Wednesday, February 10, 2010

November 16, 2009 19:42 PM

Annual Grant For All Local Authorities In Sarawak Starting Next Year

KUCHING, Nov 16 (Bernama) -- Starting next year, the federal government through the Ministry of Housing and Local Government will give an annual grant to all local authorities in Sarawak based on a formula that takes into account the status of local authorities as well as the population of the area.

Minister of Environment and Public Health Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh said that for 2010 some RM28.3 million had been approved and the allocation would be channelled directly to the local authorities.

"The uniqueness of the formula is that the higher the status of the local authority, the smaller the rate," he said in his winding-up speech at the Sarawak state assembly.

For Sarawak, he said, the city council would receive six per cent, municipal councils seven per cent and district councils 13 per cent.

Wong said Sarawak local authorities were governed by the Local Authorities Ordinance, 1996 and not the Local Authority Act, 1976 (Act 171).

"As a result, Sarawak and Sabah had not been given any annual operating grant under the State Grants (Maintenance of Local Authorities) Act, 1981 (Act 245)," he added.

However, he said that after a presentation by his ministry, the federal government had agreed to give the grant to the two states.

Wong said the grant would greatly alleviate the financial shortfall, especially for the smaller councils which had a big area but a small and scattered population base.

-- BERNAMA

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