The Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly (CCMA) will soon set up an electronic facility which will assist the assembly in its revenue collection.
The move is to ensure that the assembly rakes in more money to embark on development projects.
The contract has already been awarded to an electronic company which has also been mandated to collect the revenue on behalf of the assembly.
This was disclosed by the Mayor of CCMA, Mr Anthony Egyir Aikins, on Monday during a press conference to brief journalists on the activities of the assembly in the last year and the programmes the assembly has outlined for the year 2010.
According to him, the decision to go electronic is to help monitor the expenditure of the assembly and also to prevent the misappropriation of its funds.
The MCE said the extortion of money by some of the revenue collectors has made it difficult for the assembly to achieve or exceed its revenue targets.
He therefore expressed the hope that the introduction of the electronic system of revenue collection would help address the issue for Cape Coast to receive the needed face-lift.
Mr Egyir Aikins said this year was an action year for Cape Coast and that he would make sure that all developmental programmes outlined for the year are executed.
He said the construction of an airstrip in the area as promised by President John Evans Atta Mills during the 2008 campaign would soon take off as some Chinese investors have promised to provide funds for the project.
He added that the ministry of science and environment has also signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with a German investor to dredge the Cape Coast Lagoon and construct a mariner on the bridge to add up to the tourism potential in the area.
Mr Aikins added that the same investor has again signed an MOU with the ministry of local government to construct the Kotokuraba market complex.
On education, he said his outfit was organizing a database programme to sponsor needy but brilliant students annually to improve the falling standard of education in the area, adding that measures have been put in place to ensure that the area got a breakthrough with the 30% quota system this year.
He revealed that a lot of countries have expressed interest in having a sister city relationship with Cape Coast, saying October 30 last year was declared Cape Coast Day in Bonne, Germany, to signify the kind of seriousness the city attaches to the relationship it has with Cape Coast.
Mr Aikins mentioned the improvement in the physical structures in the area, improvement of the general livelihood of the people such as health, education, sanitation and agriculture as some of the programmes the assembly has outlined for this year.
He announced that an open day would soon be inculcated in the assembly’s programme every year to enable people in the metropolis express their opinion on what goes on in the assembly.
STORY: FROM MAGDALENE SEY, CAPE COAST