EYEBROWS RAISED OVER WUSAKILE CDF PROJECTS

ALMOST all the 2017 Constituency Development Fund (CDF) proposed projects for Wusakile constituency have been rejected by Kitwe City Council (KCC).

The proposed projects were rejected by the plans, works and development committee (PWDC) of KCC.

But this decision has reportedly not gone well in the minds of the area Member of Parliament (MP) Pavuma Kalobo and residents of Wusakile constituency.

Wusakile CDF chairman Obias Chibwe told the Daily Nation in an interview that his committee was verbally informed that a number of the projects which the residents of Wusakile constituency had proposed were rejected by the PWDC meeting which sat last week.

Pastor Chibwe said the council had since called for a meeting with the Wusakile CDF committee so that it could give reasons why it had rejected the projects which residents of Wusakile had proposed to be carried out under the 2017 CDF.

"We have been informed verbally that some of the projects which the residents of Wusakile constituency had proposed to be carried out under the 2017 CDF were subject to discussion between the council and the CDF committee.

"We don't know which projects have been rejected, we will know when we meet the council, but we told them to write to us regarding the decision to reject some of our projects, instead of informing us verbally," Pastor Chibwe said.

Pastor Chibwe said the MP was not happy with the decision of the council to reject the projects which were proposed by the residents of Wusakile constituency.

He said, according to the guidelines, the CDF committee receives project proposals from the sub-district structures which are sometimes led by the ward councilors.

"The project proposals come in form of writing. It is a bottom up approach which means people have a say before the initial submission of the project," He said.

But some Wusakile residents said it was a waste of time to make proposals to the CDF committee only to be shot down by the council which had continued to lose the confidence of the people through lack of transparency in its activities.

John Banda said while the residents were happy with the leadership of MP Pavuma Kalobo, they were being irritated by the council whose decisions and activities were always questionable. "Yes, we have heard that almost all of our projects which we proposed under CDF have been shot down by the council. We have heard that the motive behind shooting down our proposed projects are sinister. So we shall see how far this crooked business will go.

"Our MP, Pavuma Kalobo has respect for us and is a man of the people, but if people at the council want to play games, they will regret," said Mr Banda without elaborating further.