop Nigeria Ltd.

Olowu, D. (2002). Introduction new public management: An African reform paradigm? Africa Development, 27(3), 1 - 16.

Oyugi, W. O. (2000). Decentralisation for good governance and development: The unending debate. Regional Development Dialogue, 21(1), 3-22.

Pauw, J. C., Woods, G., van der Linde, G. J. A., Fourie, D., & Visser, C. B. (2010). Managing public money: A system from the South. Cape Town: Heinemann

Rakner, L. (2001). The politics of revenue mobilisation: Explaining continuity in Namibian tax policies. Forum for Development Studies, 28(1), 125-145. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2001.9666160

Rao, M. G., & Das-Gupta, A. (1995). Intergovernmental Transfers and Poverty Alleviation. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 13(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1068/c130001

Rao, S. (2013). Measuring the impact of PFM reforms on service delivery. GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report No. 946. Birmingham, UK: GSDRC, University of Birmingham. Retrieved from http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Helpdesk&id=946

Rees, C. J., & Hossain, F. (2010). Perspectives on decentralisation and local governance in developing and transitional countries. International Journal of Public Administration, 33 (12-13), 581-587. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2010.514459

Republic of Ghana. (1998). Auditor General’s Report 1997. Accra: Ghana Publishing Company

Republic of Ghana. (1998). Serious Fraud Office Report 1997. Accra: Ghana Publishing Company

Republic of Ghana. (2000). Ghana, Auditor General’s Report 1999. Accra: Ghana Publishing Company.

Republic of Ghana. (2011). Auditor General’s Report 2010. Accra: Ghana Publishing Company.

Republic of Ghana. (2014). Auditor General’s Report 2010. Accra: Ghana Publishing Company.

Roberts, J. (2003). Managing public expenditure for development results and poverty reduction. London: Overseas Development Institute (ODI).

Rosen, H. S. (2004). Public finance. Heidelberg, NY: Springer: Springer US.

Salami, A. (2011). Taxation, revenue allocation and fiscal federalism in Nigeria: Issues, challenges and policy options. Economic Annals, 56(189), 27-50. https://doi.org/10.2298/EKA1189027S

Scott, G. K. (2016). Influence of public financial management practices on service delivery in Ghana’s District Assemblies. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis. Institute of Development Studies, University of Cape Coast: Cape Coast, Ghana.

Scott, G. K. (2018). Accounting and Financial Reporting Practices as Tools for Service Delivery in The Public Service: The Case of Ghana’s District Assemblies. Researchjournali’s Journal of Accounting, 6(1), 1-16. Retrieved from https://www.researchjournali.com/view.php?id=4257

Siswana, B. (2007). Leadership and governance in the South African Public Service: An overview of the public finance management system. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Retrieved from http://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/28035

Smoke, P. (2001). Fiscal decentralization in developing countries: A review of current concepts and practice. Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.

Thies, C. G. (2010). Of rulers, rebels, and revenue: State capacity, civil war onset, and primary commodities. Journal of Peace Research, 47(3), 321-332. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343310361841

Torome, P. K. (2013). Relationship between revenue mobilization and performance of local authorities in Kenya. MBA Research Project. School of Business, University of Nairobi. Retrieved from erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/59275

World Bank. (2011). The role of public financial management for PRS Implementation. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/Zdm17Q

Yatta, F., & Vaillancourt, F. (2010). ‘Africa’, in local government finance: The challenges of the 21st century. Second Global Report on Decentralization and Local Democracy. Barcelona: United Cities and Local Governments.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.5296/jpag.v8i4.13926

Copyright (c) 2018 George Kojo Scott

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Journal of Public Administration and Governance  ISSN 2161-7104

Email: jpag@macrothink.org

Copyright © Macrothink Institute

To make sure that you can receive messages from us, please add the 'macrothink.org' domain to your e-mail 'safe list'. If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox', check your 'bulk mail' or 'junk mail' folders. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------