18 July 2008
editorial
WE note the observations made by Zambia United Local Authorities Workers Union (Zulawu) general secretary, Oast Choongo, about some difficulties faced by councils, whose budgets were turned down by the ministry of Local Government and Housing.
It is expected, of course, that without the requisite grant finances, local authorities in Zambia can do very little on their own in terms of executing programmes.
At the same time, the reasons given by the minister of Local Government and Housing in turning down some of the budgets put forward by some councils are valid.
Local authorities in Zambia have for a long time been their own worst enemies because of the manner in which they have conducted their affairs. One of the most glaring failings by our local authorities has been in areas of effecting planning and management.
Because of this inadequacy, most councils in Zambia have failed to take advantage of the huge potentialthey possess in terms of investments and revenue generation.
The central reason for turning down some of the budgetsby the ministry of Local Government was that the budgets fell far short of the expectations and guidelines laid down by the ministry.
Yet it cannot be denied that when talking about planning for any institution, the budget is fundamental because it provides a clear basis and justification for the use of financial resources.
The ministry of Local Government has put in place budget guidelines for local authorities for the simple reason that they would like to make sure, as a supervising authority, that the development objectives set out, and utilisation of the resources are within the approved path.
It would be unacceptable for the ministry to disburse billions of Kwacha in grants to councils based on vague, padded or incomprehensible documentation that is made to pass as budgets. This would be a sure recipe for misapplication and misappropriation of funds.
There is no doubt that in principle, councils themselves are in agreement with the ministry on the need to have proper budgetary and other documentary requirements in the disbursing of any public funds.
This is why, for instance, the Ndola City Council has rejected Chifubu Constituency's application for the disbursement of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
This is against the background of approving applications for the city's other three constituencies, Kabushi, Ndola Central, and Bwana Mkubwa.
The three constituencies submitted applications in line with the requirements for accessing the CDF fund. In the case of Chifubu Constituency, their application has suffered because they were making extra submissions while their initial application was already undergoing scrutiny.
Mr Choongo's appeal to the ministry of Local Government for a waiver therefore, is counter productive. Such a move may only serve to perpetuate a wrong way of doing business in councils.
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