Tema, Jan. 17, GNA -- The Tema Municipal Assembly (TMA) on Friday approved a total budget of 60,397,886,196 cedis of which 35.9 billion cedis is expected from government grants in the form of Common Fund, salaries, DANIDA and HIPC funds.

Mrs Afua Tagoe, Municipal Budget Officer, who presented the 2004 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) budget that spans to 2006 said the remaining 24.4 billion cedis would come from the assembly's own traditional sources of revenue which are based on the fee-fixing resolution. She disclosed that an amount of 12.1 billion cedis is expected from rates, and out of this amount, basic rate is expected to contribute 120 million cedis, while 12 billion cedis will come from property rates.

Mrs Tagoe, who presented the MTEF budget at the third ordinary general assembly meeting said a projected revenue of 40 million cedis is expected from stool lands, while fees/fines has been increased substantially from last year's figure of 5.3 billion cedis to 7.2 billion cedis due to increase in the fee-fixing. She mentioned that the estimated revenue from licence is expected to rise from 2.9 billion cedis 2003 to 3.8 billion cedis, adding the assembly is anticipating revenue of 69 million cedis in 2004 as against 68 million cedis in 2003.

On the 35.9 billion cedis grants, the budget officer said out of this amount, 8.022 billion cedis will come from the common fund, 11 billion cedis from DANIDA as support for the Oyibi water project and 3.27 billion cedis as GetFund projects.

On expenditure, Mrs Tagoe said the MTEF budget has four major heads namely personnel emoluments, administrative expenses, service expenses and investments or development with a total expenditure of 60.4 billion cedis for 2004 personnel emolument accounts for 7 billion cedis, administrative expenses, 5.56 billion cedis, service activity, 3.2 billion cedis and investment, 44.6 billion cedis. This means that 74 percent of the assembly's spending is for investment, as against 26 percent for recurrent expenditure.