Put politics aside, Kaliati tells Mzuzu City Council
Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare Patricia Kaliati has asked councillors at Mzuzu City Council (MCC) to put politics aside and assist government in implementing development projects.
MCC is dominated by opposition councillors, with the majority from People’s Party (PP), the former governing party ousted during the May 20 2014 Tripartite Elections.
Some councillors at the council have been accused of being used by their political parties to frustrate government’s development agenda.
Speaking in Mzuzu on Thursday, Kaliati said the electorate expects government to deliver on various development projects promised during the election campaigns.
She said despite belonging to different political parties, councillors should work together in promoting development and ensuring better service delivery to the public.
Kaliati said time for campaign is gone and those seeking to campaign should wait for 2019 when the country will go to the polls.
She said: “The problem is that people campaign all the time. Some sabotage government so that people should say government has failed.”
The minister pledged to speak to other ministers to be in touch with the council when they get to Mzuzu to bang heads on developments.
Kaliati becomes the second Cabinet minister after Kondwani Nankhumwa (Local Government and Rural Development) accused MCC of being political and working to frustrate government.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, Mzuzu City deputy mayor Frazer Chunga said Kaliati was right to point out that time for campaign is over and that councillors should unite to promote development.
He said people have a wrong perception of MCC as it is dominated by opposition members, especially PP. He said some people believe the councillors oppose every development initiative simply because they are affiliated to opposition parties. n
