Written by Tikondane Vega
District Commissioner (DC) for Thyolo, Douglas Moffat, has bashed council staff for not adhering to civil service regulations like dressing code and has warned that they will face disciplinary action if they continue.
Moffat sounded the warning on Friday during a District Executive Committee (DEC) meeting where Centre for Youth Development and Transformation (CYDT), a non-governmental organization, was briefing the executive on its new interventions around Local Government Accountability and Performance (LGAP) for a period of five months.
He noted that even during week days some council staff were wearing casual clothes while others were not following Covid-19 preventive measures like wearing mask at group level, which he said needed to stop with immediate effect.
“Anybody who will not follow government regulations like proper dressing in offices risk being sent back home starting Monday; and if the trend continues, I will write warning letters and you know already what next after several warnings.
“Also all staff members should remember to put on masks whenever they are in groups. In general, let me say that I will not condone any bad behavior at the council and am serious about it,” said Moffat.
Meanwhile, the DEC has given CYDT a go ahead to implement Enhancement of Citizens’ Capacity (through improving local structure’s functionality and comprehension of entitlements) project.
CYTD Executive Director, Phillip Nyoni, said the proposed project seeks to create opportunities for developing capacity of citizen through Area Development Committees (ADCs) in order to increase their participation in local governance.
“The initiative will open up accountability spaces for ADCs. Our objectives are to strengthen functionality gaps of all ADCs at local level and to increase engagement levels between ADCs and district council officials in implementation and monitoring of development projects which at the end will help us to achieve our goal of improved functionality, accountability and responsiveness of decentralized structures (ADCs) in Thyolo District,” said Nyoni.
CYDT will implement the project with funding from USAID & DFID through DAI to the tune of $15,000 which is approximately K11 million. 26 ADC are expected to benefit from the project.
Director of Administration for the Thyolo District Council, George Chisuse, has since commended CYDT for bringing the project to Thyolo, saying the initiative will go a long way in facilitating accountability and transparency in the district.
