HODs castigated for shunning council meetings

Councillors in Mungwi district in Northern Province have castigated government departmental heads for shunning council meetings.

 

Speaking during a full council meeting chaired by Council Chairperson Modesto Mulenga, last Friday, the councillors said most heads of government department in the district were not attending council meetings despite being served with notices.

 

The councillors charged that the negative attitude shown by heads of government department towards council meetings was tantamount to refusing to work with the government in power.

 

One of the councillors, Chola Chilekwa, observed that since heads of government departments were custodians of government policies they were supposed to attend council meetings and guide civic leaders in the implementation of government programmes.

 

Mr Chilekwa added that most government departments will fall and under the local authority in the revised national decentralisation policy, hence the need for them to familiarise themselves with council operations by attending council meetings each time they were called upon.

 

Meanwhile, some councillors in the district have lashed-out at council management for allegedly failing to speed-up the construction of a modern market and a bus station.

 

The councillors said there was no way management could delay the construction of the market and bus station when government had fully funded the project.

 

The visibly annoyed councillors, who did not give chance to management to explain what had caused the delay, instructed Acting Mungwi Council Secretary, Gladys Lilanda to find suitable land for the construction of the modern market as soon as possible.

 

They said such inertia by the council management was portraying a negative picture on the part of the government.   

 

And councillors in Mungwi have appealed to ZNBC to extend the television signal to other outlying areas in the district.

 

Fube ward Councilor, Robert Sandongo said it was unfortunate that the people of Malole could not access the ZNBC signal 50 years after independence.

 

Councilor, Sandongo also appealed to government to adequately fund ZANIS in order for them to provide adequate coverage in the district.

 

He said the media plays a critical role in development hence the need for government to fully equip them to discharge their functions effectively.