NDOLA COUNCIL IN FINANCIAL WOES - MAYOR

NDOLA City Council has been struggling to raise sufficient revenue after Government suspended the land agency last year, Mayor Amon Chisenga has said.

Mr Chisenga said the council had been going through difficulties and that 2019 had particularly been a “bad” year for the local authority.

The Mayor was speaking during a full council meeting.

Mr Chisenga has since implored management to explore more avenues through which revenue could be raised.

He said there had been complaints of lack of funds to execute duties effectively at the council and that projects in wards had also lagged behind.

He advised for councillors and management to work together to deliver quality services to the residents.

“Councillors are here to deliver quality services to the people that voted for them and if they just sit in their wards and doing nothing, then it is as good as not electing them into office.

“We all need to stand united to realise the dream of the council as we seek government to give us back the land agency because 60 percent of the council’s revenue came from the agency,” Mr Chisenga said.

Meanwhile, acting Town Clerk Wisdom Bwalya said the Auditor General’s report which was published on May 5, this year had put NCC in an awkward situation.

Speaking at the same meeting, Mr Bwalya said the report had painted the council in negative light when already the image was tarnished.

The Auditor General report revealed that the council had sold 62 plots to 133 different buyers resulting into one plot being owned by two or more people.

It also revealed that council employed 11 unqualified people to key positions like Chief Accountant and Senior Procurement Officer.

Further, the report indicated that eight out of 12 accounts had been overdrawn by K5, 885,827.

For the years 2014, 2015 and 2016, the Auditor General1s report showed that the council sold one plot to more than two people.