Officials in local government, lands most corrupt - Forrie
By Fridah Nkonde and Selina Nyirenda
Wed 06 June 2012, 13:23 CAT
MINISTRY of Local Government and Housing deputy minister Forrie Tembo says some officials in his ministry and the ministry of Lands are the most corrupt. And the deputy minister said Siavonga district council director of works and the district planning officer have been suspended for incompetence.
Tembo said in an interview yesterday, that most officials in the ministries of local government and lands were the ones who facilitate for the corrupt activities in land allocation.
"I am in Southern Province right now investigating how some people have been acquiring land. To say the truth, it is worrying to see how huge pieces of land are being given out in most parts of Southern Province," Tembo said.
He said it was a scandal how some officials in both the ministry of lands and local government were selling land to people without proper documentation.
Tembo said preliminary investigations clearly showed that officials in both the ministry of lands and local government were involved in the fraudulent sell of land.
He said government was not going to sit back and relax because there were a lot of people involved.
Tembo said council officers implicated in illegal land allocation should be handed over to the investigative wings.
He said there were a lot of abnormalities in the way land was being sold and that government was in the process of coming up with a report to expose all those that had been involved in corrupt activities.
He said no interviews and offers of land would be done until all outstanding issues were resolved and completed.
"What we have found out is that most of these officials in both the ministry of lands and local government are collaborating with briefcase businessmen and are conniving with them to take the responsibility of being their agents for the huge pieces of plots that they have acquired fraudulently," he said.
Tembo gave an example of a piece of land belonging to The University of Zambia in Monze that had been demarcated by someone who claimed to have bought it from one of the officials in the ministry of local government and housing.
"The same man even produced fake documents. I am saying fake because the papers were not from the council," he said.
Labels: CORRUPTION, FORRIE TEMBO, LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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Ex-Kitwe mayor hails Sata's observation on councils
By Mwila Chansa-Ntambi in Kitwe
Sun 27 May 2012, 13:27 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata's observation that some local authorities are incompetent and corrupt in allocation of land is a timely warning, says former Kitwe mayor Cosmas Bwalya. Bwalya in a press release urged all civic leaders and other people involved in the illegalities in councils throughout the country to stop.
He observed that over the years, there had been several reports of irregular and illegal land allocations by councillors, party cadres and other individuals without any action being taken against the perpetrators of the illegalities in question by councils and other relevant authorities.
"There is a standard legal procedure for allocating land by local authorities throughout the country and when land is illegally allocated to an individual or an organisation without council detecting such an anomaly, then such a council is incompetent in its operations," Bwalya stated.
He urged the government to immediately conduct a comprehensive land audit throughout the country and where necessary repossess land allocated illegally and prosecute the culprits.
Meanwhile, Bwalya appealed to local government minister Professor Nkandu Luo to investigate and tell Kitwe residents the real reason why the land where Astra Cinema was located had remained undeveloped for so long.
Bwalya observed that the land in question needed a serious developer to construct a good building that would change the face of Kitwe and add beauty to the city.
Labels: CORRUPTION, KITWE, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MICHAEL SATA
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Local government is dead - Sata
By Moses Kuwema
Thu 24 May 2012, 12:59 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata says the local government system in the country is very ineffective. Speaking at State House when he swore in members of the Local Government Service Commission yesterday, President Sata said the country could not see the impact of government because local government was dead.
"I will not hesitate dissolving you again if you can't function. Today, we cannot see the impact of government because local government is dead, all you need is to get out of State House, drive through Chilenje you will see how tall the grass is and yet you have a local government, a very well paid local government in Lusaka," President Sata said.
President Sata urged the members of the Commission to move around the country and familiarise themselves with the operations of the councils.
"Don't just sit in Lusaka or in Ndola. Tour the whole country. Once they see you, that's how they are going to function. You tour the whole provinces and see for yourself what is happening in councils, not just make transfers and promotions from your office," he said.
President Sata said since the Commission operates on a full-time basis, they should also find ways of ensuring that councils survive on their own, instead of relying on government grants.
"The money, which is in superannuation fund, belongs to the workers of local government. There is so much corruption in the councils, allocation of land, you don't have houses… Mr []Fredrick] Chiluba sold all the houses. When there were houses, councils survived on those houses but now you don't have houses so find means and ways of councils surviving on their own instead of relying on grants from government," he said.
Those sworn in include Steven Mushinge as chairman and Charles Mwandila as his vice, Maggie Kapihya, Bernard Simpokolwe, Dauti Phiri as members and Chipili Magayane as secretary.
And speaking to journalists after the swearing-in ceremony, local government minister Professor Nkandu Luo said she was confident that the team would shake up the councils.
Prof Luo said there was a lot of work that needed to be done to make the councils effective, among them attitude towards work and the human resource issues.
Labels: LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MICHAEL SATA
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Editorial Comment: MDC-T councillors a disgrace to voters, society
Friday, 30 March 2012 00:00
Demonstrations rocked the small town of Karoi in Mashonaland West province on Wednesday as residents protested against what they alleged to be corruption by councillors and council officials, poor service delivery and abuse of council money. The Karoi demonstrations were hardly surprising given the allegations being levelled against the Karoi Town Council.
If the council takes a decision to allocate plots and commercial stands to councillors for prices as low as US$12, then they are inviting the wrath of the residents.
We don’t dispute the fact that councillors offer services to the people for little remuneration and towards the end of their terms can be considered for stands to build their houses or go into business. But they must expect to pay reasonable purchase fees for those stands. Anything less than US$100 is ridiculous, let alone the US$12 dollars they are reported to have paid.
It does not matter that procedures were followed to get approvals for such purchases, the fees are just not acceptable. Most of these councillors have not offered many years of service to expect to enjoy such discounts.
This all happens when the same council is failing to pay its workers salaries on time.
The story of corruption and poor service delivery has become too familiar in Zimbabwe’s urban councils where councillors and officers misuse council resources with shocking impunity. Hardly any town council has been spared from allegations of wanton corruption. Perhaps only the Bulawayo City Council has been able to keep itself untainted.
Bindura, Mutare, Rusape, Redcliff, Chitungwiza, the list is endless — have all been haunted by allegations of financial impropriety.
MDC-T which is running these councils has every reason to be worried by the lack of corporate governance that its councillors have shown. The party’s president, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai has spoken out against the behaviour of the officials but has not taken any drastic action to end the shameful behaviour of the councillors.
What we have seen instead are running battles between Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo and the councils, and MDC-T has reacted by alleging that the minister is interfering too much in the running of councils.
But the question is should he just watch when ratepayers’ money is being abused without any attempt to offer proper services. None of the councils, with perhaps the exception of Bulawayo, has been able to offer acceptable services in return for the money paid by residents.
Gradually a theory is emerging that the failure in local governance by MDC-T councils could be symptomatic of a bigger problem in how the party selects leaders for public office, a weakness that could be replicated in Government should they win elections to form a Government on their own.
This is not to suggest that Zanu-PF has fared any better in dealing with corruption within its own ranks. But the MDC-T has been campaigning on a ticket of change and the stint it has had in local government and to some extent in Government, weakens their claim to be a party capable of operating at higher levels of integrity and transparency.
If anything the experience of the inclusive Government has revealed a common weakness across party lines to abuse resources meant for the people. The recent revelations around the Constituency Development Fund are a case in point.
Whilst the councils are beginning to generate reasonable amounts from ratepayers, they will not be able to offer any meaningful services if they are spending this money on themselves.
This is the accusation that is now being levelled against the resuscitation team led by Fungai Mbetsa, which is seeking to turnaround the Chitungwiza Town Council. There are signs that they have put their snouts on the feeding trough. The members of the team get increasingly irritated if journalists ask them to justify the money they are spending on themselves.
Yet they can easily redeem themselves if they work on service delivery and bring enough improvement to justify the outrageously high fees they are drawing from the council.
Very few of our leaders still believe in the principle of servant leadership and of being faithful stewards of resources put on their hands on behalf of the people. They see each office as an eating place and they gobble as much as possible as long as the resources last.
It will be interesting to see how voters punish these leaders in the next elections. Have they learnt enough from what they have suffered to then carefully consider the candidate offering himself or herself for public office, irrespective of the party they are coming from?
It may be wiser to choose people who have achieved a lot on their own and are coming into office to serve the people and not to enrich themselves. The tragedy in most urban councils now is that most of the councillors did not have anything to their name before being elected into office. Because they did not have anything to lose they had the courage to challenge the Zanu-PF leaders that were in office and succeeded.
But after winning, they have nothing else to offer to the people and lot to take for themselves.
Labels: CORRUPTION, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MDC, NEOLIBERALISM
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Simwinga urges support for Sata's devolution efforts
By Mwila Chansa-Ntambi
Tue 06 Mar. 2012, 11:59 CAT
THE Barotseland Agreement should be understood in the context of a devolved system of governance, says Ali Simwinga.
And Simwinga says there is need to support President Michael Sata's efforts of devolution, adding that countries that had devolved were doing better in terms of development than those that had not.
Commenting on the ongoing debate over the Barotseland Agreement of 1964, Simwinga, the immediate past Kitwe town clerk who was also the longest-serving town clerk in Zambia for 19 years said at his residence in Kitwe last Wednesday that if people isolated the Barotseland Agreement from the principle of a devolved system of government, they would be shooting in the dark.
"I have had the honour to serve as member of the Constitutional Review Commission under the Willa Mung'omba which was constituted by the late president Levy Patrick Mwanawasa and if you recall, that commission undertook a tour of all the 150 constituencies in Zambia. So I know what our people said, what they submitted and I am also quite familiar with what the commission after gathering all this evidence, both oral and written, did recommend on this particular issue of the Barotse Agreement," Simwinga said.
He added that when the Mung'omba CRC deliberated on the issue of Barotseland Agreement, commissioners proceeded to consider people's submissions on the Barotseland issue within the framework of local government and in particular devolution.
Simwinga explained that the Mung'omba Commission was in agreement with the observations of the Mvunga Commission that the issue could only be settled by the parties concerned in terms of the provisions of the agreement in question.
"The commission also noted that even the Mwanakatwe Commission recommended that the government and the Barotse Royal Establishment should negotiate over the agreement. However, it was the commission's view that since these submissions were motivated by the desire that power should devolve to the royal establishment, the matter should be considered within the context of devolution of power to provinces and districts and that is the issue," he said.
"The commission recommended on page 511 as follows: 'the commission recommends that the Barotse Agreement should be addressed through the devolved and decentralised system of local government as recommended in this report."
Simwinga observed that because the above recommendations had not found themselves in the country's laws, the people of Western Province felt, and legitimately so, that they were not getting an equitable share of the national cake.
"Now I have heard debates that no President Michael Sata during the campaigns indicated that he would restore the Barotseland Agreement. Well, I did not accompany him on his campaign trails but the few times I heard him, I heard him say he will respect the Barotseland Agreement because it accorded him an opportunity to practice a devolved system of government and I think we should not quote people out of context and that is my understanding of the issue at hand," Simwinga added.
He urged Zambians not to shelve documents but read and understand them so as not to mislead others.
"So I think those of my colleagues who are arguing on the restoration of the Barotseland Agreement without reference to a devolved system of government, in my humble view, are arguing out of context," said Simwinga.
And Simwinga said it was sad that people were complaining about realignments and increase in districts.
"Let me tell you that the Netherlands as a country is much smaller than the Copperbelt Province but it has 385 districts compared with ours which is a massive country with over 70 districts. So tell me, which one is easier to manage, the smaller unit or the bigger one?" Simwinga wondered.
Labels: ALI SIMWINGA, BAROTSELAND AGREEMENT, DISTRICTS, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MICHAEL SATA, MUNG'OMBA DRAFT CONSTITUTION
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TIZ calls for thorough probe of Siavonga District Council
By Allan Mulenga
Sat 18 Feb. 2012, 12:01 CAT
TRANSPARENCY International Zambia has urged local government minister Professor Nkandu Luo to ensure that corrupt allegations over Siavonga District Council are thoroughly investigated and the culprits brought to book. In an interview yesterday, Transparency International Zambia executive director Goodwell Lungu said corrupt practices in local authorities hamper service delivery.
"We call on Professor Luo, just as we did to the former local government minister Dr Brian Chituwo, not to narrow the probe to a few councils as the allegations are not confined to UPND-controlled councils alone, but need to be spread to PF and MMD dominated councils as well," he said.
Lungu urged the government to roll out the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Policy to prevent the occurrence of such malpractices.
"TIZ recommends a much broader probe into malpractices in local authorities and we call upon all citizens to report such malpractices to relevant authorities in a bid to root out such bad practices. What has been reported may just be a tip of the iceberg. While this is a worthwhile undertaking, we would like to caution Prof. Luo to handle the matter professionally by avoiding the temptation of pursuing a political agenda which will not help to resolve the problems," said Lungu.
On Thursday, Prof Luo suspended Siavonga district council for allegedly corrupt activities with immediate effect .
Labels: CORRUPTION, COUNCILS, GOODWELL LUNGU, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, NKANDA LUO, SIAVONGA, TIZ
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Sata is a visionary person - Dr Kaseba
By Sheikh Chifuwe in London, UK
Mon 13 Feb. 2012, 13:01 CAT
FIRST lady Christine Kaseba says her husband Michael Sata is a visionary person who is very clear where he wanted to take Zambia, but people around him needed to cope with his pace of doing things.
In an interview in London on Saturday evening, Dr Kaseba said: "He is doing well, he is always much ahead when it comes to planning and what should be done but again when people are not really on the same pace, they will not be able to understand; they might misconstrue but later on they will come to appreciate."
Dr Kaseba said it had been difficult for President Sata to detach himself from physical contact with the people after he assumed the presidency as soft power approach had always been his principle in both politics and private life.
She said it was a pity that people were not referring to the President's speech during his address to Parliament which outlined his development agenda for the country.
She hoped that people could measure his administration's performance against the commitments he made to the country during the official opening of Parliament.
Dr Kaseba appealed to Zambians to give the new government enough time to deliver on its promises.
She said people were free to criticise the Patriotic Front government and President Sata, but challenged those who were patriotic to offer solutions instead of just criticising for the sake of it.
"At the end of the day we only have one Zambia which we need to serve. We should be able to say, ‘here Mr Sata, you are veering away from what you promised and I think we need to do ABC' and if Mr Sata doesn't listen to such advice, then we should be able to say you have not done well," she said.
Dr Kaseba said it was difficult for President Sata to perform a miracle and turn things around but that he needed everyone's involvement in resolving the many problems the country was facing.
"I am not trying to speak on his behalf but you know and do understand as well that even when Mr Sata was in his private life as a politician, even before he became a politician, he used to see (meet) a lot of people. But now because of security issues, it becomes difficult for him, it becomes challenging for him," she explained.
She said Zambians needed to be proud of their identity because at the end of the day, everyone needed to participate in the governance system of the country.
She said Zambians understood the culture and values of the country, which could not be blown away by individualistic people. On her social and outreach programmes, Dr Kaseba said she was a serious advocate of the fight against cancer diseases and that she was lobbying the government and the private sector to help fight cancer-related complications that had claimed many lives in the country.
She said the Ministry of Health had developed a strategic framework which was holistic in nature by including governance and financing. She said so far a lot of money had been allocated to health, which she said was a positive development for the country.
Dr Kaseba said infrastructure development was key to mitigating the suffering of the people in terms of health service delivery. She said the local expectations and misconception on what the first lady should do was challenging as her office was not constitutional.
"It becomes a daunting task to change things and meet people's expectations when you know very well that it is not a constitutional office. But because of the need to meet people's expectations from the first lady, you have to do something," she said.
"It's actually tiring and demanding, a lot emotionally because you do realise there is a need there for the people, but you are incapable to reach out to them because of the virtual way the office of first lady was constructed."
"Zambia needs supplementary effort not only from the first lady but from everyone else."
She also disclosed that she was working with other people over the possibility of creating a sustainable foundation that compliment the NGOs already working towards mitigating the suffering of the people.
She believed that foundations should never face extinction with the departure of the sitting first lady at State House.
"They should be independent of the first lady," Dr Kaseba said.
Dr Kaseba, who was on her way from Holland where she visited the country with local government officials, said Zambia had a lot to learn from that country.
Labels: LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MICHAEL SATA, PF
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President Sata moves Chirundu and Itezhi Tezhi districts from Southern Province, UPND reacts
TIME PUBLISHED - Monday, February 6, 2012, 1:49 pm
President Michael Sata has with immediate re-aligned two districts in Southern Province in a bid to improve service delivery and public administration. In a memorandum to the Acting Secretary to the Cabinet Mr. Evans Chibiliti, President Sata directed that a Government Gazette Notice be issued to move the recently created Chirundu District from Southern Province to Lusaka and Itezhi Tezhi District to Central Province.
The President consequently directed that the Surveyor-General moves in quickly to align the boundaries of the two districts on the the new provinces to which they have been re-located. The re-alignment is part of the President’s robust programme to give practical expression to the decentralisation programme and eventual devolution of power to districts.
“In line with our Government policy guided by the Patriotic Front Manifesto, we consider local government as a central feature of the party’s broader aspiration of a well devolved power structure where decision-making processes are as close as possible to the people,”the President said.
The President takes a view that the Decentralisation Policy will only show results once practical steps are taken to properly position both geographical and administrative systems.
“It is a fact that a district such as Itezhi Tezhi is difficult to administer and pose huge logistical problems to be serviced because it is poorly located from the central adminstration point in Southern Province,”President Sata said.
“For instance, to efficiently access Itezhi Tezhi, people have to pass through Lusaka and Central provinces. It is for this reason that this Government sees an urgent need to discontinue this sad scenario which has denied our people the much needed development for many years now.”
Meanwhile, President Sata has appointed Mr. Evans Chibiliti as Secretary to the Cabinet subject to Parliament’s approval. And the Head of State has promoted Youth and Sports permanent secretary Mr. Teddy Mulonga as the new Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet in-charge of Administration.
And the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) has accused President Michael Sata of attempting to redraw the map of the country in an effort to gain political advantage.
UPND Chairman for elections Ackson Sejani says there is no way President Sata can decide to move Chirundu from Southern Province to Lusaka province without consultation from necessary stakeholders.
Mr. Sejani says the PF government should be careful with their maneuvers stating that if not stopped, they the potential bring about strife in the country.
He told a media briefing in Lusaka this morning that President Sata is only making such decisions to reward chiefs that supported him during elections with paramount Chief positions.
Mr. Sejani says the UPND will use every mean to ensure that the shifting of Chirundu to southern province is not done.
And Siavonga Member of Parliament Kennedy Hamudulu says the people of southern province will not accept any changes in the province.
Mr. Hamudulu says if the government saw it fit to make changes, it would have followed the right procedure of consultation instead of using the back door.
The Patriotic Front (PF) government is alleged to be in the process of moving Chirundu from being part of Southern province to Lusaka province.
QFM
Labels: DECENTRALIZATION, DISTRICTS, EVANS CHIBILITI, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MICHAEL SATA, PF
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Blantyre City Council courts economic experts
By Green Muheya, Nyasa Times
Amid an outcry of lack of financial prudence, nepotism, and inefficiency by Blantyre City Council (BCC), management has swallowed its pride and invited the city’s citizenry to scrutinize its budget skeletons before it formulates the council’s 2012/13 financial year budget.
The council invited a number of city residents on Wednesday morning to hear their views for possible inclusion in their final budget.
BCC Director of Administrative Services Alfred Chanza said the pre-budget session was important as it will give a chance to the city residents who he described as “city owners” to bring steak in the Council’s 2012/13 budget.
“We have called upon the stakeholders to ensure that the budgeting is participatory and the city is taken back to the people,” said Chanza who has been at the centre of controversies facing the council.
Covering an area of 220 square kilometers, Blantyre City Council has a population of over 700,000, and is managed in accordance with the Local Government Act of 1998.
With a vision of being a city of choice with conducive environment where people shall take ownership, live and do business, the council has seven departments which include Administration (main dept), Engineering, Health and Social, Finance, Town Planning Estates, Leisure, Culture and Environment and the newly introduced Commerce & Industry.
Chanza was optimistic that the involvement of the city gurus in their budgeting process will yield big results that will augur well with their mission statement.
He said: “Our mission statement is to provide environmentally friendly, high quality, efficient and effective demand driven municipal services in partnership with the individual and corporate residents to attain better quality, lives for all residents in the city’ and it is against this background that we would want to involve the people in this session’s mission statement.”
The meeting took place at the Civic Centre’s main committee room and representatives included the business community, the banking and financial sector, academicians, private and public sector, construction industry, members of the press, informal sector, civil society groups and faith groups.
Over 100 delegates which included legislators for Blantyre City South East, Blantyre City South and Blantyre City West, Jeffrey Mtelemuka, Moses Kunkuyu and and Thom Gowelo respectively attended the meeting which was the first of its kind to be conducted by the council.
The Ministry of Finance has over the last few years been also conducting pre-budget consultations with members of the public prior to the formulation of the national budget.
Labels: BLANTYRE CITY, LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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Karoi embarks on poultry, horticultural projects
Saturday, 25 June 2011 23:52 Agriculture
From Noah Pito in Hurungwe
KAROI Town Council has embarked on poultry and horticultural projects in a bid to widen the revenue base.
Apart from venturing into a 40-hectare seed maize project at its New Forest Farm last year, the council has started a horticultural project that will see a hectare each under vegetables such as rape, onion, cabbage, cucumbers and tomatoes in the coming few weeks.
Land preparation is complete at a site near its New Forest Farm dam and planting of the vegetables is already underway.
The council has also initiated a beekeeping venture near the dam. The horticultural project will target ready markets in Hurungwe, Kariba and Chirundu One-Stop Border Post, while the honey project will target the local community.
At the local authority’s Shambatungwe Farm, a broiler project — which started two months ago — is in full swing with about 2 000 birds averaging 2,2kg in dressed mass, having been so far sold to local hotels, butcheries, takeaways and individuals.
Town secretary Mr Maxwell Kaitano said the local authority is aiming at expanding the broiler project to attain a turnover of 60 000 birds per year.
“We are in the process of constructing proper fowl runs,” he said.
“So far we have been using the improvised tobacco grading sheds to house the birds. After construction of the fowl runs, we are targeting to raise our turnover to 60 000 birds per year. This will be achieved by raising six batches of 10 000 fowls each at a time. In the next cropping season, the council is looking at growing up to 200 hectares of commercial maize, 70 hectares of soya and 20 hectares dry- land tobacco.
Tobacco will be grown at Shambatungwe Farm, where there is adequate infrastructure, while maize and soya will be grown at the New Forest Farm.
Karoi Town Council is operating in partnership with the Urban Development Corporation (Udcorp) and there is a specialist farm manager, Mr Charles Bvukumbwi, who is in charge of all the agricultural projects.-The Sunday Mail
Labels: COUNCILS, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, POULTRY
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Lubinda urges government to release Council audit
By Moses Kuwema
Sun 29 May 2011, 07:10 CAT
KABWATA member of parliament Given Lubinda has challenged local government minister Dr Brian Chituwo to quickly avail the audit report on the Lusaka City Council to the public. In an interview, Lubinda said it was wrong for Dr Chituwo to keep the document of public interest to his chest.
“It is strange that a document such as the audit report of the capital city's council is being kept to the chest of people, people need to know.
And as Patriotic Front we are anxiously waiting for the report. Maybe President Banda is going to make it public at today's Saturday function because that is their style of doing things,” Lubinda said.
On Friday, local government and housing permanent secretary Christah Kalulu confirmed that the audit report for the Lusaka City Council was out and that Dr Chituwo would make it public at a later stage.
Early this year, Dr Chituwo announced the suspension of the council following reports that the local authority had been involved in some land allocation scams.
He said the government decided to suspend LCC to pave way for investigations into the alleged illegal land allocation.
The council remained suspended for 90 days before Dr Chituwo later extended the period of the suspension for another 90 days.
The PF-dominated Lusaka City Council has been accused of illegally allocating land to itself without following the law governing the allocation of land.
Labels: AUDITING, BRIAN CHITUWO, GIVEN LUBINDA, LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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Councillor defends operations of PF-run authorities
By Darious Kapembwa in Kitwe
Tue 26 Apr. 2011, 04:00 CAT
NDOLA’s Itawa ward councillor Menyani Zulu says it is worrying for
senior government officials to exhibit high levels of ignorance on the operations of councils. Zulu was reacting to continuous attacks on PF dominated councils on the Copperbelt by President Rupiah Banda and senior government officials.
“First of all let them be sincere Mbulakulima is a minister in the province that has a poorest road network in the country and he knows that
his government has given the responsibility of maintaining roads to the RDA and not the councils, but his government has deliberately chosen to fool the people that PF-controlled councils are not maintaining roads,” he said.
Zulu said the PF councillors got into councils when the local authorities owed staff huge salary arrears that have since been dismantled.
“Things are moving smoothly because workers are not owed millions like was the case when MMD dominated these councils, let Mbulakulima tell the nation why there is no road from Ndola to Mufulira because the Ndola-Mufulira road is a mess and the Sabina-Mufulira road is something else and he is there cheapening himself and his government on issues that themselves least understand. Luckily, the people of Zambia especially in most urban areas are learned and laugh at such crap,” said Zulu.
“In the case of Ndola City Council, we have improved the operations of the council by employing qualified staff…we have bought vehicles for all directors who previously used to walk and the graders that they claim to be using to grade some township roads were bought by us, what is he talking about, let him and his central government tell the people how much they have misappropriated in the last 20 years which was meant for roads in the nation than talking about things that never exist in councils.”
Labels: COUNCILS, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PF, ROAD DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, ROADS
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COMMENT - " all councils were agents of the central government through the Ministry of Local Government and Housing. " I would say there is room for decentralization, and it will not happen under the MMD.
Rupiah wants to tarnish PF councils’ image - Katema
By Misheck Wangwe and Kabanda Chulu
Fri 22 Apr. 2011, 04:00 CAT
IT hurts to see that Zambians have a President who propagates lies on the performance of PF-controlled councils, says Dr Joseph Katema.
Commenting on President Rupiah Banda’s remarks that Patriotic Front-controlled councils on the Copperbelt had failed to deliver the much-needed development, Dr Katema, who is Chingola member of parliament, said it was sad that the country had a President who could not take responsibility over the failures of his government.
Dr Katema said President Banda’s government was holding on to money which was meant for developmental programmes such as the rehabilitation of roads to make people feel that PF-controlled councils were not performing.
“We are ready to work and we’ve done what we can within our means. We can’t construct the roads because we don’t have enough money and it’s solely the responsibility of the central government and its line agents, the Road Development Agency (RDA) and the National Road Fund. Rupiah is simply politicking; he wants to tarnish the image of the PF because his government has failed the people,” said Dr Katema.
And Nchanga parliamentarian Wylbur Simuusa said President Banda would not gain political mileage by blaming the PF over lack of development on the Copperbelt.
He said people were already aware that the government had failed to deliver development’ hence they had opted to support the PF.
“Unfortunately, Zambia has a leader who claims to be a president for all but national wealth is distributed in a discriminate manner because he wants people to change their minds and vote for the MMD. These are cheap politics that will not in any way help him to woo the electorate to vote for him,” said Simuusa.
And Roan member of parliament Chishimba Kambwili said councils were failing to meet the needs of people in many ways because President Banda’s government was not releasing enough money for development.
Kambwili said it was not feasible for councils to operate effectively when the government was not providing sufficient funds.
“Rupiah is like a bad carpenter who always blames his tools. If there is no money coming from central government, he should not expect the councils to perform. The budget of Luanshya Municipal Council is K14 billion. To do one kilometre of a road is 2.5 billion.
You should ask Rupiah what he expects us to do to meet all these demands of our people if his Cabinet is holding on to money. Surely our people want us to attend to their needs not politics every time,” he said.
Kambwili said the wisest thing for the electorate to do was to vote out President Banda and his government because he had failed the people.
And Nkana parliamentarian Mwenya Musenge said President Banda’s directive will not sway the minds of voters who have already made their choice.
Musenge described President Banda’s press conference as an embarrassment to the nation because it failed to address issues affecting people on the Copperbelt.
“His (President Banda) decision will have minimal impact because most people have already paid for the houses and the very few with balances have also paid over 80 per cent and it is cheap propaganda to think that over 3,000 people who shall benefit from the write-off will sway the minds of voters on the Copperbelt because they have already decided to do away with MMD,” said Musenge.
“If anything, President Banda has landed himself into trouble because he should also address the plight of former UBZ, CH, Monarch Steel, Mpelembe Properties and many retirees who are suffering and sleeping at Intercity Bus Terminus while waiting for their pensions.
Actually, we expected him to present findings of audit reports because he made similar allegations last year.”
And Kitwe mayor Elias Kamanga has said President Banda’s criticism of PF-led councils on the poor state of the roads is misplaced since the service was withdrawn and given to the RDA.
Kamanga said there was nothing like PF-controlled councils since all councils were agents of the central government through the Ministry of Local Government and Housing.
“Problems affecting councils are the same. In fact, they are worse in MMD-led councils like Kalulushi, Luanshya and Chililabombwe and why criticise councils on the state of roads when this service has been taken over by the RDA and councils just submit work plans?” wondered Kamanga.
Labels: COUNCILS, DECENTRALIZATION, ELIAS KAMANGA, JOSEPH KATEMA, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PF, RUPIAH BANDA, WYLBUR SIMUUSA
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Kanganja urges councils to improve image
By Mwila Chansa in Kitwe
Thu 14 Apr. 2011, 04:01 CAT
SECRETARY to the Cabinet Joshua Kanganja says it is not good to work for an institution which people accuse of being corrupt.
Opening an integrity committee training programme for Luanshya and Kalulushi municipal councils at Moba Hotel in Kitwe yesterday, Dr Kanganja (right) told the newly-sworn in members of the integrity committees to endeavour to build positive images for their respective institutions.
“Your roles are too important to be left to chance. You have an opportunity to change the image of your institutions as far as corruption is concerned because it is not nice to work for an institution which people accuse of being corrupt. You can’t even walk with your head up,” Dr Kanganja said.
He said corruption perceptions made people suffer from low self-esteem and low morale.
He urged integrity committee members to apply themselves with utmost seriousness and zeal in their course of duty.
Dr Kanganja also urged them to be candid in their deliberations as no one will penalise them for speaking the truth.
And Dr Kanganja said Zambians’ aspirations can only be realised if local authorities delivered services efficiently and effectively.
He said it was regrettable that service delivery in local authorities was very poor and that almost everyone knew a long list of matters that councils were not doing right.
“We must be concerned about this unsatisfactory and unacceptable state of affairs. Whilst I fully appreciate that lack of adequate resources is a serious challenge, there are a lot of matters that we are doing wrongly that do not require money,” Dr Kanganja said.
“We must be transparent and accountable in whatever we do. Unless we do this, public confidence in us will be totally lost. We must avoid this.”
Dr Kanganja urged integrity committee members to lead by example and be accountable for their conduct both in their private capacities and at their places of work.
Labels: COUNCILS, JOSHUA KANGANJA, LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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LCC complains about MMD interference
By Kombe Chimpinde
Tue 29 Mar. 2011, 04:00 CAT
The Lusaka City Council has asked the MMD to stop interfering in the local authority’s operations.
LCC public relations manager Chanda Makanta has complained that the ruling MMD is heavily intruding in the operations of the Lusaka Intercity Bus Terminus, which is under the council's control.
She advised the MMD leadership to restrain their cadres from carrying out party activities in the InterCity Bus Terminus.
Makanta said it was unfair for the MMD, led by Lusaka Province chairman William Banda, to harass bus operators and station users by forcing them to wear MMD party regalia.
“As far as we are concerned, the InterCity Bus Terminus belongs to the Lusaka City Council and not MMD or PF. What MMD is doing is illegal. This station is not for William Banda or any individual,” Makanta said.
She said it was sad that the MMD, which was a ruling party, could not arrest the situation on the ground even after several complaints from the local authority.
“From the look of things, it seems this has been allowed by the MMD government but we would like to ask the MMD authority; in fact, we are pleading with the MMD authorities to restrain cadres. It makes us really sad because we are the ones that are getting injured,” Makanta said.
And Makanta said LCC was investigating complaints of William Banda allegedly collecting station levies from station managers. She said the council management had not yet forwarded any complaints relating to illegal collection of station levies by William Banda.
Labels: CADRES, LCC, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MMD
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Autonomy of councils has been usurped, says Lubinda
By Bright Mukwasa
Thu 24 Mar. 2011, 04:01 CAT
THE reintroduction of the Local Govern-ment Service Comm-ission is against the spirit of decentralisation, says Given Lubinda.
In an interview, Lubinda, who is also PF chairperson for local government, said the revamping of the Commission was likely to slow down the process of implementing decentralisation.
"The government adopted the decentralisation plan in 2009 but in the process, we have digressed by establishing a centralised structure through the Local Government Service Commission. You see this is against the spirit of decentralisation and it will give the MMD opportunity to abuse council resources," Lubinda said.
He said the nature of operations of the Commission would demand centralising the operations of the council which was contrary to the tenets of decentralisation. Lubinda complained that the autonomy of the councils had been usurped.
"Councils are now paying allegiance to the government instead of the councillors. Matters of councils are being discussed by ministers in the press,” he said. Lubinda said the government must move quickly in decentralising the operations of the councils if they were to perform.
Lubinda also advised the government to establish a charge similar to the television levy that would compel people to pay for solid waste management. The reintroduction of the Local Government Service Commission is intended to streamline the council’s operations and ensure effectiveness in the local government system.
The government has already appointed commissioners. And Lubinda called on parliamentarians to take advantage of the offer by the Ministry of Tourism to collect a specific number of trees for planting in their constituencies.
Lubinda, who is also Kabwata parliamentarian, said his constituency had embraced the offer and was already aiming at planting 20,000 trees.
Labels: COUNCILS, DECENTRALIZATION, GIVEN LUBINDA, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, PF
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COMMENT - Didn't minister Chituwo come out of the Ministry of Health?
Councils lack strict financial regulation, says Chituwo
By Kombe Chimpinde and Florence Bupe
Sat 12 Mar. 2011, 04:00 CAT
LOCAL government minister Dr Brian Chituwo says there is a need for robust systems in district councils for improved service delivery. And the parliamentary committee on local governance says it is worrying that councils are failing to account for public funds.
Dr Chituwo said
there was gross mismanagement of resources in district councils due to lack of stringent financial control systems. “There is a need for proper monetary systems that allow for checks and balances,” he said.
Dr Chituwo said he had tabled audited accounts of all councils before Parliament, with Lusaka City Council as a priority. His ministry would publicise the findings of the Lusaka audit once investigations were concluded.
Parliamentary committee on local governance chairperson Regina Musokotwane said it was worrying that many councils were still failing to account for use of resources.
He said most councils had neglected the issue of unretired imprest, which constituted the larger part of unaccounted for funds.
Committee member Dr Solomon Musonda castigated Chama District Council secretary Newton Ng’uni for entertaining debt swaps in cases of unretired imprest.
Labels: BRIAN CHITUWO, LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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ZULAWU queries non-funding of Local Government Commission
By Bright Mukwasa
Fri 14 Jan. 2011, 04:00 CAT
THE government should explain how the newly set up Local Government Commission will operate without a budgetary allocation, ZULAWU has demanded.
Zambia United Local Authorities Workers Union (ZULAWU) president Misheck Nyambose said the government needed to make serious efforts to ensure that the new commission was functional.
“We are facing a lot of challenges in dealing with staff matters because the new Act took away all the powers. But the commission has no budgetary allocation in the yellow book. We wonder how it will operate,” Nyambose said.
Nyambose said in the absence of the commission, many local government issues had stalled.
“Let the commission start work so they look at improving conditions of service. The current conditions in the local government are still very poor to attract qualified staff,” he said.
Nyambose said nothing had happened despite the government’s announcement on the appointment of the commission.
He praised the local government for effectively disbursing funds last year but complained of rampant misapplication.
“Some of the money, however, has not been used for intended purposes. There’s a lot of misapplication of money,” said Nyambose.
Labels: LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ZULAW
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Tsvangirai happy with hefty council salaries
By: TH-TZG
Posted: Saturday, August 7, 2010 5:41 am
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is comfortable with the hefty salaries being paid to senior staff at the Town House. This was revealed by Harare Mayor Mr Muchadeyi Masunda following a meeting with a team from the PM’s Office on Tuesday. The officials are believed to be earning as much as US$15 000 a month.
This has seen Government appointing a team led by Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Deputy Minister Sessel Zvidzai to look into staff remuneration in all municipalities.
Mr Masunda told the Herald newspaper that he had met with the PM's team who were happy with the packages.
He was quoted as saying: "I had a session with the Prime Minister’s team and when I showed them the figures, they did not express discomfort."
Mr Masunda added: "It was an official meeting for me to give them updates. I meet with relevant ministerial offices including the Prime Minister’s and I give them updates on what we are doing especially when there are topical issues."
The PM’s Secretary, Mr Ian Makone, yesterday initially professed ignorance about the meeting, but when told that Mr Masunda had already confirmed it to The Herald, he said: "Yes I can confirm we had a briefing with him, but I cannot go further."
The City of Harare is battling to pay its workers their July salaries.
"We still have not been paid our salaries. We should have been paid by July 28.
"We are going to the Heroes holiday without our salaries," an employee told The Herald yesterday.
On Thursday, Mr Zvidzai met Mayor Masunda and discussed compliance with a Cabinet directive to reduce salaries and allowances of senior council employees.
The deputy minister summoned the mayor for publicly declaring he was not going to reduce the salaries insisting it was like "walking into a legal minefield".
Labels: CORRUPTION, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MDC CORRUPTION, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, SALARIES
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MDC-T to 'replace' mayor with white farmer
By: Ralph Mutema
Posted: Thursday, July 8, 2010 4:01 am
THE EMBATTLED MDC-T party has summoned its Victoria Falls mayor for hearing at their headquarters in Harare after a vote of no confidence was passed by councillors in the resort town. The party, accused of fielding inexperienced individuals to run for political office, has been dogged by troubles since the last harmonised elections.
Nearly all councils run by the MDC-T have been dogged with allegations of corruption and inexperience. Mayor Nkosilathi Jiyane has been summoned for a hearing at Harvest House tomorrow -- a move observers say, is manifestation of power struggles within the MDC-T.
The MDC-T party, according to sources, wants to replace Mr Jiyane with white commercial farmer and businessman Mr Larry Cummings.
"The party, through its national secretary for local government, Mr (Sessel) Zvidzai, has summoned Mayor Jiyane for a hearing at Harvest House on Friday," a source said.
Mr Zvidzai, who is the Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Deputy Minister, would preside over the hearing.
Last month, MDC-T councillors in Victoria Falls passed a vote of no confidence on Mr Jiyane and his deputy Ms Patricia Mwale -- a move seen as reflective of problems in the party ahead of next year's congress in which party leader Morgan Tsvangirai is expected to step down after serving his mandatory two terms.
The MDC-T is also said to be targetting the mayor for attending State functions officiated by President Mugabe and Zanu-PF ministers.
Yesterday, Mr Zvidzai said: "We have in-house issues with him that we are dealing with accordingly."
He denied that one of their concerns was to do with the mayor’s presence at State functions.
Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo last week said Mayor Jiyane was performing satisfactorily and urged MDC-T to desist from bringing internal party squabbles into public offices.
The ministry has written to the Victoria Falls Municipality advising against fighting the mayor on factional grounds. The ministry says at present there are insufficient grounds to dismiss Mayor Jiyane.
Labels: LARRY CUMMINGS, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MDC, MDC CORRUPTION, NKOSILATHI JIYANE, VICTORIA FALLS, WHITE FARMERS
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