An Assessment of the Sources of Revenue for Local Authorities: A Case Study of Lusaka City Council

The study sought to assess the sources of revenue for local authorities in Zambia; a case study of Lusaka city council. The study utilized a case study and investigative research designs. The used a sample size of 40 respondents. The study used questionnaires and data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The study found that the majority of respondents were male (71%) while 29% of the respondents were female. The study also found that 50% of the respondents were youths, 31% were adults and 19% were elderly respondents. Further, the study found that the highest level of education obtained by the majority of respondents (57%) had diplomas followed by those with bachelor’s degrees (29%). On the challenges faced by the Council in collecting revenue, the majority of the respondents accounting for 38% indicated that corruption is the major challenge faced by LCC in collecting local revenue while 29% of the respondents indicated that tax evasion and resistance from taxpayers. Other challenges included poor administrative capacity to enforce the taxes accounting for 10% and political influence on the administration of locally generated revenue accounting for 23%. On the effects of revenue collection on the quality of services delivered, the respondents accounting for 32% indicated that revenue collections improve garbage collection and street cleaning while 28% of the respondents indicated that the revenue collections for Lusaka City Council are used for the road street lights.