THE practice whereby some women style themselves as market queens to control the trading of particular commodities in the markets is undermining the authority of the district assemblies. This concern came up at the study group discussion on the topic, "Broadening the revenue base of district assemblies" at the 58th Annual New Year School on Saturday. The Local Government Act 462 of 1993 vested the power to control markets lorry stations and the collection of revenue in the municipal, metropolitan and district assemblies. Participants at the session, mostly assemblymembers, district chief executives and presiding members, were asked to exert their authority at the markets to stop the practice by the market queens. Dr. Daniel Oduro-Mensah, a resource person at the discussion, told the Times that the market queens by their action, create artificial shortages as they do not allow the market forces to operate thus undermining the free market economy. Dr. Oduro Mensah said the sale of commodities like tomatoes and plantain on the market is regulated by the market queens who always insist that such commodities be traded through their associations. "The market queens tend to control the market and when they say there is no tomatoes, then there is no tomatoes while in reality the commodity is rotting on the farms," he said. Dr. Oduro-Mensah said some revenue collectors at the markets have relinquished their duties to the market queens who collect illegal tolls. The group observed that the mobilisation of revenue for the development programmes of the assemblies should be the responsibility of all assembly members. It expressed the need for assembly members to be adequately educated on tax payment by citizens to enable them to carry the message to the grassroots. The participants suggested to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment to draw up a public education programme to complement the effort of the assembly members. The reports of the various study groups are expected to be synthesised into a communiqué to be issued by the school and made available to policy makers as a working tool. Times