REGIONAL Executive Officer for Region 10, Orrin Gordon reported that the region is on target with its 2018 budgetary spending and as of now the current expenditure is 67 per cent.

The 2018 budget is $3.4B. He was at the time presenting the report to regional councillors at last Thursday’s RDC Statutory meeting. In highlighting the various programmes, Gordon said that for public infrastructure, spending is currently at 48 per cent but noted that the two major capital projects under same, are the construction of a new RDC building and the Bamia Nursery and Primary Schools. There were hiccups in the tendering process of those two projects and there is likelihood that they will not be executed in 2018, as planned. The first phase of the construction of the schools was budgeted at $130M while the RDC building was budgeted at $94M. He noted that these two represent more than 50 per cent of the capital works budget under Public Infrastructure.

Gordon related that all of the capital projects have been awarded and all of the projects are expected to be completed by September. Out of these, 21 projects have been awarded in Sub Region Two- Kwakwani and in other Region 10 hinterland communities.

For Education, which is the largest budgeted programme, spending is currently at 65 per cent while health has already consumed 70 per cent of its allocation. The administration has already consumed 67 per cent of its budget. With no movement on the awarding of contracts for the RDC building, Gordon put it to the council to come up with some projects which can be funded by the $94 M that was allocated for it, so as to avoid it returning to the national coffers. The Clerk of Council as well as the Regional Chairman, Renis Morian and Councillors, expressed their disappointment on the slothfulness of the National Tender Board in awarding contracts in a timely manner so that works can be expedited and completed before the end of the budget year.

Gordon described the lengthy and drawn out process as frustrating, since the RDC is being held accountable by the residents of Region 10, who are all looking on at the pace in which the funds are being spent. “It is frustrating, we are hanging on to the process,” he said. Some of the capital works that have been completed for 2018, in terms of roads include the Main Street Amelia’s Ward Road, Powis Cresent Road, Speightland Access Road, several drains on the Wismar shore amongst others. Out of the $3.4B budget, $344.5 M was allocated to public infrastructure.