Municipal and District Assemblies could soon start raising their own monies for infrastructure projects by issuing bonds. Joy Business is learning the move is likely to start from next year.

Accra Metropolitan Assembly and Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly could be the first set of local authorities that will be allowed to issue the bonds while the rest follow later.

Finance Minister Seth Terkper told Joy Business the decision has been influenced by plans to reduce the burden on government's finances from assemblies.

“We are working to now to go parliament like all cities do. Cities borrow with bonds, so we are working to go to parliament with this bonds concept which is used to elsewhere,” he said.

He insists the Municipal Bonds to be issued on the local stock exchange will enable say the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and the to fund key development projects on their own.

In a related development government is stepping up efforts to get property owners to pay taxes on their structures as a way of improving tax collection.

A look at government's fiscal numbers indicate that revenue tax collection is picking up, but recent decline in earnings from exports has meant that government has been forced to look internally to shore up revenues.

Source: myjoyonline.com