Masidi (right) witnessing the oath taking by the newly appointed council members.
PENAMPANG: Penampang has what it takes to be upgraded to a municipal council, said Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.
After receiving feedback from the Penampang district officer regarding the matter here today, Masidi said he would leave to the new Penampang District Council members to submit a proposal for the upgrade.
“I believe Penampang (District Council) deserves to be upgraded to become the Penampang Municipal Council. Basically, according to our assessment of the Penampang District Council there are already the basic qualifications that can be considered for the municipal council upgrade,” said Masidi, who is also the Sabah Finance Minister II.
“All that needs to be done by the new district council members is to hold a meeting, make an official decision and submit the proposal to the ministry. The ministry will later consider, evaluate whether the Penampang District Council have the criteria needed to be a Municipal Council.
“If all the conditions are met, we will bring it to the Sabah State Cabinet for consideration,” he explained at the 2020-2022 Penampang District Council oath-taking and appointment letter presentation ceremony at the ITCC Grand Ballroom here today.
Masidi said one of the main criteria considered for the upgrade was revenue generation.
“As stated by the district officer earlier, in normal years before the pandemic, they could generate more than RM30 million. So, I think that is an enough number to qualify this Penampang District Council to become a Municipal Council,” he said.
According to Penampang District Officer Henry Idol, the council’s revenue generation has plummeted due to the Covid-19.
“Follow-up actions like SOP compliance and others that have been provided by the Ministry of Health (MOH) had to some extent succeeded in pandemic prevention but in terms of economic activities, the council has been quite affected due to the closure of markets, tamu and other activities,” said Idol.
He said in 2020, up to November, the actual revenue of the council is RM19,822.945.63 compared to the estimated revenue of RM32,275,892 and this is a 39% decrease.
The council expenditure, as of November 2020, is RM22,875,343.30 that is a deficit of RM3,052,398.17 for operating expenses, including expenses to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and other expenses such as people’s wellbeing projects.
“Here, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the ministry for its concern. The council’s revenue loss due to the Covid-19 amounting to an approximate RM4,230,682 will be replaced through a state government special allocation.
“For 2021, the estimated council revenue is RM36,552,436 and expenditure is RM37,314,051. Even though there is a RM761,615 deficit, it had been caused by expenditure that had to be brought forward to next year, namely the roof construction at Donggongon City amounting RM3million,” he added.
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