The problem – Many African cities have faced a resource crunch within the past two decades-- decentralization has meant that at the same time that they have greater responsibility to provide municipal services like solid waste management, they are receiving less money to provide them. In many countries privatization of has helped to bridge the service gap, but in the absence of subsidies or incentives, privatized services are quickest to reach wealthy customers, from whom user fees can be adjusted cover the cost of service provision.  Revenues from municipal taxes could help to provide a portion of the operating budget for city departments, but cities often lack up-to-date tax codes. As African economies grow, tax revenues loom larger and larger as a potential source of money for cash-strapped cities.

The way forward – Based on the results of a fact-finding mission with an NGO partner a grant was developed to the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly to create a program to review and reform their tax code and set annual targets for tax revenue generation.

Contribution – Project scoping and selection; proposal editing and review; budget analysis; project management through regular calls and site visits; development of metrics for the project and a plan for transition to local ownership.