The Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly together with three other districts namely Bongo, Talensi, and Bolgatanga East have had their 2019 Composite Budget hearing at a public forum in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region.
The Composite Budget set to analyze revenues performances in 2018, and how to project revenues towards 2019 for these districts in the Region. Also, it aimed at minimizing duplication and ensuring cost effectiveness and efficiency in the economy to achieve set goals.
In the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly Budget, a total of Ghc1 billion was drafted in 2018 to cater for social service delivery, infrastructure and management delivery, economic development, environmental management and administration and management delivery, but at the end of July, the Assembly was able to mobilize Ghc4 million to cover the above mentioned programme.
“Despite the vigorous efforts made by the Assembly to improve the quality of education and health, there is still much to be desired. The projects and programmes included the construction of 3-Unit Classroom Blocks with ancillary facilities which were constructed at Katanga JHS, Sherigu Azaalonge and Baptist Primary and also, construction of CHPs compound at Yipala, and Yebongo have been able to achieve in 2018.” The Statement read.
The Budget also indicated that, as part of its core functions, the Assembly will ensure that, the needed developmental projects are channeled to the rightful communities, therefore, its projections for 2019 will be to ensure 500 metal dual desks are given to various schools which lack furniture, and other environmental health challenges will be addressed.
The Bongo District Assembly has indicated in it budget that, 2018, on sanitation management both solid and liquid waste alone, the Assembly spent Ghc 4 million. Therefore, its projections towards 2019 will be on environment health management and a total budget of Ghc 1 million will be used to ensure healthy environment for all.
However, for the Talensi District, the Assembly has indicated in the Budget that the District has had huge challenge in the Educational sector.
“Challenges such as; inadequate teaching and learning materials, inadequate teacher accommodation, inadequate furniture for schools, and poor community involvements in education performance of the pupils at the basic level.” The Talensi Budget Statement said.
The Assembly, therefore, projects that in 2019 it will increase equitable access to education at all levels and will be spending a total budget of Ghc 2 million in achieving inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunity for all.
The Assembly also projects that in 2019, it will spend Ghc 90, 000.00 to empower women and mainstream gender into socio-economic development and eliminate all harmful practices such as early and child marriage and female genital mutilation.
Composite Budget is an integration of projected revenue and expenditure of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), including decentralized departments, with the view to minimizing duplication and ensuring cost effectiveness and efficiency in the economy to achieve set targets and goals.
Source: a1radioonline.com | 101.1 MHz | Moses Apiah
