Sejani warns thieving council officers

GOVERNMENT has un earthed a scam in which councils are being defrauded of revenue.

Local Government Commission Chairperson Ackson Sejani said a scam has been uncovered in which staff in the revenue departments of local authorities are conniving to defraud their councils.

Mr Sejani named the of ficers involved as cashiers, revenue officers, chief ac countants and those in the Information Communication and Technology department.

He said such acts will not be tolerated in the new dawn administration as it is depriv ing the councils from earning much needed revenue.

Mr Sejani warned that those found wanting would not be spared because what they are engaging in is a serious offence and perpetrators need to be punished.

“This act will not be tolerat ed. We cannot allow people de priving the councils because of their selfish interests,” he said.

Meanwhile, a governance activist Wesley Miyanda has hailed the government for reshuffling chief executive of ficers in councils as this will bring sanity in local authorities.

Mr Miyanda however said it is shocking that the commis sion has failed to make public the qualification audit which it embarked on.

’’It is imperative to recall that barely two months ago, the Local Government Service Commission had conducted a qualifications audit exercise for the senior officers in the coun cils countrywide to establish whether the officers occupying such positions are qualified or not. The outcome of the audit is not known up to now.

“Therefore, the reshuffles and elevations of Council Secretaries and Town Clerks done countrywide have been received with mixed feelings.

“Suffice to sadly note and evaluate that most of our councils are still infiltrated with unqualified officers who have ended up mismanaging national resources by living luxurious lives at the expense of many council workers who receive their meagre salaries in piecemeal,” Mr Miyanda said.

“There is more that needs to be done by those in the cor ridors of power to overhaul the entire system in the Local Government circles than just auditing and reshuffling the same people who have been a carryover from previous ad ministrations. We need a new and clean system to run our councils and other institutions countrywide,” he said.