Sumbawanga — THE Sumbawanga Municipal Council (SMC) in Rukwa Region has approved a 31.6bn/- budget for the 2021/22 fiscal year.
The council estimates to collect and spend 31,659,136,915.46 from various sources, including 2,275,259,335/-, being domestic revenue collection annually.
Council Director Jacob Mtalitinya presented proposed plans and budget of the municipal for 2021/22 at the councillors full council meeting held recently, which discussed and approved the budget.
The meeting was held under the chairmanship of SMC Mayor Justine Malisawa.
He listed other sources of incomes including central government subsidiaries of which the municipal council expects to receive 22,928,292,000/- for the salaries of civil servants and 1,798,889,500/- for free education.
Equally SMC expects to receive 2,089,928,000/- from development stakeholders and 3,250,713,580.46 from the central government.
Mr Mtalitinya further explained that 60 per cent of the approved budget would be spent on development projects while 40 per cent on municipal council expenditure.
He emphasised that SMC would also set aside 10 per cent of its domestic revenue collection for lending groups of the youth, persons living with disabilities and women as directed by the government that each council across the country must issue to those special groups interest free loans.
“Our priority is first to accomplish the construction of a modern main bus terminal whose phase one and two will cost over 9.5bn/-.”
So far the municipal council has received 5.940bn/- from the World Bank via Urban Local Government Supporting Programme (ULGSP) for the construction of the main bus facility whose construction (phase one) has reached 98 per cent… On the list there is the construction of Sumbawanga District Council Hospital at 1.5bn/- and the construction of a health centre in Old Sumbawanga Ward using domestic revenue collected by the council.
Another priority is to ensure three dispensaries are constructed at Mponda, Milanzi and Nambogo villages and accomplish the construction of 76 classrooms at both primary and secondary schools and six laboratory rooms for science subjects at six secondary schools,” explained Mr Mtalitinya.
Sumbawanga District Commissioner, Dr Halfany Haule, said all 310 candidates who failed to join Form One during the first selection due to shortages of classrooms and other school infrastructures had finally reported to the schools they had been chosen to join.
He further said they were able to join after accomplishing the construction of seven classrooms at Lwiche Secondary School and the rehabilitation of seven school structures.
He directed SMC to ensure the construction of a secondary school takes off in Momoka Ward with immediate effect.