Mufulira Mayor, Tanaeli Kamanga says digitalization of revenue collection will enhance transparency and accountability in payment of levies.
Mr Kamanga said the council will soon transition from physical payment to digital payment of levies collected at markets within the district.
He said the council will open an account where the traders can be depositing the money instead of council workers physically collecting levies and issuing receipts to marketeers and other traders.
Mr Kamanga said the new method will bring transparency and accountability of locally generated funds.
“This is going to help us secure the funds we are generating locally because no one will be tempted to steal the money because it is not being handled physically,” he said.
Mr Kamanga noted that if well managed, locally generated funds can play a significant role in developing the district.
The Mayor added that the local authority will soon begin sensitizing traders on the new payment method.
Meanwhile, Mufulira District Health Promotion Officer, Butala Mulimbwe has called on the parents and guardians to take their children for the Polio vaccination.
ZANIS reports that Mr Mulimbwe says every child below the age of five should be vaccinated as Polio is more common among children with low vaccination status.
He stated that the vaccine is safe adding that adverse reactions to it are not common.
“Reactions are rare and if at all we have any reactions, we are already prepared to handle them,” he said.
Mr Mulimbwe said religious beliefs were one of the biggest hindrances from achieving 100 percent vaccination of children.
He said the first phase of vaccination started on February 16, 2023 adding that the second phase will take place at a later date.
And the Department of Health and other stakeholders in the district are searching for any possible cases of Polio among children during the on-going round Polio vaccination campaign.
Speaking during a stakeholders meeting in Mufulira District, World Health Organisation (WHO) Consultant, Annie Mtonga said the ongoing polio vaccination campaign will not only focus on administering the vaccine but also inquire from communities if there are any children showing signs of polio.
Dr Mtonga said this follows the detection of the Polio virus in the sewer in Mufulira and Kitwe districts.
She said there is need to conduct surveillance as the source of the Polio virus that was detected in the sewer ponds is not clear.
Dr Mtonga said linking the virus that was found in the sewer to a human being would prevent any possible spread as measures would be implemented to prevent the person from further spreading the disease.
“If we can identify the person with this virus, we need to trace which places they have been to and target all the children in all those areas to prevent the spread,”
Dr Mtonga said.
I thought you will start with paying of rates through mobile platforms. It is uneconomical travelling long distances just to pay rates which are less than the transport cost incurred for the journey to the council. No wonder we are behind in everything.
I concur with you
Digitalizing does not mean just opening a bank account which will just cause congestion in the banks and inconvenience to payers who will be wasting time in queues. Better to use digital platforms such as mobile money, debit ,credit cards.