-Sup. Zahnwea clarifies budget expenditure amidst uproar.
Rivercess County Superintendent Byron Zahnwea has clarified the county's budget expenditure here amid uproar in that part of the country over the misuse of funds.
Debates over the county's spending took a sharp turn this week after dozens of citizens, comprising youths, elders, and students, rampaged through the superintendent's compound, demanding answers to conflicting figures in the county's proposed 2025 budget regarding road expenditures.
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Residents have expressed frustration over the controversy surrounding the prioritization of road infrastructure projects over other purposes, specifically the Yarpah Town-One House Road rehabilitation projects, which they state have three different allocations --US$146,000, US$143,000, and US$43,000 --outlined in a single document for the same project.
But addressing the budget discrepancies, on the sidelines of the National Forestry Forum, held at the EJS Ministerial Complex, Superintendent Zahnwea denies allegations of the misuse of the county's funds while clarifying the proposed county budget expenditure.
"It is just so unfortunate that people know how to protest without inquiries, which are open to everyone," he said.
"Another thing, the budget for Rivercess, under the County Development Funds, is $186,666, and that is what we are to receive and have not yet received through resolution," Sup. Zahnwea states.
According to him, the county has not yet received the funds, which will require resolution from all respective parties--the County Council, the citizens, and the county leadership, and will be used appropriately in accordance with the County Development Agenda (CDA), as required by every county.
"We will receive $186,666,000, and that demands resolution, and before we use that money, there's a County Development Agenda, which covers all of the 15 counties, and the CDA has priorities," Sup. Zahnwea said.
He explained that the CDA, mandated by the government for Rivercess County, is for roads, and as such, most of the funds allocated in the first year of the CDA for Rivercess went towards roads, which are the most urgent needs.
"The CDA has priorities, and in the priorities for Rivercess, the first year is roads, and from all indications, can $186,666 fix a road? No, so we go for the alternative, which is rehabilitation," Sup. Zahnwea stressed.
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The Rivercess County Superintendent, Zahnwea, further lamented that the county has earmarked three cardinal priorities as per the CDA for the use of the County Development Funds (CDF), namely the much-talked-about Yarpah Town to One-House Road rehabilitation, which is budgeted between US$133,000 and $143,000; sports development (US$25,000); and the County Council Operations, which require 10% and stand between US$15,000 and $18,000.
He decries the lack of Social Development Funds for the county, as no companies are operating there.
Sup. Zahnwea, who called for calm among citizens, expressed frustration with how they reacted in his absence.
"This feels 'different'--and that the system is open to everyone," he added. -Edited by Othello B. Garblah.
