The Sissala East Municipal and the Sissala West District Assemblies have organised a joint budget hearing and information exchange at Tumu. Madam Ayisha Batong Hor, the Sissala West District Chief Executive, who presided over the hearing, stressed the importance of the joint hearing of the proposed budget for the 2024 fiscal year. Madam Hor reiterated the significance of good planning for success, saying, 'If you don't plan well you will plan to fail.' She urged the stakeholders to pay attention to areas that affected the people and charged technocrats to do more for the assembly to succeed by paying attention to the key areas of development. 'Every contribution is relevant, and I, therefore, ask all for your professional contribution so that at the end of the day there will be a collaborative budget hearing so that no one is left behind,' she stressed. Mr Basi Bukari, the Budget Analyst of Sissala East, during a presentation of the composite budget, identified the low Internally Generated Funds (IGF) performance and the no capital expenditure on IGF by the assembly as worrying. He said out of the more than GHS3.8 million budgeted for 2023 only about GHS461,428 representing 12 per cent was realized as of the end of August from the District Assembly Common Fund. Mr Basi added that for 2023 the IGF estimate stood at GHS990,000 but that only GHS373,629.10 was mobilised as of August. In the various IGF sources of property rate, fees, licenses, land, and investment, it was rent that generated the highest with a total of GHS42,536 while the actual came up to GHS73,194.10 by the same period in August. Mr David Era Nuomiba, an official of the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council, appealed to all not to lose the value of the annual budget hearing and asked all to contribute their views and opinions so that the document would be owned by all. Mr Fuseini Yakubu Batong, the Sissala East Municipal Chief Executive, expressed gratitude to development partners for the many projects in education, health, and the other sectors. According to section 40 and 42(c) of the Local Government Act, 2016 (Act 936), the Annual Budget hearing is expected to be heard every year.

Source: Ghana News Agency