At budget orientation debate: Kumba II Council counts achievements, outlines dev’t agenda.

It was chaired by the Mayor of Kumba II Council, Chief Mbachu Jacob Kay. The Divisional Officer, DO, of Kumba II Subdivision, Edwin Nkenya Ngwana, the Meme Divisional Delegate of Decentralisation and Local Development, Venus Elangwe, as well as First Deputy City Mayor of Kumba, Victorine Balike Ebanja, attended the session. 

It held in line with the provisions of Section 374(2) of Law No. 2019/024 of 24 December 2019 on the General Code of Regional and Local Authorities, GCRLAs.

In his welcome remarks, Mayor Jacob Kay stated the session was a vital step for councilors to collectively shape the financial and development future of the municipality.

He noted that within the legal framework mandate, municipal authorities are expected to hold public debate to upstream their fiscal strategies and promote participatory grassroots governance. The mayor said true leadership is measured by concrete numbers and tangible impacts left on the ground.

"Reflecting on our recent path, our past budgets execution rates demonstrate strong resilience despite severe macro-economic constraints," Kay stated.

He added: "We have achieved a remarkable percentage overall budget execution rate for the past years. Even more significant is our commitment to real development. These resources have transformed the landscape of our municipality. On the physical evaluation front, I am proud to spotlight the Kumba II Council emerged the first ranking municipality in Meme Division with a 50% physical execution rate for local development projects”.

According to the mayor, the historic milestone was the direct result of the extraordinary efforts of the council technical team and community collaboration that has worked tirelessly to deliver the results on the ground.

However, he noted that 50 percent is just a stepping stone as it is their firm intention and unyielding drive to scale up and reach a 100 percent before the end of the year.

To deliver sustainable legacy, Mayor Kay stated, their programme orientation shall focus on high impact projects designed for the communities. 

The projects include the rehabilitation of the road from Bamileke Street to Palm City, phase I; pavement of the road from the Kumba Municipal Stadium to New Road; construction of a fish pond, water tower, and tank stocking of 7,500 fingerlings at Chief Epie Street neighbourhood; rehabilitation of six classrooms at GBPS Kosala, completion of a bridge at Chief Epie Street; and construction of a new business centre.

The mayor hinted that looking ahead, their financial planning is tied to practical macro-economic realities.

"To fuel our upcoming budget, we must aggressively optimize local revenue collection. We are modernizing our approach to match digital evolution," he noted.

He added: "We will vigorously work to improve and update our taxpayer's data base to ensure every eligible business is mapped. Concurrently, we are fully mobilizing to render the tax control unit functional. This unit will strictly monitor online declarations, eliminate leakages, and ensure total compliance to fund our development goals".

Meanwhile, to deliver sustainable legacy, Mayor Kay stated, their programme orientation focuses on high impact projects designed for the communities.

He concluded that: "...let us keep our primary objective in one focus: to translate numbers into visible human dignity. By consolidating our existing achievements, pushing for 100 percent project delivery and digitizing our revenue systems, we will leave behind a sustainable legacy that benefit every neighbourhood. Political mandates have a beginning and an end, but the development of our community must never stop".

Speaking at the ceremony, the Divisional Officer, DO, of Kumba II Subdivision, Edwin Nkenya Ngwana, said he was impressed with the reports on completed and ongoing projects.

He commended the completion of projects and urged the council's authorities to redouble efforts to complete ongoing ones. He noted that at the eve of elections, projects should be done in a manner in which the population will see the need to once again renewed confidence in the officials of the council.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3910 of Tuesday September 15, 2026