Freetown
JF-Expert Member
- Apr 6, 2008
- 882
- 78
2008-05-01 11:01:23
By Margaret Malisa, PST, Kibaha
There was a dramatic twist to the full meeting of the Kibaha District Council in Coast Region yesterday when delegates unanimously shot down a draft budget for the purchase of a posh vehicle for the council`s director.
Much to the surprise of prominent guests at the meeting, including Kibaha District Commissioner Gilbert Dololo, the delegates resolved that the 75m/- requested for the purchase was unacceptably high.
They stated that the money would be much better spent if it was used on the purchase of tractors to free poor farmers from undue dependency on the back-breaking hoe and increase productivity.
It was initially noted in the council�s budget proposals that the director`s office would require a 75m/- vehicle that would also serve the office of the district council chairman.
Breaking the pronounced silence then prevailing at the meeting, Mlandizi Ward councillor shot up and said the idea of buying such an expensive vehicle was as awful as it was untenable.
``The most judicious way to spend such a relatively huge amount of money would be purchase tractors to help our people produce more from land-related investments and activities.
As councillors, we don`t support the idea,`` she stated, adding that it was more advisable for the request to be tabled at some other time.
Swai recommended that the request be channelled through the Regional Administration and Local Governments wing of the Prime Minister`s Office for further action ``without interfering with our council�s development budget``.
DC Dololo took a different line of argument, urging the delegates to accept the idea and endorse the budget ``because the vehicle will serve even the councillors in their official duties``.
However, the delegates were not impressed. They insisted that supporting agriculture and other sectors with more inputs mattered much more than purchasing a luxurious vehicle that would benefit only a few people and trouble the council with high running and maintenance costs.
Huu ni mfano wa kuigwa Hongera Wanakibaha
By Margaret Malisa, PST, Kibaha
There was a dramatic twist to the full meeting of the Kibaha District Council in Coast Region yesterday when delegates unanimously shot down a draft budget for the purchase of a posh vehicle for the council`s director.
Much to the surprise of prominent guests at the meeting, including Kibaha District Commissioner Gilbert Dololo, the delegates resolved that the 75m/- requested for the purchase was unacceptably high.
They stated that the money would be much better spent if it was used on the purchase of tractors to free poor farmers from undue dependency on the back-breaking hoe and increase productivity.
It was initially noted in the council�s budget proposals that the director`s office would require a 75m/- vehicle that would also serve the office of the district council chairman.
Breaking the pronounced silence then prevailing at the meeting, Mlandizi Ward councillor shot up and said the idea of buying such an expensive vehicle was as awful as it was untenable.
``The most judicious way to spend such a relatively huge amount of money would be purchase tractors to help our people produce more from land-related investments and activities.
As councillors, we don`t support the idea,`` she stated, adding that it was more advisable for the request to be tabled at some other time.
Swai recommended that the request be channelled through the Regional Administration and Local Governments wing of the Prime Minister`s Office for further action ``without interfering with our council�s development budget``.
DC Dololo took a different line of argument, urging the delegates to accept the idea and endorse the budget ``because the vehicle will serve even the councillors in their official duties``.
However, the delegates were not impressed. They insisted that supporting agriculture and other sectors with more inputs mattered much more than purchasing a luxurious vehicle that would benefit only a few people and trouble the council with high running and maintenance costs.
Huu ni mfano wa kuigwa Hongera Wanakibaha