Southwest allocated FCFA 10 billion in 2015 budget

The sum of FCFA 10 billion has been allocated to the Southwest Region as budget for the 2015 fiscal year.

Of this sum, FCFA 4.3 billion is dedicated to the running of the various administrative services in the Region, while FCFA 5.7 billion has been set aside for the realisation of the 418 projects that have been earmarked for the Region for the 2015 fiscal year.

This information was made public on January 8 by the Secretary General, SG, at the Southwest Governor’s Office, Clement Fon Ndikum, during the launching of the Public Investment Budget for the Southwest Region.

In his address, the SG called on stakeholders in the execution of the state budget to get involved in the exercise in order to avoid administrative feet-dragging that may affect the quality of work done.

Fon Ndikum warned economic operators that poorly executed projects will not be received; reasons why sanctions will be meted out on those who fail to carry out their duties.

“The budgetary year has been launched very early, the programme was done early in December, the circular letter, logbook and every other document needed for the execution of the budget is available. So, there should be no excuses,” Fon Ndikum stated.

According to the SG, the 2015 budget is intended to revive the economy of Cameroon and aid President Biya in achieving his vision of making Cameroon an emerging nation by 2035.

With this in mind, Fon Ndikum discouraged all forms of selfishness among stakeholders and called on them to strive for the general good and not for personal gains. He appealed to the Mayors to master some of the responsibilities that go with projects rather than amenities derived from them.

“We have instructed stakeholders to play their role as patriotic citizens, who are working for the development of their country. Some municipal authorities do not respect the regulations in force. The absence of technical services during the preparation of tenders’ files, poor execution of some works, the absence or late submission of reports to competent services serve as barriers for the execution of projects,” Fon Ndikum remarked.

Even though this year’s budget was held in high esteem in most speeches, Fon Ndikum observed that the 2015 budget is faced with some difficulties; “The 2015 budget will be executed in a very difficult global economic context, marked by stagnation at the national level caused by trans-border insecurity,” he stated.

From the various speakers at the occasion, 2014 has come and gone with its challenges, but the fact that the 2015 budget has been launched earlier than last year; gives them reasons to be optimistic that 2015 will be successful.

To the Southwest Finance Controller, Alice Nouboue, 2015 is encouraging. “Besides the FCFA 10 billion allocated to the Region, we have the Emergency Three-year Programme which will be executed very soon. The Region would be given a certain amount, this year’s budget is better than the previous years,” she averred.

She revealed that the 2014 execution rate of the Public Investment Budget in the Southwest was around 53.12 percent, up from about 49.67 percent in 2013. Meanwhile, the consumption rate for 2014 running budget was 100 percent.