The emergence of new projects with the corresponding funding usually leads to a budget adjustment. Having secured an additional amount of one hundred and sixty million four hundred and forty nine thousand two hundred and eight francs ( 166,449, 280) to complete the payment of salaries and other budgetary heads, Grand Councillors of the Kumba City Council met last Thursday 1st August, for its adoption during the 2024 Mid Term Budgetary Session.
In his address, the City Mayor, Gregory Ntemeyork Mewanu, stated that the mid-term budgetary session is a statutory rendezvous geared towards evaluating the efforts of the Council and also voting an additional budget of the city council for the 2024 financial year. He further stated that the session also serves as a platform where the city council reflects on efforts accomplished so far as well as set goals for the next financial year.
The City Mayor then went on to remind the Grand Councillors that the 2024 initial budget was drawn to balance in revenue and expenditure to the tune of six billion five hundred million ( 6, 500,000,000) CFA, adding that the purpose of the current midterm session is to address a gap that has been realized during the initial budgetary execution.
Gregory Ntemeyork Mewanu further went on to explain: “One of these lines of difference stems from the rubrics reserved for the payment of workers’ salary ” , adding that the initial salaries projection for 2024 did not take into account the inherited unpaid salaries.
“Thus while anxiously striving to clear off the unpaid salaries we realized that the budget balance for the salaries rubrics will not adequately sustain our financial operations”.
After this explanation, the City Mayor stated that an additional amount of one hundred and sixty million four hundred and forty nine thousand two hundred and eighty ( 166,499,280) is needed to complete the payment of salaries for 2024, adding that there are other budgetary heads that need to be beefed up also. He then proceeded to present the various budgetary heads, nature of revenue and the amount.
Gregory Ntemeyork Mewanu then went on to inform the Grand Councilors on the steps the city council intends to take as far as the development of the municipality is concerned. Among them, he cited the campaign to give all houses in the municipality a fresh coat of paint, and the launching of the third edition of “Operation Clean your quarter competition “.
The City Mayor also decried the growing number of incidents involving the theft of street lights and the destruction of public utility assets within the municipality. He equally frowned at the proliferation of roadside shop containers, and the presence of semi permanent structures along the major tarred and paved streets in the municipality.
Ntemeyork Mewanu further reminded the Grand Councilors that their earlier deliberation they took for the construction of an ultra – modern Council chamber has been put into full implementation and construction work was seriously going on at the site. He also informed same that a brand new generator has been bought and installed at the Kumba City Council premises and is fully operational.
After the presentation of the various committee reports, the additional budget of the Kumba City Council for the year 2024 was adopted by acclamation.
The Meme Senior Divisional Officer, the Divisional Officers of Kumba 1, Kumba 11 Kumba 111, and the corresponding subdivisional Council Mayors , Divisional delegates and heads of deconcentrated technical services were also present.
