Public Investment Budget:

FCFA 100bn allocated to SW in 2016
By Ajongakou Santos in Buea

Bernard Okalia Bilai

The South West Region will run on a budget of 100 billion, 405 million, 479 thousand francs CFA in the 2016 fiscal year. This amount was made known to the public last Thursday, January 7, 2016 during the launch of the 2016 state budget in the South West Region.
    South West Governor, Bernard Okalia Bilai while launching this year’s budget for the region at the Buea Council Chambers emphasized on the need for contractors, municipal treasurers and finance controllers of the region to respect deadlines fixed for investment projects. This he said is because delays have been a major setback in the realization of projects in the South West Region.
    The launching of the public investment budget falls within the prescriptions of the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper GESP which gives guidelines for the infrastructural development in the in the country.
    When asked how the budget would be used, South West Regional Finance controller- Nugwe Alice said, 12 billion will be dedicated for the running of services, whereas 88 billion FCFA will be set-aside for the realization of the different projects in the region. In all, 412 projects will be directly under the management of authorizing officers of the region.

    The state budget launch was also an opportunity to take stock of the performance with regards to the projects award and effective realization in the 2015 financial year.     The South West Regional delegate of Public Contracts revealed that 179 projects were awarded in 2015 in the South West. Of this number 114 were executed and received, giving a percentage of 85.4.
    Similarly, 191 priority projects have been earmarked for the South West Region in 2016. Their tenders will be launched later in January so that contractors and other forces charged with responsibilities linked to the proper execution of public contracts will do everything possible to see that all projects are executed on time.
    During the exhaustive presentation of the circular on the execution, follow-up and control of the execution of the 2016 budget, officials from the Ministry of Finance emphasized on the key measures put in place to facilitate the proper realization of priority projects. One of them, Gideon Mbazeh, said a circular had been signed last December 31, 2015 by the Prime Minister, explaining and disseminating the procedures of budget execution in the country. Some of them being; the direct taxation of crude oil only after it has been refined so as to avoid influencing local consumption. Others explain the procedure involved in the medical evacuation of state personnel, their booking of airline tickets, state cars, the reduction of time frames for the execution of the public investment budget, amongst others.
    Authorities from the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development and those of Public Contracts revealed that some key projects held in reserve for the South West Region this 2016 will include the tarring of the Bachuo-Akagbe-Mamfe-Ekok road and the EkondoTiti-Kumba stretch.