Accounts session:

L’be City Council notes weak coffers amid pressing challenges
By Ajongakou Santos in Limbe

Government Delegate, Limbe City Council

The city of Limbe will in the days ahead be transformed following the many projects being carried out and those still to be realised. This was revealed by the Government Delegate to the Limbe City Council, Mr. Motanga Andrew Monjimba while chairing the first ordinary session of the City Council that examined the Administrative, Management and Stores Accounts of the 2014 financial year last June 25, 2015.
    According to the Government Delegate, the 2014 year which was under review at the session was not good enough as previewed in terms of revenue given that, the revenue recovery rate slumped in 2014 to 66.4% from the 101.55% recorded in 2013.
    The fluctuation in revenue experienced over the past three years is principally due to the irregular payment of taxes by one the council’s major tax sources, the National Oil Refining Company, SONARA.
    In line with the city council’s drive to make the council self-sustainable and in keeping with the supervisory authority’s prescription of expanding the revenue base, the council has embarked on realizing projects with strong revenue generation potentials such as the construction of market stores at strategic locations around the municipality and the pursuance of the Left Bank Development Project in Down Beach.

    The future however seems bright for the city of Limbe given that much is in the pipeline as Cameroon braces up to host the Women’s Nation Cups in 2016 and the Men’s tourney in 2019. Because Limbe is among the towns shortlisted to host some of the group games during these tournaments the City Council has pledged so much investment with the budget that stands at one billion amongst which are; land acquisition, matriculation of council landed property and development of green belts, renovation of commercial stalls, construction of new stalls at strategic locations in the city, the extension of street lighting in various neighbourhoods among others.
    To the Limbe City Council Government Delegate and Senior Councilors present at the ordinary session, the Senior Divisional Officer for Fako, Zang III who also is the supervisory authority for city councils urged to do much more work to correct the mistakes of the 2014 financial year.  The S.D.O urged the government delegate to work up strategies that will see the execution of budgetary accounts in subsequent years; such that the financial and revenue base of the Limbe City Council truly reflects what ought to be. This he insisted can only be achieved should tax payers pay their taxes in time, and staff mobilise to marry the values of transparency, accountability, to help them all fight illegal occupation and abandonment of cars in the city of Limbe that often times result in the long traffic.
    While revealing to the sundry at the session that some companies charged with the construction of roads and packing space at the Ngeme Stadium ahead of the 2016 & 2019 Nation Cups will commence work soon, the S.D.O for Fako asked the city council to do much more that will keep the city of Limbe always clean, attractive and friendly to her visitors who will soon be knocking at the Limbe doors come 2016.