By Geryl Ogilvy
KUCHING, Feb 28: Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) is giving due attention to drainage and road improvement projects to tackle flash floods and other problems in areas under its jurisdiction, said Lo Khere Chiang, its chairman.
For instance, the RM1.16 million flood mitigation project to upgrade drainage and road network along Jalan Dogan in Batu Kawah is currently in progress.
Another flood mitigation project along Jalan Burung Lilin and Jalan Burung Kawok at 3 1/2 Mile here is currently under tender evaluation stage and expected to start soon.
Lo, who is Batu Kitang assemblyman, said 34 projects amounting to RM5.8 million under the rural transformation initiative were currently ongoing, where 18 of them costing RM2.7 million are under his constituency.
“Under the 11th Malaysia Plan, RM3.6 million has been approved to implement various projects this year. A sum of RM200,000 each has been allocated for street lighting and traffic light, roads as well as our Green Market Padawan project.
“In addition, RM3 million has been allocated to develop the Sungai Batu Kawah waterfront project that cost RM5 million. However, we received RM2 million last year.
“All these projects are scheduled to start in the second quarter of this year,” Lo told reporters after chairing MPP’s full council meeting today.
MPP has also received RM28 million from the Malaysian Road Records Information System (Marris) fund for 2019, an increased of RM3 million from last year’s allocation.
Lo said RM12 million has been approved for Marris special projects involving roads and drainage.
Touching on the breakdown, he explained that RM7.455 million would be used for 63 road resurfacing projects, while RM4.545 million was allocated for 35 drain repairs and maintenance projects.
“The council is planning to start 15 road and five drain projects next month,” he added.
Meanwhile, the remaining RM15.97 million allocation would be used for routine projects and maintenance.
In addition, Lo said MPP had also embarked on 14 drain repair and maintenance projects amounting to RM5.8 million. Work started on Feb 20 and is scheduled to be completed on May 19 this year.
During the meeting, he briefed councillors and officers on the need to improve MPP’s service delivery.
Citing MPP’s recent Balanced Scorecard (BSC) evaluation workshop on Feb 21-22, Lo raised the need to re-evaluate its strategic planning to ensure that the council did not derail from its target and long-term vision to become an efficient and self-sustainable municipality.
MPP would relook at the effectiveness and demands of its current services while strengthening its tax collection.
“Through the key performance index and other new initiatives, we hope to achieve our target (in line with the council’s mission) to be more committed to improving the life quality of our residents through more efficient services.
“We will also utilise public feedback and create more involvement to improve our delivery.”
MPP is looking to introduce a system to monitor development projects. It will focus on performance delivery and proper implementation, including those approved by state and federal lawmakers.
The council would also improve its record to monitor areas prone to flash flood, traffic congestion as well as areas with road safety and traffic control issues. — DayakDaily
