Ndu Council Adopts a
Colossal sum of FCFA 1.077.000.000 (one billion and seventy seven million)
as budget for 2018 as against FCFA 860.000.000 in 2017. The councilors adopted
the budget based on the council development agenda for 2018. Though doubts have
been casted as to whether the huge budget is realistic, Bunyui Emmanuel Nyugap
however disclosed that the council is hoping to generate about FCFA 372.760.000
locally while FEICOM will provide FCFA 535.555.425 and PNDP will provide FCFA
54.295.218. The SDO for Donga Mantung applauded the council for its
determination to foster development in the municipality. Nkwenti Simon Doh used
the opportunity to cautioned especially youths against drug consumption, promiscuity
and child labour. He called on the councilors to sensitize the population in
order for Ndu not to be the hup for child labour.
The mayor of Ndu
council it is worth mentioning has been very innovative in his actions though
several lapses were recorded during this year. Worthy to note that Ndu council was rated the best managed council in Donga Mantung by PNDP and ranked 6th in the North West Region and it is time for the mayor not to lay on his laureate. Though the situation is not that bad in Ndu council, observers say the huge budget may not produce the needed impact given that the
basket approach by PNDP to prioritize projects in the municipality is yet to
meet the desire of the population as some projects have been rejected by its
beneficiaries. This is so because some of the projects realized by the council
this year were either abandoned half way or were "poorly executed".
Examples abound. The Ndu Park B, constructed beside St. Louis Campus Ndu has
been abandoned to goats and sheep. The Mobile Urinary(ies) that have never
moved from one spot since 2015 are a fiasco. Furthermore, the plastic tanks
(which were allegedly overcharged) did not even improve on access to water in
Ndu town. Critical minds have been wondering whether the master of the
"Vision Cottage" was able to select from the basket of
priorities the needs of the population. It is worth mentioning that while
councilors were deliberating on the budget, a farmer who happened to have been
present at the session murmured to himself whether the council could not
disburse only 10% of the revenue collected in the various markets to finance a
mini agropastoral show when smaller councils like Misaje and Ako have organized
agropastoral shows. A glance at priority project reveals another blurt of the
Ndu council blunder. It concerns the installation of solar street lamps when
the first lamps did not last for three months. In fact, Bunyui Emmanuel hopes
to rehabilitate the water system with about FCFA 600.000.000 from FEICOM yet
his vision sees only the rehabilitation scheme and the solar pumping station
without thinking of how to protect the water catchment. Apparently, with Bunyui
Emmanuel, the mayor of Ndu council is dancing " the Bafia dance" when
judged from this huge budget. A budget that depends more that 75% on external
funders is not sustainable.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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