By Noela EBOB BISONG
Limbe City Council (LCC) in Fako division of the South West, has budgeted the sum of FCFA 7billion, to manage the municipality through 2025. The 33 city councillors of the LCC Board on Friday, November 22, unanimously voted the budget presented by the council management, headed by city mayor, Paul Efome L.M. Ngale. The council session was chaired by the supervisory authority over councils in Fako, Senior Divisional Officer, Engelbert Viang Mekala.
The budget records a 16.67% increase from that of 2024 which stood at FCFA 6billion. Recurrent revenue stands at FCFA 5,120,500,000 while Investment revenue is budgeted at FCFA 1,879,500,000. On its part, recurrent expenditure stands at FCFA 4,165,000,000 while Investment expenditure is at 2,835,000,000.
“The 2025 draft budget of the Limbe City Council is oriented toward promoting local development, meeting the socio-economic needs of the population with particular emphasis based on strengthening social cohesion”, Limbe City Mayor, Paul Efome said as he delivered his address at the session.
In line with the increase in the budget, Paul Efome said, “For the city council to survive, we have to do a lot of investment, which will bring us revenue to better manage our municipality.”
One of the central focus in 2025 will be eradication of household waste within the streets of Limbe, through various actions such as, selection and construction of pre-collection sites, sensitisation of the population on waste management techniques and transformation of waste into economic values. As a matter of fact, one of the key deliberations adopted at the session will require business operators and persons resident along major streets to acquire covered trash cans for dumping of waste as pre-collection points. The city councillors agreed that any of such defaulters will be visited with a fine as deterrence to town littering.
Other projects of the LCC in 2025 include among others, continuation with phase II of Studies to update the Limbe Master Plan, completion of ongoing construction of Towe road, maintenance of the council’s heavy-duty equipment, restoring the right-of-ways at the new market at Church Street and the newly constructed meat market at New Town, studies for the second access road into Limbe through Tiko to Man O’ War Bay, studies to sustain and improve hydraulic structures like water ways, bridges, gutters, etc.
Paul Efome said, “The Council is committed not only to focus on Hygiene and Sanitation, Street lighting but also to clear the huge debt portfolio owed Contractors and Suppliers in the next financial year”.
Efome maintained that, “In order to achieve the needs of the population, efficiently manage the city and council services, there is a great need to optimize and mobilize both local and state resources”, he said, imploring Fako SDO, to come to their support in arbitrating between taxation services and the council to obtain the needed resources.
While chairing the session, Fako SDO, Viang Mekala, celebrated LCC for adhering to the law in force by organising its budget session within record time, as he observed that the council is the first to do so in Fako division. The SDO urged LCC to fully and efficiently implement the budget for the quick realisation of the outlined projects. He assured the council of his presence and support to push project realisation.