GA EAST LAUNCHES A MOBILE APP TO COLLECT PROPERTY RATES AND OTHERS

The Ga East Municipal Assembly (GEMA), on Friday, 4th June, 2021 outdoored a mobile application, GEMA Property Rate App, as an innovative platform to help enhance its mobilization of Internally Generated Fund (IGF).

The App, which allows property owners to self-valuate their properties and automatically generate Property Rate Bill, was developed by OeSD GmbH, an Australian software developing firm with local office based in Accra, Ghana.

The GEMA Property Rate App is on the Google Play Store and App Store from where one can download, install and register to access it.

The novel initiative has come about following several years of brainstorming by the Assembly on the appropriate, efficient and effective technology to deploy in our quest to increase IGF collection, according to the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Hon. Janet Tulasi Mensah, at the launch of the App.

"The idea to develop and deploy a modern technology to facilitate and enhance our IGF mobilization has been a key part of our thinking since I became the MCE. However, this began to materialize last year when we, the Assembly saw the need to engage experts in the field. One of them which showed good faith and came out with a better approach to addressing the bottlenecks in the collection of revenue was OeSD International GmbH, led by Mr. Boakye", she noted.

"The result of our months of engagements has resulted in the development of this mobile application software, the GEMA Property Rate APP", she added.

Hon. Janet Tulasi Mensah appealed to property owners in the Municipality to embrace the new approach the Assembly is adopting in collecting reveue and indicated that the App is to augment and facilitate effective and efficient collection and not to replace the Revenue Collectors, urging them to continue to do business with them as and when necessary.

The Consultant to the project, and Director of OeSD GmbH, Mr. Charles Boakye, gave a breif overview of the use and significance of the App, observing that the Municipality has huge potential for collecting more revenue, particularly from Property Rate, stating that the development of the App was a necessity for the Assembly in this regard.

He expressed his delight in joining forces with the Assembly to develop the App and pleaded with the property owners to patronize it for their own convenience

The Presiding Member (PM) for the Assembly, Hon. Jesse Nii Noi Anum, who chaired the launching ceremony, said the development of the GEMA Property Rate App is a laudable feat and congratulated the Hon. MCE, Management and the software developer for respective roles in achieving this.

He encouraged the citizenry to recognize the need to use the App in transacting business with the Assembly and indicated that the Assembly would further engage the people on the App.

The Municipal Coordinating Director (MCD), Vera Akuffo-Mante (Mrs.), Hon. Assembly Members, Heads of Departments and Staff, as well as representatives of the various Residents' Associations, Gated Communities and Estates and Opinion Leaders were among those who witnessed the launch of the GEMA Property Rate APP.