No transfers for corrupt officers – Ben Phiri

Civil servants working in all the country’s district councils have been warned that they will no longer be transferred once cornered in any type of corruption.

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Ben Malunga Phiri, issued this warning on Tuesday during the opening ceremony of orientation for council members including the newly elected councillors and Members of Parliament in Phalombe district.

Phiri said in the past there was a tendency that once an officer is found to have misappropriated funds he or she was either transferred to another district council but now such an officer will be getting dismissed.

“There will be no transferring of corrupt individuals either district commissioners or other officers (DCs), please I am telling you close those holes that are used for stealing.

“I am a field marshal and I’ve never failed, let me warn you that once implicated you’ll be suspended waiting for investigations and if found guilty you shall be dismissed immediately,” said the Minister.

He later cautioned all officers who report late or knock off before the right time at their workplaces saying this should immediately stop.

Meanwhile, the local government Minister has asked district commissioners in the country to be transferring officers who have been at the same duty station for so long saying they have gathered mosses and that his ministry will be moving others soon.

“One of the problems is that we aren’t changing these officers, they have stayed for so long at their duty station thereby they get used to the system and this tolerate corruption, please be changing them,” pleaded Phiri.

In his remarks, council chairperson for Phalombe, Fedson Thomas, said the council members will not tolerate any corrupt officer.

“We will use whatever we will learn during this training as we will be executing our duties and we will not dance to any tune of corrupt officers, we don’t want corruption here,” he said.

Among others, the three day training is meant to equip the council members with knowledge on how things work at the council level and to tell them their roles and responsibilities so as to make their councils functional.