Accra: The Ho West District Assembly has engaged Omni Strategies Limited to deploy a digital revenue mobilisation system aimed at enhancing property rate collection and strengthening the district's internally generated revenue base. The initiative is expected to streamline the process of identifying, valuing, and monitoring properties and businesses across the district through a technology-driven platform.
According to Ghana News Agency, the engagement held on May 15 brought together Assembly Members and officials from Omni Strategies, led by its Executive Director, Mr. Governs Amavi. Discussions focused on property valuation, data ownership, transparency, accountability, and the reliability of the proposed digital system for revenue mobilisation. Assembly Members sought clarification on the role of the Land Valuation Division (LVD), now under the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority, in validating property data for rating purposes.
Mr. Constance Kwame Agbedienu, Assembly Member for Avenui Electoral Area, noted that the cost associated with valuation exercises often posed a burden on assemblies. This is because officials had to engage in field data collection prior to valuation. He emphasized that if Omni Strategies could assist in data collection, it would facilitate the validation process by the LVD.
In response, Mr. Amavi assured that the company would collaborate closely with existing Assembly revenue collectors and local personnel who have knowledge of the communities within the district. He mentioned that where existing staff strength proved inadequate, the company would recruit additional local personnel to support data collection and system implementation.
Addressing concerns over data security and system reliability, Mr. Amavi guaranteed that the platform was supported by a cloud-based disaster recovery system that met international standards. He reassured the Assembly that their system is cloud-based, ensuring data accessibility anytime and anywhere.
On matters of accountability and financial control, Mr. Amavi clarified that the Assembly would maintain full authority over reports and reconciliations generated through the system. The Assembly would have complete control to generate reports and conduct reconciliations, with auditors, finance officers, and management staff having access according to their roles.
He explained that payments collected through the system would be routed through the Ghana.gov payment gateway directly into the Assembly's account, with monthly settlements under agreed contractual terms. Mr. Amavi disclosed that the company operated under a government-approved 70-30 revenue-sharing arrangement, with 70 percent of the revenue retained by the Assembly and 30 percent allocated to the contractor to cover operational costs, software maintenance, sensitization, and data collection.
The digital platform is also expected to reduce expenditure on paper billing and manual revenue collection while enabling residents in remote communities to make payments through both online and offline systems. Mr. Amavi highlighted that the ultimate goal of the system is to maximise internally generated funds by capturing all properties and businesses within the district onto a reliable digital database, thereby enhancing the Assembly's operational level over time.