Parliamentarians have taken Balaka District Council to task over delays in releasing K12 million to each constituency in the district meant for water development.
Parliamentarian for Balaka West Bertha Ndebele (Democratic Progressive Party) talked about the funds on Friday during an extra-ordinary full council meeting that was held at Catholic Women organization in the district.
The lawmaker expressed dismay to learn that the council was making unnecessary delays in releasing the money without citing any tangible reasons.
“It’s pathetic to see that the council is taking long to disburse the funds to our constituencies in the district. People are facing serious challenges to access clean and portable water,” she explained.
The parliamentarian indicated that the delay has not only affected his constituency but also all the four constituencies in the district.
According to Ndebele, each constituency was expected to get MWK12 million meant for the rehabilitation of existing boreholes that were broken.
The development has forced rehabilitation works to stall as contractors have not been paid.
She vowed to keep on pressing the council secretariat to see to it that the funds are released and people should have access to clean and portable water.
“I will not rest until I make sure that the funds have been released as fast as possible so that water woes should be reduced in my area.” She stressed.
A total of 57 boreholes were expected to be repaired in Balaka west constituency but so far, only a few have been repaired, a development which is raising a risk of people contracting water-borne diseases as they currently resort to drinking water from unsafe sources.
Commenting on the development, Balaka district council chairperson councillor Steve Michael Sauka Jnr admitted that the concern raised by the parliamentarian was indeed real but he was not quick to mention whether the funds have been embezzled or not.
“Indeed, what the parliamentarian has said is true but in the meantime I cannot confirm whether the funds are available or not. It may also happen that the funds were redirected to other programs without proper consultations,” said Sauka.
He therefore promised to institute an investigation with line departments in order to understand the situation on the ground.
During the meeting, the council took time to analyze results of the Local Authority Performance Assessment Report (LAPA) for the previous financial year in which it emerged that Balaka District council scored position 2 after Mulanje district council. The council has vowed to rectify and improve in sectors in which it performed poorly in the previous year.
