Maravi

PF councillors refuse to approve LCC budget

PF councillors refuse to approve LCC budget
Written by Masuzyo Chakwe
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 4:52:59 PM

PATRIOTIC Front councillors in Lusaka yesterday refused to approve the council’s 2009 budget and instead insisted that they reconvene within 24 hours to hold mayoral elections first.The councillors, who debated for over an hour, failed to agree on the way forward.

Some councillors wanted to go ahead with the meeting while others, particularly from PF, opposed the idea, saying it was illegal.

The special council meeting, which was attended by over 30 councillors, was supposed to approve the council budget, which is projected at K154 billion.

Before the meeting started, PF councilors held a caucus meeting.

However, Chawama PF member of parliament Reverend Violet Sampa-Bredt did not attend the caucus.

Rev Sampa-Bredt also informed the meeting that PF Matero member of parliament Faustina Sinyangwe was unable to attend because she was out of town.

Town clerk Timothy Hakuyu said the meeting was a special council meeting to discuss the budget in line with the directive by local government and housing permanent secretary Joe Ngo to all councils in the country to submit their annual budget estimates for their respective provincial local government officers latest Wednesday last week.

But Kabwata member of parliament Given Lubinda said the meeting was illegal, as the mayoral elections had not taken place yet.

Lubinda said according to the local government Act Cap 281 of the laws of Zambia, section 22, ‘the mayor or chairman of the council may convene a special meeting of the council at any time and shall convene a special meeting within 21 days or such lesser period as may be prescribed by the standing order of the councils after he receives a written request therefore signed by not less than one third of the whole number of councilors of which the council consists and stating clearly the purposes for which the special meeting is to be convened.'

He said the councillors were mandated to operate within the law and be consistent with the law.

Lubinda said the meeting should be deemed an ordinary meeting for them to transact important business as it did not qualify to be a special meeting.

But Hakuyu said the council could not have been an ordinary meeting to transact on the budget.

He said all the other provinces had submitted their budgets and that other things had come later. Hakuyu said a Statutory Instrument was there and it was not altering the law.

PF Lusaka Central member of parliament Dr Guy Scott said the meeting would spend more time discussing elections than holding them.

Rev Sampa-Bredt said the councilors were given notice for a special meeting to discuss the budget.

At this point UPND Kanyama ward councilor Harry Hampende said the meeting was getting out of context and urged the councilors to stand up and speak out as the members of parliament were misleading them.

But Lubinda, who seemed upset, challenged Hampende to bring forward evidence that what he was saying was true, while PF Munali member of parliament Mumbi Phiri agreed with him.

Lubinda then proposed that in view of the law, the meeting should be stood down and reconvened within 48 hours.

But Hakuyu said it was not possible to turn the special meeting into an ordinary meeting to hold elections and approve the budget.

UPND Lilayi ward councilor Lazarus Chulabantu said there was a lot of partisan politics involved in the council.

"Let us move forward, we have a lot of issues to look at. Things are not moving in this council," he said.

Another councilor said Hampende should speak for himself when he says councilors had been misled by members of parliament. He said there had been a lot of inconsistency with the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, which had made it difficult for councillors to do their work, and asked for guidance.

Dr Scott said even if the meeting was illegal or not, they should not be blackmailed.

He said they were politicians and not officials, and had pride.

But UPND Silwizya ward 13 councilor Jimmy Dons asked what difference it would make and if the council would have the capacity to approve the budget if elections were held yesterday.

At this point former mayor Patricia Nawa said she believed that the budget was for councils and councilors to carry out their jobs.

Nawa said in the 10 years that she was councillor, she had never had an experience like the one she saw yesterday.

"Councillors are elected by the people in the wards. Let’s leave councilors to be free to talk about these issues. People knock on councilors' doors when there is a problem in the constituency. Let the councillors debate what they want," she said.

Mumbi Phiri disagreed with Nawa and said people in her constituency knock on her door and if Nawa had that kind of attitude, it was no wonder she lost.

Two proposals were then made that the meeting either go on or they enter a standdown to reconvene within 48 hours.

Hakuyu then proposed that they vote but some councilors said they should use the secret ballot for fear of intimidation.

But Phiri said that would be time consuming and Hakuyu proposed that they go ahead and vote openly.

After the voting, eight voted to continue the meeting, 17 voted to reconvene within 48 hours while 11 abstained and the meeting was adjourned.

Lubinda said PF wanted the mayoral elections to take place first before the budget could be approved. He said local government minister Benny Tetamashimba should take a different approach and not rough up people.

"We will abide by all the legal instructions and directives. Local government does not operate in a vacuum. It implements power and functions from the central government. We are assisting Tetamashimba to look at these things through other eyes. No one is resisting. We will not assist him to break the law," said Lubinda.

Labels: BUDGET, LCC, PF

posted by MrK @ 4:53 PM