While the amount earmarked for subventions to Local Government Authorities (LGAs) has increased to more than a billion dollars in the proposed 2018 national budget, the various LGAs are not getting more money.
While presenting the budget, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan told the National Assembly that one measure to improve the functioning of the authorities is the allocation of $1 billion for transfer to Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and the nine municipalities, while a further sum of $200 million is targeted to improve the capital, Georgetown.
The budget estimates specify that for 2018, $1,026,700,000 has been allocated for the provision of Capital Subvention for municipalities and NDCs however Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan has explained to Stabroek News that the actual subvention received by each LGA will not change.
