The 2018 year holds a brighter outlook for the Lawra District as many developmental initiatives are earmarked to begin this year, according to the District Chief Executive, Martin Domotiere Bomba-ire.
He said the involvement of traditional rulers, assembly members, opinion leaders in driving the development agenda of the district was critical in ensuring participatory governance. He cited revenue mobilization as one area which needs concerted efforts by all stakeholders in the district in order to raise considerable revenue to undertake developmental projects across the district.
While stressing the importance of revenue in the development of the district, the DCE called for support from the assembly members and other stakeholders in mobilizing revenue to fund the assembly’s budget. He said accountability to the people was very inimical as it encourages them to pay their taxes since they have a fair idea of what their monies are being used for and was hopeful that in the next few years there would be some projects to show to the people as evidence, funded by their taxes.
“If the assembly members and the chiefs are part of the revenue mobilization process and the assembly who will conceive the funds make the people who are paying the money know that their monies are being used for one, two, three, am sure that we wouldn’t have a problem and that’s the way we want to go. We want that at the end of four years, e should be able to find that there is a project in Lawra market which was constructed with the IGF, so when we go in there to collect market tolls, people will pay” He stressed
He said the assembly in collaboration with some security agencies had already identified some locations as revenue mobilization points indicating that, a barrier had already been opened in Babile to augment revenue mobilization in the district.
“Last year we went round with a team, the security agencies to identify all the entry points and you would notice that we have a barrier in Babile which was mounted by the immigration service. Basically we know where goods cross, either in or out, we have identified that and DISEC will discuss it and pass it on to the general assembly for us to take a concrete decision on it but revenue is very critical in the development of the area; we also know where goods pass in or out of the district. The revenue team with the assembly had already strategized to take advantage of those sites but we will finalize the decision on what to do on those entry points.”
In harnessing the full potential of the Black Volta, the DCE revealed that some efforts are being made to improve agricultural activities in the area. According to him, some 40 acre garden had already been constructed at Bagri by UNDP for vegetable production among other activities. He indicated the assembly is prospecting to get some viable areas within the Black Volta and provide some irrigation gardens for the rural folks with some machines to pump water from the river into their gardens in a bid to end rural-urban migration.
He also hinted of the assembly’s plan to support fishermen around the Black Volta in building their capacity to improve their work so that they can raise some revenue and pay some taxes to the assembly.

Credit: Bamie Tahir-Ahmed