Mansa Municipal council’s operations ‘ paralysized’

Scores of Mansa Municipal Council (MMC ) general workers today marched from the civic centre to the District Commissioner’s office to protest over unpaid salaries for 10 months.

About 30 council workers, most of them dressed in blue work suits gathered as early as 08.00 hours demanding to see the district commissioner major Chibwe Nsakasha.

However, when major Nsakasha emerged from his office he refused to address the workers telling them to go back to the civic centre where he would join the town clerk Bwanga Kapumpa to speak to them.

The DC said he would not address the workers in vacuum and asked them to select their leaders who would represent them when he will meet the town clerk.

The workers complained to ZANIS that they have not got paid since January this year.

They said they were paid the salary meant for December last year four months ago.

The workers, who said were going to continue their peaceful demonstrations, are demanding for the removal of Mansa town clerk, Mr Kapumpa whom they accused of being insensitive to their welfare.

The town clerk was not available for comment.

Government early in the year released over K3 trillion budgetary allocation to 67 City and District councils in the country for their 2010 budget expenditure.

Local Government and Housing Minister Eustarckio Kazonga disclosed at a press briefing in Lusaka that five councils however did not benefit from the grant because their failure to submit their 2009 budget expenditure reports to the ministry.

Dr. Kazonga named the five district councils as Livingstone, Sinazongwe, Mungwi, Mansa and Mwense district councils respectively.

He urged the councils that have not submitted their 2009 expenditure to do so before the end of March 2010 to enable the ministry evaluate their spending.

ZANIS