KITWE CITY COUNCIL ENGINEERS UNDER FIRE OVER CDF PROJECTS
THE Engineering Department at the Kitwe City Council (KCC) has come under fire from its civic leaders for among other things, the slow pace at which Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects are being implemented and failure to come up with action reports on the resolutions of the previous council meetings.
Among the councillors who expressed concern at the operations of the Engineering Department included, Ndeke Ward Councillor Davies Kasengele, Buntungwa Ward Councillor Francis Chileshe, Kamatipa Ward Councillor Fewdays Kaoembewa and Bulangililo Ward Councillor Mathews Chiyaka.
Leading the onslaught on the Engineering Department during last week's full council meeting, Ndeke Ward Councillor said he was disappointed that the council had failed to come up with the action taken report in the first quarter.
Mr Kasengele said councillors were expecting to be informed about the action taken report in the first quarter which included working on some of the roads in various wards of the city of Kitwe and other related engineering activities.
The Ndeke ward Councillor, who became emotionally charged, was however asked to sit down by Mayor Mpaasa Mwaya after it became clear that he was becoming emotional and could end up using strong or unpalatable language.
“We presented 10 items and nothing has been worked on, I mean the Engineering Department should have come up with an action taken report, but we are being told nothing, apart from one item which is the motion or the resolution itself. What kind of Engineering Department is this?”
“We are not interested in the motion, we are interested in things moving. As elected leaders, people are expecting us to deliver, not to tell stories. We are not motivational speakers like some politicians who are always massaging people's minds when things are getting from bad to worse,” Mr Kasengele said.
And Buntungwa Ward Councillor Francis Chileshe said councillors were politicians who were elected by people who expect them to deliver on their campaigns promises and so the Engineering Department and the entire council management should ensure that projects move according to the prescribed time.
Mr Chileshe said the conduct of the Engineering Department could end up ruining individual councillor's political career and that they should step up their efforts to gain and hold the confidence of the councillors or else councillors will continue to lose confidence in some officers.
"Certain projects like the ones you are saying they are at 20 percent, they are better off being rated at zero because there is nothing there. We don't know what is happening with the Engineering Department.
And speaking later, Mayor Mpasa Mwaya urged civic leaders to build a good work culture with council directors for good relationship that will ultimately result into improved service delivery to various wards of the city.
Ms Mwaya said there was need for the civic leaders to be engaging council directors in various issues affecting their wards as opposed to tabling all the issue during the council meeting.