Nkhotakota councillors accuse council of mismanagement
Nkhotakota District councillors have asked the council’s secretariat to look into issues of financial mismanagement which could leave the district underdeveloped.
Councillor Manfred Kwanjiwa said this during a Councillors’ Capacity Building Meeting organised by Women’s Legal Resource Centre (Wolrec) in partnership with Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
He advised the secretariat to ensure that all revenue collected and received is published for transparency and accountability.
Said Kwanjiwa: “The initial agreement is that 25 percent of the total revenue collected at every market is given back in form of development. When we ask how the funds have been used, we are not given figures but excuses. They always say that the money has been used for wages, but we know that is not true.”
Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkhotakota Central Peter Mazizi concurred with the councillors, saying the council has opportunities it does not utilise.
He said: “We must prioritise infrastructure that will help us to generate money like a stadium and guest houses. We have to learn to invest.”
Responding to the accusations, director of finance in the district, John Ndalama said revenue collected is used at council level, but admitted most of the funds are used as wages and a small percentage goes to operational services.
