Leave CDF to councillors—MP
Mzimba West lawmaker Harry Mkandawire has asked fellow legislators to “swallow their pride” and let councillors administer Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to improve coordination at grassroot level.
The call, made during a council meeting in Mzimba on Thursday, comes after Nation Publications Limited (NPL) exposed massive misallocation of funds, stalled projects and substandard structures.
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He said time has come to leave the CDF to be administered by councillors.
He asserted: “I do not care because I stand for the truth. Even if my fellow members of Parliament [MPs] do not support me, we are looking at what is fair as far as development is concerned. Let us leave the CDF to councillors. In my constituency, the CDF is administered by councillors and I do not have a problem with it.
“For the sake of development, we need to work with the councillors because they work closely with communities at grass roots. There is no way I should be coming to the council alone to collect a cheque. What are we afraid of if at all we are transparent?” Mkandawire further asked councillors to lobby for amendment of laws which allow MPs to vote in councils.
He reiterated that MPs’ mandate is to make laws in the National Assembly and not to vote during council meetings.
On his part, asito East Ward councillor Fumu Mdolo, the chairperson of M’mbelwa District Council, said cutting back on MPs’ involvement in local government affairs will spur development.n
