The Manama Municipality's proposed two-year budget stalled by councillors more than two months ago has been given a new lifeline.

The municipality's highest authority has agreed to demands by Manama Municipal Council members to have BD3 million included for projects in addition to BD135,000 to cover new employments.

Councillors had demanded that specific funds be kept aside for projects rather than have the municipality determine work based on priority. The projects include revamps to the Ayn Qasari and the Water Garden Parks.

They also include five new public parks in Sanabis, Karbabad, Gudabaiya and Hoora, in addition to a walkway in Zinj.

They have been included in the budgets of the past four years, but their funds were left untouched or they remained on blueprints and never materialised.

The municipality's revenue for last year was BD30.7 million and it is expected to reach BD35m this year and BD40m next year, according to councillors.

Expenditure for this year is BD11.461m and BD11.793m for next year.

The municipality could continue to spend funds until the budget is approved for last year, but it can't spend on new projects or hire new staff unless the budget gets ratified by Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Dr Juma Al Ka'abi.

"We have fulfilled councillors' demands to ensure that the budget doesn't get stalled further because we need it to work on our development projects," said municipality director-general Yousif Al Ghatam.

"Councillors have demanded that the BD3m projects budget gets included in our calculations and we have now agreed to do so, despite us spending the same or more anyway on projects with or without it being added," he said.

"We have never turned down any project suggested by the council, except when it does not fulfil technical requirements."

Al Ghatam said the municipality didn't refuse the council's demands for BD135,000 to cover the costs of the new employment structure, but had problems assigning a budget for something that does not exist.

"Councillors say that the council's new structure would be ready within months and that if the budget is not assigned now, employment of new staff would be impossible," he said.

"I don't agree with them but on consulting financial experts they said that there was no problem assigning it and we agreed to do so."

He said that in regard to councillors' demands for a BD300,000 budget for emergencies and compensations, it already existed.

"It is under various spending heads, so having it separated doesn't really make sense considering that emergency has several definitions," he added.-TradeArabia News Service