Kupe Muanenguba: Nguti Council Scores High 2025 Budget Realisation

Nguti — The Nguti Council in Kupe Muanenguba Division of the South West Region led by its mayor, Tong George Enoh, has scored a high realisation rate in the execution of its budget for the 2025 financial year. This witnessed an improvement to that of the previous year 2024.

The realisation rate of the budget was revealed during the first ordinary session of Nguti Council for the 2026 financial year devoted to examine and adopt the administrative, management, and stores accounts of the council for last year 2025.

The session that held on Friday, June 5, in the Nguti Council Chambers, was chaired by the mayor and attended by the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, for Kupe Muanenguba Division, Nguia Beina Theophile, supervisory authority of councils in the Division.

In a speech during the session, the mayor stated the budgetary package put together at the beginning of 2025 was at the sum of 700,000,000 FCFA, balanced in revenue and expenditure. Within the year, the sum of 700,000 FCFA came in, making the final budget to stand at the sum of 700,700,000 FCFA.

At the close of the financial year, the realisation stood as follows:For Revenue, Recurrent Budget was at 306,700,000 FCFA and Effective Collection stood at 168,086,511 FCFA with an execution of 56% and Investment Budget at 394,000,000 FCFA, making a total of 700,700,000 FCFA, with Effective Collection at 359,086,511 FCFA on 77% execution.

As to the Revenue Expenditure, the Final Budget stood at 333,064,445 FCFA, while Effective Payment was at 138,587,545 FCFA with 42% execution. Investment Expenditure, Final Budget was at 367,635,545 FCFA, while Effective Payment was at 367,635,453 FCFA with 99.6% execution. This put the total of Final Budget at 700,700,000 FCFA, and total Effective Payment at 506,222,998 FCFA on a total execution of 76%.

This gives an excess of revenue over expenditure at the sum of 9,964,311 FCFA.

According to the mayor, the bulk of the revenue over expenditure is made up of the non executed public investment allocation. "It is one of the areas that has brought our tenure lots of difficulties, attributed to the enclavement our council area," Tong stated.

He hinted, contractors are either not interested and those who dare, it takes them just more than the required time to execute.

To the mayor, 2025 was a year pregnant with activities especially the presidential election and this brought a lot of difficulties in the execution of projects because of financial constraint. "Nonetheless, we are realising steady and constant improvement," he noted.

Mayor outlines 2025 achievements

Last year, Mayor Tong stated, they made great strides. He noted these strides do not compromise in any way their resolve to strive to forge ahead.

The projects realised include the construction of a water supply scheme at Fonki; supply of a bulldozer; street lightening with solar panels in Manyemen; supply of medical equipment to the Integrated Health Centre, Bermin; supply of materials and equipment to veterinary post in Nguti; supply of benches to GS Songlu; and supply of benches to GS Tabongkwa.

Ongoing works include the opening, grading, and construction of culverts in some streets in Nguti; construction of a block of two classrooms at GS Songlu; construction of a community hall at Ebanga( phase II); rehabilitation of Integrated Health Centre, Bermin; and construction of a V.I.P toilet at GS Songlu.

The mayor hinted that Nguti Council participated in the launch of the budget in the Ministry of Basic Education in the South West Region, coaching seminar organised by the Ministry of Finance in Buea, clean city contest held in Bangem in which it emerged on the second position, and the award of medals of gold, silver gilt and silver to three council staff.

Enter Kupe Muanenguba SDO

Meanwhile, speaking later, the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, for Kupe Muanenguba Division, Nguia Beina Theophile, seized the opportunity to welcome all in attendance and the councillors on the one hand who are performing their assigned mission conferred on them by the electorate towards the development of the municipality and the well-being of its population, as well as other personalities who are manifesting their concerns in the development of Nguti Municipality.

Reflecting on the realisation of the accounts, the SDO stated the figures show a remarkable performance by the mayor and his team on a global perspective but much is still to be desired, considering the fact that there are still a good number of projects to be realised.

However, he noted, now that the administration of the council has come back to the municipality following relative calm that exist, greater improvement is expected in the collection of revenue as the council will be able to exploit most of its sources of revenue and also create new sources of revenue.

Nguia stated the impact of the execution of projects allocated to the council as contained in the administrative account cannot be overemphasised, and therefore, the execution of projects should not only be realised but should be done on record time.

According to the SDO, his administration had been on the field to check all irregularities related to the execution of public contracts.

He stated:" I do not need to remind the contractors and all stakeholders in the execution chain of Public Investment Projects on what awaits any person jeopardising the good intentions of the government towards the development of this municipality."

Nguia called on the hygiene and sanitation department to intensify its works so as to meet up with the challenges of clean city, while taking into account the imminent development of the town, considering the progressive works on the Nguti-Bangem road in the days ahead. "Make good use of the council equipment on the improvement of the council roads alongside the improvement of the council revenue," he stated.

The SDO reminded the councillors that they are already at the end of their mandate and they will soon be expected to render accounts to the electorate on the impact they created in the course of their period in the council. "You still have a few months to amend some issues for the empowerment of the population who mandated you to represent them," Nguia stated.

He added:" While the State continues to empower the councils in the process of accelerating of the decentralisation process, the council should however be able to create more income generating projects to step up the revenue situation of the council.Your presence in the municipality should now permit you to revamp all existing revenue sources of the council."

The deliberation and adoption of 2025 accounts

After the appointment of the Pro Tem chairperson, who was the Head of the Finance Committee of the council as stipulated by the law, the Secretary General of Nguti Council, Winslow Ebune Modika, made a vivid presentation of the administrative and management accounts of the council, while the Stores Accountant, Ewu-Belle Immaculate Senge, presented the stores account.

Thereafter, the reports of the various committees were presented. These were the Socio-economic and Education; Hygiene and Sanitation; Environmental Development; Youth, Sports, Arts, and Leisure; and Finance Committees.

The 21 councillors in attendance with four proxies, then moved on a note of satisfaction to adopt the administrative, management, and stores accounts as working documents of the Nguti Council.

Earlier, four Municipal Deliberations had been adopted prominent among which was that to fix rates or fees for the hiring of the council's heavy-duty equipment such as the truck and bulldozer.