Mzuzu City Council passes K2.4 billion budget

Mzuzu City Council (MCC) has approved a K2.4 billion 2019/20 budget representing a 15 percent increase from last year’s budget.

Speaking Thursday during full council meeting, MCC’s Chief Executive Officer, MacLoud Kadam’manja said the financial budget has been framed following programme based budgeting method.

He said the method focuses on outcomes on prioritised programmes opposed to previous year’s output based budgeting which focused on outputs in allocation of resources.

Kadam’manja said key issues in the new budget are continued infrastructural development, improved waste management, establishment of metropolitan police, and improvement of the council’s employees’ welfare, among others.

“We have prioritised infrastructural development like construction of a 10-kilometer M5-Matete-Botanic-Luwinga Road which is of very great importance to residents in the city.

“We have also allocated some funds that will go towards upgrading of various city roads from earth to gravel as well as maintenance of markets, cold rooms and the clock tower,” Kadam’manja said.

He further said the council intends to allocate funds towards improving waste management by providing capacity building to staff who run the council’s Msiro Waste Management Facility.

With the revised government budget ceilings, MCC expects to get K414, 444,833 from central government coffers, slightly above the K402, 137,937 which it got last year.

The MCC, through its Locally Generated Revenue (LGR), will contribute K2, 011,430,000 up from last year’s K1, 715,020,000. The increase is attributed to the increase in various fees including property rates and occupancy fees.

A carry forward of development charges for the council’s Area 6 location extension has brought in a further expected K350 million in the current year.

The new budget has also seen an increase in the personal emoluments and other recurrent transactions which have been increased by 35 percent from the 2018-2019’s K1, 033,398,696 to K1, 397,826,360.

This has been due to the adoption of the government’s salary scale by the council as well as budget for procurement of motor vehicles for the council.

The city’s Mayor Councilor William Mkandawire expressed optimism that the new budget will help develop the city as priority has gone to infrastructure development which, he said, is critical in development of any city.

“Through this budget, there will be, for example, construction of five timber-decked bridges, recreation facilities, installation of culvert lines, and construction of brick lined drains,” Mkandawire said.

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