In an open letter to the lawmakers and elite of the North West Region, Ndifor Ferdinand wonders how the Dja-et-Lobo Division in the South Region gets more from the Public Investment Budget than the entire North-West Region.
Ndifor wonders if Members of Government, Members of Parliament, and Senators from the North West Region are aware of the disparities in the Public Investment Budget, PIB.
“Dear honorable gentlemen, find below the Public Investment Budget for the North-West Region and see for yourselves the fraction you have obtained for us compared to other regions,” Ndifor wrote.
To the lawmakers and elite of the North-West Region, Ndifor asked the following questions: “What are the criteria used in allocating the PIB to various subdivisions, divisions, and regions? Does the population size play a role?
“Is the PIB an integral part of the Finance Law you vote every year?
“Are the Members of Government and Governing elites from the North West aware of this disparity?
“How will the regional assembly and the Regional Executive ever develop the Region with this inequality and lack of equity in sharing the National Cake?
“How can Members of Parliament of the Dja et Lobo Division with 350,000 inhabitants be allocated P.I.B. of 162.980.739.000 FCFA for three years while you from the North-West Region with 1.9 million inhabitants and seven divisions can only obtain 145.935.180.000 FCFA for the same period?”
Find below the Public Investment Budget for the North-West Region and that of a division in the South Region, Dja et Lobo.
Year North-West Region Dja et Lobo Division
2019 49.059.898.000 FCFA 47.272947.000 FCFA
2020 48.883.576.000 FCFA 46.914.350.000 FCFA
2021 48.191.706.000 FCFA 68.793.442.000 FCFA
TOTAL 145.935.180.000 FCFA 162.980.7739.000 FCFA
Ndifor ends his open letter by enjoining the representatives of the North-West Region to get for the region a fair slice of the National Cake.
“Dear Members of Parliament and Members of Government from the North West, please do for us what your colleagues of Dja et Lobo do for their people,” he pleaded.