Rukungiri Mayor Boaz Kansiime Matiita Unveils New Policies To Improve Service Delivery And Accountability
Rukungiri: The newly elected Mayor of Rukungiri Municipality, His Worship Boaz Kansiime Matiita, together with his Executive Committee, has introduced a number of new policy measures aimed at improving service delivery, strengthening accountability, promoting transparency and ensuring value for money in municipal projects.
The policies were presented to council during the Mayor’s recent Executive Committee report to councillors.
Mayor Matiita said the Executive Committee had so far held two meetings and reached several important recommendations which he presented to the council for consideration.
One of the key recommendations is for the municipality to engage its technical staff to find a lasting solution to challenges surrounding property tax.
Mayor Matiita said the Executive had taken note of public dissatisfaction over what some property owners consider to be high property valuations.
He said the municipality is committed to addressing the matter comprehensively and will present appropriate recommendations to council in due course.
The Executive Committee has also resolved that municipal projects should not be commissioned before all identified defects are fully rectified.
Mayor Matiita explained that experience has shown that once projects are commissioned, contractors often fail to return and correct outstanding defects.
The Executive further recommended that community needs assessments should be conducted before preparation of the budget framework.
According to Mayor Matiita, this will ensure that public resources are allocated according to the actual priorities of residents and that the municipality achieves value for money.
He added that user departments should be given priority to identify and determine the projects and services they need.
To strengthen monitoring of municipal projects, the Executive resolved that all monitoring exercises should be guided by approved Bills of Quantities, commonly known as BOQs.
This, the Mayor said, will enable councillors and technical officers to accurately verify the scope, quality and progress of work being implemented.
On procurement, the Executive Committee recommended that the Procurement Department should always provide council with the names of bidders and, where necessary, explain the basis upon which successful contractors are selected.
The move is intended to enhance transparency and address concerns that have occasionally arisen during municipal procurement processes.
The Executive also emphasized the need for thorough scrutiny of Bills of Quantities before projects are approved for implementation.
Mayor Matiita noted that there have been instances where the costs of some projects appeared unnecessarily inflated, stressing the need for greater scrutiny to ensure that municipal resources are used responsibly.
The Mayor said the new measures are intended to strengthen accountability, improve project implementation, increase public confidence and ensure that Rukungiri Municipality gets value for every shilling spent.
CUE IN……MAYOR MATIITA…RR