Maravi

Machila bemoans councils’ dependence on central govt

Machila bemoans councils’ dependence on central govt
By Agness Changala
Tue 20 Oct. 2009, 08:17 CAT

ACTING local government minister Bradford Machila has bemoaned the councils’ continued dependence on the central government for revenue.

Speaking when a delegation of parliamentarians and senior government officials from Malawi paid a courtesy on him at the ministry yesterday, Machila, who is also livestock and fisheries minister, said the government was finding ways to enhance the councils’ capacity to generate income.

“We have about 72 councils in this country and they are all facing a number of challenges and one of them is failure to generate their revenue,” he said.

“They are so dependent on assistance from the central government.”

Machila said councils were important because they improved service delivery in the Ministry of Local Government and Housing.

He said the decentralisation policy which Zambia was currently working on, if implemented, would assist the nation take service delivery closer to people.

Machila, however, said there was still a bit of work to be done before the policy could be implemented.

And deputy director of local government services decentralisation in Malawi, Hastings Bota, said local authorities could help in the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s).

Bota said local authorities in his country equally faced similar challenges as Zambia where they were also not able to generate revenue on their own.
Meanwhile, delegation leader and member of parliament for Karonga North East constituency in Malawi, Beatrice Mwangonde, said her delegation was in the country to expose themselves to the experiences of other countries undertaking decentralisation.

Mwangonde said they also wanted to learn what role Parliament played in implementing decentralisation policies in Zambia.

“How do different committees of Parliament relate to the implementation of decentralisation and also oversee the operations of local authorities and how do different players, central government, local governments and the National Assembly relate in decentralisation,” said Mwangonde.

Labels: BRADFORD MACHILA, DECENTRALIZATION, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MALAWI

posted by MrK @ 5:53 PM