By: Dadson A. Musa
Bo District Council has a new chairman in the person of Victor Korseh Hindowa; a very dedicated community developer by background and experience. At a time when central government allocation is not enough and comes very late, the onus is on councils to make sure enough revenue is raised to keep the councils functioning.
The revenue generation scope of Bo District Council is limited compared to the city. But that notwithstanding budget bureau from finance ministry has called on the council to “use existing businesses to do better” as the district is expanding and growing.
In his budget proposal presentation, the Chief Administrator of the council, Abdul Koroma proposed an own- source revenue collection to be around Nle1,701,000 for 2024 which according to head of the budget team from finance Ministry is way too small.
The council was therefore urged to either double the figure or even triple it. That, as a council in the second city of Sierra Leone they can do better. This was taken in good faith by the C.A. The council was also reminded that there is a mining company in its purview which they should capitalize on to expand revenue generation scope.
In response, the C.A said that parliament has enacted that “revenue from mining communities be paid now to chiefdom authorities.” Other devolved agencies presented their 2024 budget with challenges highlighted.