Mayors Write to PM Yang, Decry Ploy by Finance Minister to Paralyse Councils, FEICOM

The United Cities and Councils (UCCC) North West Region has called on Prime Minister, Head of Government to intervene and salvage the sad and precarious situation in which the Ministry of Finance and its principles of “UNICITIES” have placed the councils and FEICOM.

In the letter dated August 30, 2016, North West mayors expressed disgust over the nonpayment of Council Additional “centimes” and CAC. To them, the delay causes council workers to go for months without salaries. “We are also afraid of the delays in the payment of salaries to Municipal authorities”, they emphasized.

The mayors also reiterated that when councils were under FEICOM disbursement was prompt and timely but “in the absence of this practice of “unicite de caisse”, council accounts never suffered the delays in subvention transfers that are the order of the day today”.

NW mayors in the letter to Prime Minister Yang Philemon also lamented that today it is sad that since FEICOM sent transfers for councils in July, the Ministry of Finance has sat on them. They suggested that FEICOM be authorized to function as the council autonomous bank if transfer of competence to councils is to make sense. They expressed fears that if remedial measures are not taken, FEICOM may finally end up in the doldrums as one of the white elephant projects of government with excellent intentions but marred by human negligence and deficiencies. In the concluding statements North West mayors expressed disgust over the maltreatment that could erode and frustrate grass root development yet prayed on the Prime Minister to help the powerless council leaders voted by the people in their task in fostering development in rural areas nationwide.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)