Councilors at the UPND run Choma Municipal Council have unanimously voted to use the entire K3billion(KR3,000,000) Constituency Development Fund (CDF) from the 2012 funding on procurement of road equipment.
The councilors have also resolved to constitute a committee comprising council management officials and Councilors to travel abroad and source the equipment.
Chairing a full council meeting in Choma yesterday, Mayor Jackson Makwamba however cautioned the councilors to be careful and transparent to avoid running into trouble with the Patriotic Front (PF) government over the administration of the CDF funds.
He said as the councilors and chief officers travel abroad to procure the road equipment, there is need for them to be careful in handling the procurement process because CDF was highly sensitive.
Mayor Makwamba said the need to procure road equipment has become imperative in addressing the challenge of poor rural road network.
The three constituencies, Choma Central, Pemba and Mbabala intend to purchase graders, tippers, rollers and water bouzers.
But Mbabala UPND Member of Parliament Ephraim Belemu cautioned councilors to handle the matter of public procurement carefully because the amount of money involved was colossal.
Mr. Belemu said the council should instead consult the Ministry of Local Government on how to go about the procurement process.
He said there was also need to involve the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) in the procurement process.
Mr. Belemu said the issue of councilors and chief officers travelling abroad for window shopping should be revisited as it may not be allowed by the Ministry of Local Government.
ZANIS
smart move…
Be be wise enough to purchase new machines and not used machines. This is so because, used machines have no warranty and back-up parts dealer. Let tax payers money be used wisely. Travel/lodging expense how is this going to be accounted for?
Please be reminded that quality is far more important than quantity.
but were are those machines RB received from the Chinese government the day when levy was pronounced dead? RB rushed from independence stadium to officially inform us on the demise of LPM after receiving a bunch of road equipments….vinayenda kuti?
@3 kalonga,
good observation.
ACC, food for thought.
Since when did councillors and council officials become procurement officers. The advice from Mr. Makwamba and Belemu is a timely warning and should be taken seriously. PF govt will pounce on them faster than they thought. They should do more consultation with Ministry of Local Govt & Housing.
This council is courting trouble. They should avoid ventures that look like running a government within a government.
Will they have money left over to employ road building engineers? Buying equipment is easy. Maintaining it and putting it to proper use is NOT so easy. Why can’t they just use the money to procure the services of a road contractor? If large and rich councils in developed countries would rather outsource these services, how can this bunch of individuals think they can run a road rehabilitating service within an impoverished council? You need to stop getting too excited about tax payers’ money! That is how you get into trouble. All they can see is travel abroad. Doesn’t the government have a central procurement agency?
Do these chaps have to travel abroad sure? What happened to the internet plus e-commerce and good commercial lawyers?
ndende izabagwila aba bama guys siyosobelesa, uhmmmmmmmm…ati bafuna kugula ma machines? why cant they just use the same money to hire a contractor to do the roads, they will spend the whole CDF on buying these machines then where will they get the money to employ people to man the them, not only that, mantaining thses machinses maybe be too much for a small imporverished council, this same money can go a long way in improving the road network in this area if they hire a contractor. when these guys get arrested for misapropriation of funds i wont get suprised at all. on the other hand, what happened to the equipment that LPM bought?
Benjaman flanlin once said,any fool can critisize condemn and complain and most fools do
No need to travel abroad.you can search and find stuff you need on internet.Then use zambian missions abroad to secure favourable terms for the country.That way you save money
Choma Council, kindly consult with yo Ministry n it wil be easy to proceed with this purchase. An open tendering system can be used to procure equipment. The idea is good but ensure that procurement regulations are followed. The issue of travellin does nt hold water for now. You can easily enquire locally with the institutions that have the equipment, contractors, RDA, RRU etc even the internet. All the best
smart move, the councils has engineers and drivers to operate the machinery.
Smart Tongas….always long term minded!! That’s the way to go. Others will can and will only learn from them!!
They don’t need to go abroad in this age of the internet.
While I don’t agree for officers to travel abroad to buy the equipment their move is an excellent one and they must be supported these smart Tongas are looking on a long term strategies bravo guys you have done us proud
In the UNIP era almost all councils had road/ earth moving equipment but it all somewhat varnished. The choma council will do well to safe guard aginst what led to this vital wing varnishing, remember history has a way of repeating itself! on the positive side of the idea, township roads will be graded, rural roads will forster agriculture and development, land for plots will be easily cleared and roads done, expensive corrupt and shoddy contractors will be done away with, the equipment will earn the council some revenue through private jobs. th list is endless really. bravo chuundu!
follow the tender procedures guys..