So the Federal Goverment is going to help local councils?
So the aids is to help them to only to clear debt for waste management? Or it will be used for other purposes?
The Minister for Housing and Local Government Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said that financial assistances will be given to councils earning less than RM5 million a year to help them.
But there are two conflicting reports which raise doubt of whether the monies is only used for waste management or other purposes?
So who is right and who is wrong? Will this solve the problem once and for all? Do having stars for councils solve the problem once and for all?
I don't see having stars and rates for councils will make things even better as the core issues on accountability and transparency are not dealt with.
When you have somebody who is sitting in the council without bearing the legitimate mandate from the people, what do we expect from these backdoor councilors?
So the aids is to help them to only to clear debt for waste management? Or it will be used for other purposes?
The Minister for Housing and Local Government Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said that financial assistances will be given to councils earning less than RM5 million a year to help them.
But there are two conflicting reports which raise doubt of whether the monies is only used for waste management or other purposes?
So who is right and who is wrong? Will this solve the problem once and for all? Do having stars for councils solve the problem once and for all?
I don't see having stars and rates for councils will make things even better as the core issues on accountability and transparency are not dealt with.
When you have somebody who is sitting in the council without bearing the legitimate mandate from the people, what do we expect from these backdoor councilors?
Government to help local councils (Star)
SEREMBAN: District councils that earn less than RM5mil a year will get financial assistance from the Government to ease their burden.
However, city and municipal councils that register losses will have to find ways to cover this as they had the means to do so.
Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said a meeting of the National Council on Local Authorities chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had agreed on this recently.
“We are aware that some district councils are finding it difficult to cover their expenses. The Federal Government will offer them some kind of assistance,” he said.
Some district councils pay between 50% and 80% of their annual income to waste disposal companies alone, leaving them with little for other programmes.
Ong was speaking to reporters at Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan’s Hari Raya open house at Kampung Tanjung in Rantau near here.
He was commenting on findings in the Auditor-General’s report about poor financial management in certain local councils and the proposed move to rate them based on their performance.
Asked about the huge debts owed by certain municipal councils to solid waste disposal company Southern Waste Management Sdn, Ong said they must find ways to check this imbalance.
“Since they have signed concession agreements, they will have to honour this. If we get involved, there may be some legal implications ... also, we cannot be settling their debts,” he said.
Ong said the Government was looking at several possibilities to help local councils reduce their financial burden. However, he did not elaborate.
On the rating of local councils, he said it would begin with the 11 city councils followed by the rest.
“We will assess the performance of the 11 city councils in the first quarter. Only then will we look at the others,” he said.
The assessment will be done by the ministry, the Integrity Institute of Malaysia, Mampu and state governments.
“We have already drawn up the terms of reference for the assessing teams. Let me assure you that we will be transparent in grading them. We just want to ensure the people get quality and prompt service,” he said.
He said the move to rate councils has been discussed for a couple of years as one of the many initiatives to improve local authorities’ performance.
Waste fee aid only for poor councils (NST)
SEREMBAN: Only local councils with an annual revenue of less than RM5 million will receive government assistance in settling their arrears with waste management concessionaires.
Housing and Local Governments Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said others need to come up with their own initiatives to pay what they owed Alam Flora Sdn Bhd and Southern Waste Management Sdn Bhd.
This decision was made at the recent Local Government Council meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Ong was commenting on the failure by local councils to settle their arrears with the two companies.
Ong was speaking after attending the open house of Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan in Rantau yesterday.
The Auditor-General's Report had highlighted the Nilai Municipal Council's failure to pay RM17 million in fees to Southern Waste. Mohamad had said most local councils would become insolvent in the next few years as many had a revenue shortfall.
Ong said local councils must settle their current outstanding payments as they are bound by contracts they signed with the two companies.
However, city and municipal councils that register losses will have to find ways to cover this as they had the means to do so.
Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said a meeting of the National Council on Local Authorities chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had agreed on this recently.
“We are aware that some district councils are finding it difficult to cover their expenses. The Federal Government will offer them some kind of assistance,” he said.
Some district councils pay between 50% and 80% of their annual income to waste disposal companies alone, leaving them with little for other programmes.
Ong was speaking to reporters at Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan’s Hari Raya open house at Kampung Tanjung in Rantau near here.
He was commenting on findings in the Auditor-General’s report about poor financial management in certain local councils and the proposed move to rate them based on their performance.
Asked about the huge debts owed by certain municipal councils to solid waste disposal company Southern Waste Management Sdn, Ong said they must find ways to check this imbalance.
“Since they have signed concession agreements, they will have to honour this. If we get involved, there may be some legal implications ... also, we cannot be settling their debts,” he said.
Ong said the Government was looking at several possibilities to help local councils reduce their financial burden. However, he did not elaborate.
On the rating of local councils, he said it would begin with the 11 city councils followed by the rest.
“We will assess the performance of the 11 city councils in the first quarter. Only then will we look at the others,” he said.
The assessment will be done by the ministry, the Integrity Institute of Malaysia, Mampu and state governments.
“We have already drawn up the terms of reference for the assessing teams. Let me assure you that we will be transparent in grading them. We just want to ensure the people get quality and prompt service,” he said.
He said the move to rate councils has been discussed for a couple of years as one of the many initiatives to improve local authorities’ performance.
Waste fee aid only for poor councils (NST)
SEREMBAN: Only local councils with an annual revenue of less than RM5 million will receive government assistance in settling their arrears with waste management concessionaires.
Housing and Local Governments Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said others need to come up with their own initiatives to pay what they owed Alam Flora Sdn Bhd and Southern Waste Management Sdn Bhd.
This decision was made at the recent Local Government Council meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Ong was commenting on the failure by local councils to settle their arrears with the two companies.
Ong was speaking after attending the open house of Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan in Rantau yesterday.
The Auditor-General's Report had highlighted the Nilai Municipal Council's failure to pay RM17 million in fees to Southern Waste. Mohamad had said most local councils would become insolvent in the next few years as many had a revenue shortfall.
Ong said local councils must settle their current outstanding payments as they are bound by contracts they signed with the two companies.
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