LOCAL Government and Housing Minister Eustarkio has with immediate effect suspended the Livingstone City Council and appointed a local government administrator to discharge the functions of the council.
And Dr Kazonga has warned councils that have not submitted information on property rates and grants collected and received for the years 2008 and 2009 that they would not receive any more grants until they submit the required data.
He said at a Press briefing in Lusaka yesterday that he had suspended the local authority because of the internal squabbling among the councillors and officers, particularly the office of the mayor and town clerk, “which have brought unwanted embarrassment”.
Dr Kazonga said Livingstone council had in the last few months been embroiled in many disturbing matters that had put the council and the ministry in disrepute, and that the situation should not be allowed to continue.
“Therefore, to save the dignity of the council and the local government system, I have taken measures as provided for in the Local Government Act Cap 281 of the Laws of Zambia (LAZ), Section 88 (1) to suspend the council.
“I am appointing a local government administrator to discharge the functions of the council until such as a time that the Ministry of Local Government and Housing will be convinced that the situation has returned to normal as expected of a council,” Dr Kazonga said.
He warned officers at the council that the ministry would not tolerate any indiscipline of any kind because the conduct of an officer had a direct impact on the operations of a council.
The minister said Livingstone City Council was expected to lead by example in the conduct of councillors and officers, and that members of the public were eager to see improved service delivery.
“Yesterday, February 18, 2010, I signed a Statutory Instrument suspending the LCC. The Statutory Instrument will be published in the Government Gazette today, Friday, February 19, 2010,” he said.
The minister said the suspension of the local authority should serve as a warning to other councils facing similar problems.
He urged all the councils to comply with the provisions of the Local Government Act, Cap 281 of LAZ in the running of affairs of the councils.
On grants, he said only 37 out of 72 councils had submitted the requested information in the last two years.
Dr Kazonga said councils that had not remitted the requested information would not be given any more grants, and that the action had been necessitated by the need for councils to account for the funds received from his ministry and collected by the local authorities.
He said the ministry had received the recurrent grant of K31.1 billion and the capital grant totalling K12 billion for the councils.
And Copperbelt provincial local government officer, Solomon Sakala has said Roan Member of Parliament, Chishimba Kambwili should not politicise the release of information on grants, but instead help tell the residents of Luanshya about how the money was being spent.
Mr Sakala said releasing the information on grants was meant to show the people how committed the State was about the social welfare of the citizenry.
Reacting to Mr Kambwili’s assertions that the publication of the grants was a political manouvre for the MMD, Mr Sakala challenged the mayors or town clerks in the province to deny having received the grants.
Mr Sakala said the council administrators were free to disagree with the figures and not politicians like Mr Kambwili.
He said the reason behind publishing of the grants was to show the people how much the councils received because the local authorities had created an impression that the central government did not release any money to the councils.
“It is Mr Kambwili who wants to politicise the matter, all the councils received the grants we published and Launshya equally received various grants, we have letters confirming receipt of the grants,” Mr Sakala said.
According to a schedule of grants between 2007 and 2009, Luanshya Municipal Council received K2.5 billion as constituency development fund.
A breakdown of the grants indicates that Roan Constituency and Luanshya Central Constituency obtained K200 million each in 2007.
The two constituencies received K400 million each in 2008 and K666 million each in 2009.
Atase, this had to be done because it would appear these counsellors were either busy committing adultery or posturing in public to acts that pointed to people intending to engage in acts of copulation. I hate the MMD but on this score I think this minister is right, Tongas should honestly relocate their brains from underpants to skulls, such behaviour is what has brought Vernon Mwaanga to develop a head that looks like a lappet-faced Vulture. Instead of wielding power in the Livingstone Corridors of power, these maniacs should all be ushered into a rehab clinic for very delicate trauma therapy as well as a lot of re-education. Dora Siliya, Mwaanga, Chiluba etc can also join. Mwatusabile ba suntwe pe!
#1. Dont you think you are misdirecting yourself.? Are the councillors and the people of Livingstone all Tongas? Dont you know that Livingstone is a melting pot of ethnicities. Isnt Lozi one of the lingua franca of Livingstone? Isnt Livingstone in Toka-Leya chiefdoms? Did you just want to insult Tongas? Why do people like you always start your analysis from an ethnic perspective? You sir are a waste of space!
# 1 is very dull……
K200million annual constituency development fund? You can’t even build one house from that. What constituency can you develop from? Stupid!
number 1, shame on you! you have a divisive spirit and should join the council members for the therapy you are suggesting.
#1
Tribalism will not lead you anywhere. Zambia is for all Zambians and each problem should be looked at on its own merit. Are all councilors and officers in Livingstone Tongas? Lets be cool headed. I see you are part of the TONGA HATERS group. Shame on you.
#1 ia an A.S.S.H.O.L.E. this is 2010 and you still live a tribalistic life?
You can continue burrying your lappet-faced Vulture like heads in the sand but the fact that Tongas are generally very promiscuous people is a very well documented fact. These these are so addicted to sex and even David Livingstone documented this sad characteristic of theirs in his diaries. And its not only women a testosterone saturated “Tonga buru” would mount, cows, dogs, chickens etc are all in danger! No wonder a few decent Tongas devised “runyoka” to protect their own from these rampaging animals like Vernon Mwaanga and the counsellors in Livingstone. Eh, was it not only last year that a cow gave birth to a half Tonga half ng’ombe in Chief Mapanza’s area, Mazabuka?