Mbengwi Councillors to Earn Millions on One Condition
The motion was deliberated and adopted during the Mbengwi Council's budgetary session, a guide to the administrative and and financial operations of the council for the next (2021) financial year that held on Thursday 19th November 2020 in the council hall.
Chaired by the mayor Ndangsa Kennedy Akam in the presence of the Senior Divisional Officer of Momo, Fouda Etaba Nicaise seating in as supervisory authority, the over 20 councillors adopted a motion that the mayor be empowered to place the executive, councillors and staff of the council on funeral rights as stipulated in the general code.
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| Available for sale at God's Time Enterprise Mbengwi plus all other electronics |
For now, the seating allowance for the councillors is just about 100.000F per session. At most four ordinary and three extraordinary council sessions are to be held within a year. Due to financial constraints since it costs millions to hold one council session, hardly are the four ordinary sessions held.
As such everything being equal, each councillor makes just about 300.000F as seating allowance per year. Interestingly, from the recent motion adopted, the councillors will rather make more money only on one condition, that they first die.
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| The Session |
The adopted motion stipulates that executive members of the council will enjoy 1.500.000F funeral rights, senior staff members including the councillors will receive a cash envelope of 1.000.000F while junior staff members on their part will benefit an envelope of 500.000F, all of these excluding burial formalities
In his welcome address, the mayor cautioned his colleagues that "the session is very crucial because it serves as a guarantor for the level of performance in the next financial year" this after first of all educating them on what a council budgetary session is all about. He defined a budget as "An estimate of revenue and expenditure framework for management for a given year or specified period." He added that "It is prepared based on a legal and standard procedure prescribed by the state"
Mayor Ndangsa Kennedy regretted that the last years have been challenging to the councils of Anglophone regions given that the collection of approved revenues has been a nightmare making it difficult for estimated expenditure to be truly realistic. Despite this huddle, he still appreciated the administration, the individual and collective efforts of all for the results of performances of the Mbengwi Council so far obtained.
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| The Mbengwi Council Building |
The council generates revenue from taxes on cattle, quarry and artisanal resources, farm produce, forestry potentials, building permits, sales of tolls in the market and others.
A day before the session, the councillors held committee meetings whose reports were presented during the Thursday session. The Natural Resources Committee for example, made up of Councillors Tezi Sera Fri, Ngoh Calvin, Gwan Anas and Kembeng Joel identified various natural resources within the municipality.
For sandpits, they cited Mbemi, Nyen, Tudig, Bome, Njah-Etu, Bessi Fomukong, Sang, Munam, Guneku, Njindom and Wumnemburg as villages having this resource. For stone quarries, the committee cited Ngyen-Mbo, Njah-Etu, Ku-Bome, Zang Tembeng, Sang and Acha. They also identified mineral resources like calabar chalk in Mbengwi and Bessi Fomukong plus clay in Bome, artificial forests in Bessi Fomukong and Acha, pastoral activities like cattle, pigs and goats and lastly, agricultural products like palm oil, garri, water fufu, vegetables etc.
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| Calabar Chalk Mine in Mbengwi (Below St. Joseph's College Going to Bessi Fomukong |
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| Miner Drying Harvested Calabar Chalk |
With the year coming to an end, to be marked by many festivities, the Embellishment Committee on its part made several proposals to the council. That the streets be lighted and decorated, more roadside trees planted, houses authorized for construction at Mbon be imposed a unique paint, roundabouts be built at Checkpoint, Pa Kwati junction and Mile 19, two public toilets be built at Mbon park and Sanyere, the council building be fenced, all monuments in the municipality be renovated, the Mbon market be cleaned and three big sign boards be planted at Mbengwi's borders with Mezam, Njikwa, Ngie and Batibo.
According to the Finance Committee's report, the draft budget respected the technical specification of the Minister of Decentralisation and Local Development which states that the investment budget should be 40% of the total budget while functional should be 60% of the total budget and the salaries not more than 35% of the 60% of the functional budget. The Mbengwi Council, with an already approved list of projects for 2021 and with a clear picture of council contributions to the running of other related state services will thus operate on an adopted draft budget of 770.489.652F in revenue and expenditure, registering an increase of 86.569.650F
Other resolutions arrived at apart from the one on funeral rights were that the mayor be empowered to open a salary account with Azire Cooperative Credit Union, Mbengwi branch to render regular payments to council staff, place the cashier on monthly risk allowance of 20.000F, place chiefs of services on monthly communication allowance of 5.000F, take an insurance policy to cover the council executive, recruit a civil statues secretary, negotiate projects for the council with local, national and international partners and take over the management of the Telecommunication Centre in Sang as stipulated in ministerial decision No. 00000219/MPT/EGS/DPEP of 3rd September 2014 among others.
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| New Consignment of Solar Street Lights Material to Soon be Installed in the Municipality |
Minutes to the holding of the council session, a truck loaded with solar electrification materials arrived the council premises for offloading. Some wheel chairs and crutches were also among the items. The mayor had long assured the population through his various phone interviews on Rainbow Radio in Mbengwi that a consignment of solar street lights was coming and he will ensure each village gets at least one planted at the village square so that everyone benefits from the package no matter how small.
Speaking at the end of the session, the Senior Divisional Officer for Momo, Fouda Etaba Nicaise regretted that the council didn't hold it's midterm evaluation session, this contrary to the law. He called on the councillors and all stakeholders to make the adopted budget significant and realistic by meeting up with their expectations and assignments. "My expectation for this council is that you attain 100% execution of the adopted annual investment plan for 2021" Fouda reiterated.
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| Execution of Council/MINDHU Project. Rehabilitation of Check Point-Mbon-Africa Petroleum Road |
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| Pavement Bricks to be Mounted on this Road According to the Plan |
While closing the session, the mayor, Ndangsa Kennedy called on all committee members to face the bull by the horn and deliver what's expected of them according to their various terms of references so that together they shall win and change Mbengwi into a city. He also encouraged all who've escaped to return home, assuring them that Mbengwi is calm, safe and lively.
Upon ascension to the helm of the council in February 2020, Ndangsa Kennedy pledged to prioritise school resumption and return of peace in Mbengwi. The 2020/2021 academic year started in October and schools resumed in Mbengwi. Unfortunately, the government schools are still void of pupils and students despite their relatively very affordable school fees. For this reason, the mayor tasked his colleagues to continue advocating for parents who can't afford fees in functional mission and lay private schools to get enrolled in government schools where qualified teachers on government payroll have been answering present daily to teach.
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| Ndangsa Kennedy Akam, Mayor, Mbengwi Council Talking to Mbengwi Online |
He also talked of huge debts like owed worker's salaries and unpaid money for projects of supplies he inherited from his predecessor that are being gradually paid back at moment. Material for the installation of the solar street lights is already being deposited at various earmarked positions. The mayor says this phase shall see 35 solar rechargeable street lights installed within Mbengwi central and during the next phase of the exercise, earmarked secured villages shall also benefit from the project.
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