Minister of Local Government Blessings Chinsinga says he is impressed with the performance of district councils in the Eastern region in the area of public sector reforms.
Chinsinga made the remarks on Friday in Balaka after an interface meeting with Balaka district Council Secretariat and members to appreciate on the progress made.
During the meeting, it was revealed that Balaka district Council is among the best performers in the reforms agenda despite facing a number of glitches in the implementation exercise.
He said: ”Balaka district council is one of the impressive Councils in the country that have a beautiful story to tell in as far as the reforms Program is concerned. Unity of purpose among the Council members has been the catalyst for this successful story.”
The Minister observed that the depth and breadth of Balaka District Council’s reform plans were more impressive and it was interesting to see that some of the reform areas have begun to materialize despite a number of justifiable challenges such as lack of resources and Covid-19 pandemic.
Chinsinga said government is currently pushing for the enactment of a robust framework of local level taxation that will empower the district councils to generate local resources to help them in a number of operations.
Speaking in an interview on the same occasion, acting District Commissioner for Balaka Darwin Mngoli said the council is making headway in the reforms program and attributed this to commitment of council staff.
“Though we have a number of challenges, the staff is really dedicated whenever discharging their duties and together we are achieving common goals,” Mngoli said.
According to Mngoli, Balaka district Council has made significant progress in the reforms program such as in the sector of education which has seen the district scoring a 90% pass rate in last year’s primary school leaving certificate examinations.
Apart from touring Balaka district council, the minister also had similar engagements in the district councils of Mangochi, Machinga and Zomba.
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