During the administrative and management account session held on March 26, 2025, at the new Wum Town Hall, Mayor Dighambong Anthony Mvo of the Wum Council made a compelling appeal to the municipality’s residents, urging them to actively collaborate with the council in its revenue collection efforts. The mayor underscored the critical role of community participation, asserting that the council staff’s ability to effectively collect revenue is contingent upon the support and cooperation of the populace. This plea for collective action stemmed from concerns over a noticeable decline in revenue across most budget heads, with only a few exceptions exceeding a 50% realization rate.
The session’s reports revealed that the total revenue collected amounted to 724,542,686 FRS, falling short of the budgeted amount of 1,000,279 FRS. This translates to a realization rate of 72.44% in relative terms. Concurrently, the overall actual expenditure reached 534,272,243 FRS, compared to a budgeted amount of 1,000,249,279 FRS, resulting in a percentage realization of 53.41%. A closer examination of the financial data indicated that investment revenue stood at 494,367,799 FRS, while investment expenditure was 323,976,991 FRS, representing 44.71% of the total revenue. Recurrent revenue was recorded at 225,074,887 FRS, and the current expenditure was 210,295,254 FRS, accounting for 29.02% of the total revenue. Consequently, a balance of 190,270,441 FRS was slated to be carried forward. Staff costs amounted to 82,717,719 FRS, representing 20.35% of the budgeted operational expenses, which was deemed within the acceptable limit of 35%.
Based on these financial statistics, it was emphasized that every stakeholder within the Wum municipality must actively contribute to assist the council in achieving its financial goals. The session also included the presentation and adoption of motions by the councilors. The administrative and management account session was attended by a diverse array of stakeholders, including representatives from the Menchum administration, traditional rulers, law enforcement officials, elites, politicians, council staff, and socio-economic operators, demonstrating the importance of the issue to the Wum community. The mayor’s call for total collaboration in revenue collection highlights the critical link between community engagement and the successful implementation of the council’s development plans.
