Forrie Tembo instructs Senanga District Council workers to pay its workers

 Local Government and Housing Deputy Minister Forrie Tembo says he will not take kindly to Councils failing to pay workers their salaries.

 

Speaking when he held a meeting with Senanga District Council workers in the Council chamber in Senanga yesterday, Mr Tembo said there is no justification for councils to fail to pay their workers.

 

He said government has taken up the responsibility of paying salaries for council workers who fall in salary scales from division one to division three.

 

He said the move by the central government to pay salaries for council workers across the country means councils can now save enough money to pay workers in division four.

 

Councils should ensure that workers in the low division are paid for better service delivery as they are the people who carry out the daily physical council work.

 

Meanwhile Mr Tembo said sale of plots should not be viewed as a source of revenue by councils.

 

He said most poor Zambians have not been able to acquire land because councils are charging prohibitive fees for plots.

 

The Deputy Minister said this has resulted in only a few rich people owning land in the country.

 

He said councils should take deliberate steps of reducing charges for plots to as low as KR 450 so that poor Zambians can also own land.

 

Mr Tembo is on a tour of district councils in Western Province.