The action addresses the population, town councillors and village chiefs’ awareness of municipal tax collection which is essential to Dankassari’s development and is a priority for the mayor.
When he took office in July 2011 after a transition period when the Dogondoutchi Prefect had filled the mayor’s function, he discovered that tax collection amounted to 8000 euros while the 2011 estimated budget amounted to 110 500euros; since then, he has made it a priority to avoid that situation .
The results are as follows:
- 2011: Expectation: 110 500, Collection: 130 000.
- 2012: Expectation 116 500, Collection:119 200.
- 2013: Expectation : 122 500, Collection by July: 83 000 (the gap is due to the fact that the Airtel Phone Company hadn’t yet paid its dues to the town).
A session on summoning resources and on the importance of municipal tax took place on January 9th and 11th 2014 (in Gafoua and Dankassari) with elected members and 48 village chiefs, and missions were sent to the villages that lag in tax collection.
The action was maintained in 2015 and 2016.
In 2020, the project had initially planned awareness actions in the villages concerned by tax collection delays. However, the Mayor of Dankassari, realized that the population did pay their tax, and that the responsibility was due to the village chiefs, he then chose to organize, a central meeting of the village chiefs concerned.
The first meeting took place on February 15th. It gathered 57 village chiefs, various members of the village, the district and the department’s chief commissioner. The various addresses focused on the necessity of paying tax, the part it plays in developing the rural district, and mentioned the risks faced by those who embezzle public funds. A second reunion planned in November, after the crops, was delayed owing to the elections, then to the COVID restrictions. It eventually took place on March 6th, 2021, gathering 59 village chiefs and the various district or village authorities, and the department Chief Commissioner.