Zomba District Council trained in service delivery
Deputy director of Local Government Services Douglas Mkweta has said integrity among members of Parliament (MPs), chiefs, councillors and key secretariat members at district councils is key to foster development.
Mkweta made the remarks on Friday at Zomba District Council chamber during a three-day workshop aimed at disseminating local government guidelines for district councils when discharging their duties.
He said the guidelines stipulate that accountability, excellence, honesty, impartiality, loyalty, selflessness, justice as well as transparency of councils’ elected and non-elected members should be upheld if the councils’ images and credibility are to be preserved.
During the meeting, delegates said conflicts between MPs and councillors stem from the former’s fear of being dislodged by councillors.
Mkweta advised the duty-bearers to stop focusing on their positions, but serving the needs of their communities.
He said: “We urge leaders to communicate wherever they have differences as good conflict resolution enables people to concentrate on development issues.”
Zomba Likangala parliamentarian Peter Bvalani described the workshop as a stepping stone towards sustainable development in the district.
He said: “We are optimistic that there will no longer be conflicts among council members as we have been enlightened on leadership and financial management among other issues.”
On his part, Traditional Authority (T/A) M’biza commended government for the workshop and warned council members against interfering in secretariat duties. n
