Committe warns council on financial management

National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) has warned Nkhotakota District Council over underperformance on financial management.

Council chairperson Samson Kaziputa told members during a full council meeting about the development and that the council has been requested to submit an action plan to be implemented to address the situation.

He said the underperformance included poor revenue collection. The council registered 27 percent of locally generated revenue in the financial year ending June 2015.

Said Kaziputa: “The council has also been warned for failure to submit financial statements for financial years 2012/13 and 2013/14. In addition, the council has also been warned for its failure to submit quarterly and monthly financial reports.”

Reacting to the news, some council members noted that the council has opportunities to boost its revenue collection but lacks tight internal controls to safeguard revenue.

Kasangadzi Ward councillor Mathews Nkhope alleged that council secretariat leaders are involved in theft of public funds and it is sad to note that some chiefs support such leaders.

“The council relies on central government for funding but failure to submit reports will compromise subsequent funding,” he added.

Council director of finance John Ndalama, however, said submission of the final accounts for the stated financial years was worrisome because they have been submitting quarterly and monthly financial reports.

“The monthly and quarterly reports were transmitted electronically without the district commissioner’s signature. As a result, it was taken as non-submission but this has been rectified,” said Ndalama. n