By Ashu Manfred
Members of the Kumba City Board have approved the Administrative, Management and Stores Accounts of the Kumba City Council for the 2024 financial year.
The approval was made on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in the Kumba City Council hall during the first ordinary session of the council for the 2025 financial year devoted to the examination and adoption of the accounts.
The session was chaired by the Kumba City Mayor, Gregory Ntemoyok Mewanu, in the presence of the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, for Meme division, Chamberlin Ntou’ou Ndong, who is the supervisory authority of councils in Meme division.
Prominent among the attendees was the Regional Chief of the Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance, FEICOM, for the South West.
Addressing the session, the Kumba City Mayor stated the initial budget for the 2024 financial year was drawn to balance in revenue and expenditure at the sum of 6,500,000,000 FCFA. During the mid term budgetary session held on Thursday, August 1, 2024, an additional budget of 250,000,000 FCFA was endorsed by members of the Kumba City Board, giving a total budget of 6,750,000,000 FCFA.
Generally, from the 2024 budgetary allocation, effective collections stood at the sum of 2,837,524,501 FCFA, while total expenditures stood at the sum of 2,594,143,716 FCFA, with an excess of revenue over expenditure of 243,380,785 FCFA.
The revenue with the amount of 2,837,524,501 FCFA for an estimated budget of 6,750,000,000 FCFA, shows a realisation rate of 42.04 percent as against 25 percent in 2023.
Mewanu stated further that recurrent revenue was recovered at the sum of 1,817,859,031 FCFA for a recurrent budgetary allocation of 2,471,986,182 FCFA, showing a 73.5 percent realisation, while investment revenue was realised at the sum of 1,019,665,470 FCFA for an investment budgetary estimate of 4,278,013,818 FCFA, giving a realisation rate of 23.84 percent.
Conversely, the total expenditure incurred during the 2024 financial year stood at the sum of 2,594,143,716 FCFA for an estimated budget of 6,750,000,000 FCFA, implying a rate of realisation of 38.43 percent as against 20.05 percent in 2023. Recurrent expenditure executed during the 2024 financial year stood at the sum of 1,118,105,869 FCFA on a recurrent budgetary forecast of 1,448,872,268 FCFA, leading to a rate of realisation of 77.17 percent, while investment expenditure carried out during the 2024 financial year was at the sum of 1,476,037,847 FCFA for a budgetary estimate of 5,301,127,732 FCFA, implying a rate of realisation of 27.84 percent.
Nevertheless, Kumba City Mayor hinted, the sum of 1,118,105,869 FCFA that was effectively exhausted as recurrent expenditure was used for office supplies which stood at 48,237,510 FCFA; purchase of fuel and lubricant at the sum of 99,505,529 FCFA; maintenance of water and electricity at the sum of 128,318,266 FCFA; maintenance of road network at the sum of 22,144,648 FCFA; expenses for official celebrations and ceremonies at the sum of 26,803,697 FCFA; payment of the salaries of workers at the sum of 416,675,635 FCFA; contributions to the National Social Insurance Fund at the sum of 44,242,654 FCFA; other taxes at the sum of 37,912,415 FCFA; Common operating allotment to Subdivisional councils at the sum of 60,560,505 FCFA; session, secretariat, and allowances stood at the sum of 44,939,624 FCFA, and; lump sum allowances to members of committees of the deliberating organ stood at the sum of 11,459,109 FCFA, among other expenses.
On the other hand, Kumba City Mayor stated, the sum of 1,476,037,847 FCFA that was effectively spent for investment, was used for commercial buildings such as the Mambanda Motor Park, which stood at the sum of 211,658,291 FCFA; partial payments for the construction of the council chamber which stood at the sum of 540,428,210 FCFA; paving and grading of some streets within the municipality at the sum of 422,990,601 FCFA; transportation of equipment at the sum of 96,531,943 FCFA; garbage collection equipment at the sum of 53,888,730 FCFA, and; water and electricity service equipment which stood at the sum of 131,607,718 FCFA, among others.
According to Kumba City Mayor, the above analyses are a true picture of both the administrative and management accounts which have a strong concordance.
Calling on the attention of the members of the Kumba City Board, Mewanu noted the administrative accounts of the Kumba City Council have experienced a significant increase from the sum of 923,068,385 FCFA in 2020 to 2,837,524,501 FCFA in 2024.
According to the Kumba City Mayor, the increase can be attributed to the growing realisation of their lobbying efforts and conscientious management of their resources.
“The city council is gradually reaping the fruits of her labor and we remain positive that in subsequent sessions, the administrative accounts will hit three billion and above,” the Kumba City Mayor stated.
To him, while intensifying efforts in the construction of an ultra-modern council chamber; construction of the Mambanda Motor Park; completion of a meat market with a cold store at the Fiango Market; construction of a fruit market; purchase of another generator; transformation of Alaska Street and Lumumba Street with paved bricks as well as other streets in Kumba, they are leaving no stone unturned to secure additional funding and foster partnerships with donors aimed at the comprehensive development of the municipality of Kumba.
He announced that the PDVIR project has shifted into a higher gear.
“With construction activities accelerating, residents can look forward to a new facelift that will enhance connectivity and enhance the overall aesthetics of our urban landscape,” he noted.
*Enter Meme SDO*
For his part, the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, for Meme division, Chamberlin Ntou’ou Ndong, appreciated Kumba City Mayor for efforts being made to foster development and improve livelihoods of the population of the municipality.
However, he frowned at the siphoning of the revenue of the council by collectors and called on such malpractice to stop.
On the completion of projects, Meme SDO said the 64 percent realisation rate on investment for 2024 is not too good and it should have been a hundred percent.
Ntou’ou Ndong decried poor execution of some projects such as the laying of paved bricks and called on the contractors to properly compact the earth before putting the bricks.
“What we do today will be our legacy and must be done well,” Ntou’ou Ndong reiterated.
On the issue of sanitation, the Senior Divisional Officer for Meme Division was bitter on the fact that the city is inundated with filth and called on the manager of the hygiene and sanitation company to swing into action immediately to get rid of the garbages.
The Meme divisional boss then called on the population to be peaceful especially with the upcoming presidential election.
*Committees’ reports*
Before the adoption of the Administrative, Management and Stores Accounts, the various committees ranging from Social and Education; Infrastructure; Economic Promotion; Finance, and; Motion and Resolution, raised pertinent issues among which was sanitary conditions such as poor drainage, deplorable toilets, and waste management.
To redress the situation, Kumba City Mayor promised to set up a task force so as to strengthen hygiene and sanitation in the municipality.
Meanwhile, the members of the Kumba City Board read out a Motion of Support to the Head of State, President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul Biya, and all the institutions he incarnates.
