Developmental organization, People’s Federation for National Peace and Development (PEFENAP), has told Blantyre based Civil Society Organizations to wake up and take to task Blantyre District council amidst report of misuse of developmental funds.
The call followes a 2020/2021 Local Authority Performance Assessment report which has established that Blantyre and Ntcheu district councils misused District Development Funds.
According to Minister of Local government Professor Blessings Chinsinga who was presenting the results on Monday in Lilongwe, the two councils have failed to qualify for a grant under the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) project, funded by World Bank.
In his reaction to the development, Edward Chaka who is the Executive Director for PEFENAP told Malawi24 that it is very pathetic that a big district council like Blantyre would be involved in the mess, which he has described as a self bewitchment.
However, Chaka blamed Blantyre CSOs Network for napping whilst on duty a thing which he said has resulted into the misuse of the said funds and later the council being disqualified from accessing another developmental grant.
“CSOs in Blantyre should come together and shake the Council like what other CSOs in Nsanje are doing. We can’t smile seeing our Council performing poorly yet we are watchdogs of the taxpayers money.
“If we cannot bite our own council it will be difficult to hold accountable our government officials at the top. It’s time we revisit our mandate as CSOs and go ahead and finalize the signing of the MOU with the council,” said Chaka.
Chaka who is also a member for Blantyre CSOs Network, said the poor performance by Blantyre and other district councils is undermining the 2063 national agenda and has described it as a revelation for upcoming political and development disaster for the country.
“As a country we cannot tout 2063 national development agenda if our councils our performing poorly and what has happened here is one way of telling our President Dr Lazarus Chakwera that we are not surfing or diving into your 2063 Vision,” he added
He further said outstanding agreement issues between them should not allow the district council to maneuver and slip off claiming for the council to perform good, there has to be concerted efforts from everyone.
