BY TALLA AGHAA CHRISTOPHER and DANIELA NEBA NGUM
The Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, for Meme has expressed dissatisfaction over the slow rate of the 2016 execution of the Kumba City Council budget. Chamberlin Ntou’ou Ndong in his capacity as the Council Supervisory Authority was addressing members of the Kumba City Council Board as they converged at the Council auditorium Thursday, May 11, 2016 to examine and adopt the 2016 administrative, management and stores account.
Going by statistics, of the FCFA 1,808,597,473 balanced in revenue and expenditure as the 2016 budget for the council, only FCFA 837.768.150 was collected giving a revenue execution rate of 46.31% and FCFA 803.137.762 being expenditure execution rate of 44.40% leading to a surplus of revenue over expenditure of FCFA 34.360.388.
Though the level of execution is above the one decreed by law, the SDO disclosed that it is catastrophic when one considers the potential of Kumba. The SDO disclosed that this is the lowest rate achieved since the creation of the City Council. He equally observed that much needs to be done in order for the City Council to impact the lives of the people of Kumba. Ntou’ou Ndong Chamberlin didn’t mince words when he disclosed that there is high level of embezzlement of Council revenue by revenue collectors in serious complicity with the treasury department of the City Council.
He announced that heavy sanctions shall be meted on any revenue collector if caught in the corruption and embezzlement dragnet. The Council’s Supervisory Authority used the forum to appeal to the government delegate, Mayors of the sub divisional councils, the City Council scribe and treasurer to work in synergy so that Kumba should be given a veritable facelift.
The Government Delegate to the Kumba City Council, Victor Ngoh Nkele on his part opened up to the Kumba City Council Board Members, that the internal revenue collection of the council could have produced a more positive result if it were not hampered by factors like; persistent inertia of some unscrupulous revenue collectors who negotiate with traders and thrive in other malicious comportment which defraud council of its revenue, the suspension by the Supervisory Authority of the collection of parking taxes from bike riders, tax evasion by traders and the malpractice of tax officers who maliciously categorize traders in lower categories of tax brackets.
The rectification of these anomalies, the Delegate affirmed, can go a long way to maximize internal revenue collections.
Despite these hurdles the Government Delegate narrated that some achievements were recorded in terms of development geared towards the transformation of the city. The Government Delegate disclosed that funds were spent for electricity maintenance, repair of trucks and the purchase of 500m of cables to rehabilitate the cable stolen in Mambanda. For road maintenance, the Government Delegate said, most roads and culverts were developed. He cited the Mbonge road to Kake I bridge ,Up Station to SDO’s residence, Alaska street, Meboka Clinic-Nkamlikum Junction and other major streets in Kumba II &III Sub Division. The recent exchange visit by the city of Sindelfingen in Germany with the City Council, the Delegate disclosed that, it shall produce a multiplier effect in the months ahead.
SDO Laments on the Dirty State of Kumba
Chamberlain Ntou’ou Ndong condemned, in strong terms, the dirty nature of the municipality of Kumba. ‘Kumba is so dirty that even me the SDO, I’m so afraid that it will be catastrophic to the entire population’. The SDO regretted.
He noted that Kumba is a big city and should be kept clean like every other city in the country.
Given the fact it is a junction town that habours other small communities and the head quarters of Meme Division there is a dire need for the city to be given the facelift it deserves.
The Government Delegate to the Kumba City Council, Victor Ngoh Nkele blamed the dirty nature on the absence of the sanitation company, HYSACAM in the city.
‘Every city has HYSACAM, the absence of HYSACAM in Kumba has caused a sanitation problem in the city, we are also fighting to make HYSACAM come to Kumba so that this problem will no longer be there.’
He noted that the council does not receive any support from the government with regards to waste disposal so councils they rely on local revenue and equipment to clean the city.