ActionAid International Zambia (AAIZ) has said that the proposal by the Patriotic Front deputy chairperson for Elections Mr Kelvin Bwalya Fube to take away the powers from the Lusaka City Council to collect enough revenue through their appointed agents in Lusaka should be condemned in its strongest terms.
In a statement released to the media today, ActionAid said that the move will incapacitate Local councils in their mandate to deliver services.
Below is the full statement
15th December, 2016
Press Release
For Immediate Release
ActionAid urges PF to stay away from local authorities
The proposals by the Patriotic Front deputy chairperson for elections Mr Kelvin Bwalya Fube to take away the powers from the Lusaka City Council to collect enough revenue through their appointed agents in Lusaka should be condemned in its strongest terms. ActionAid International Zambia (AAIZ) is of the view that this move will indeed incapacitate our councils in their mandate to deliver services. We would like to bring to the attention of Mr Fube that budgetary support from the central government to local governments has been reduced in recent times and the agreement entered into by the LCC of using private companies to collect levies on its behalf should be encouraged however such agreements should be done in a transparent and accountable manner allowing for public scrutiny. Local governments such as LCC have a mandate to provide services to the ever increasing populations.
“It is therefore surprising that in instead of supporting local governments gain autonomy in local revenue mobilisation and to broaden revenue sources so as to deliver effectively on their mandates there are attempt to choke the councils.
The holding back of most lucrative sources of taxes and revenue powers regulation leaves local governments with a limited own-source revenue base from which to make autonomous fiscal decisions”.
The broadening the revenue or tax base of local governments should be the top priority of government and all stakeholders if decentralisation is to serve its intended purpose. It is imperative; that deliberate effort is undertaken to elaborate proposals for enabling policies and mechanisms for revenue mobilization and utilization on property rates, business licensing and other lucrative sources of revenue for local governments.
Despite policy provisions and intentions to ‘transfer the authority functions and responsibilities with matching resources to lower levels’ the reality is that financial transfers from the central government to the local level are not; timely and predictable as well as commensurate to what is needed by the local governments for effective service delivery. This is likely to compromise the position of local governments in terms of effective planning and implementation of programmes thus negatively affecting their responsiveness to service delivery demands from the communities.
Although it is expected and commitment from the Central Government to put in place fiscal measures to support local governments to mobilize financial resources for public service delivery, ActionAid feels the opposite seems to hold and surprisingly to the great extent the reverse has been the case. It is very unfortunate that we have people in our society that are only looking at one group of people to benefit from what the local authority is expected to earn and forget a much broader picture of service delivery.
The excuse that the cadres mainly the youth have targets to meet on a daily basis should not be entertained as they are just promoting illegality in as far as revenue collection is concerned. We therefore urge the local authority to exercise its autonomy in ensuring that Zambians benefit from the much need resources than only a few party cadres seem to currently enjoying at the expense of the wider population.
As an organisation advocating for equal opportunities and the rights of marginalized groups such as youths, we understand that currently the country is struggling with high youth unemployment therefore, the Patriotic Front lead government should priortise programmes that empower the youths and have economic benefits for the country away from politicising government institutions.
As AAIZ we of the view that politics should be left out of the running of state institutions such as the local authorities in order for them to achieve the desired results. We need to encourage our local authorities to do more such that the much need resources are channeled towards service delivery for the benefit of all.
Nalucha Nganga – Ziba
Country Director
KBF is one dangerous individual who should never be closer to power. He can be worse than Wynter. Glad he was denied a govt appointment. Credit to Lungu on this score.
who is this KBF anyway……just head of him recently…politically none entity…business wise none…..in brains none….let me google then.
Fube may have point – collecting minors through these means is corrupt and certainly evades taxation.
Fube should have offered a solution, you can’t however embrace illegality.
Thanks
BB2014
Ziba: you don’t become greedy and collect revenue at the expense of the many lives of local people and the youths. People make Councils and not the other way round. Without the people the council
Can not exist. Therefore in the quest to increase your revenue base you don’t neglect and ignore the same people who make you exist. KBF is making the council aware who make them continue to exist and you should put that in your head
Flight Attendant Lungu. Say what thy!
Fube’s reasoning, if it is reasoning at all, is not different from that of Zesco. Very dull. Zesco is the only company I have seen encouraging its clients not to depend on it but to use its competitors products such as solar energy. One wonders what would happen to Zesco if we all abandoned hydro electric power.
PF’s Financial Management is appalling and should never be anywhere near Local govt management and Administration. KBF is looking for looting opportunities in Lusaka City Council and should be stopped.
their is something serously wrong with zambians capacity to think objectively,lungu hide his true character,look at mwila on independent mps and am sure KB is getting instruction from lungu,pf borrowed money for campaigns now they have failed to pay they are trying to sell public assets like lima tower.DOES lungu has a model in his life.
Well spoken Nalucha. The government should be reminded that the councils need to be empowered and the street thugs posing as vendors should be expelled from the city. My late His Excellency was wrong to let criminality pour onto the streets. Those street adults are only fit for the designated markets not Cairo road and Lumumba or Kamwala.
Big up to LT for bringing developmental news as headlines. It’s time to forge ahead and develop.
2016 vote Mr Kudos Most Popular Revolutionary Radical Patriotic Blogger on LT.
What you call Street thugs are your core supporters who you used to intimidate the opposition and rig the elections. Are you dumping them as well so soon, you ungrateful louts!
Making ourselves relevant so donor money continues to flo. I did not mention the name but its obvious, ActionAid!!!!
We have over thousand cadres in Zambia attached to the ruling party among these some have flooded zesco,some are fighting with lusambo over land issue.now because they are many and they have no were to put them so government institutions that seem to be active in money raising are in trouble..but I believe this is the wrong way of running the country,what is the use of building more schools when uneducated people can take good jobs at zesco and the rest in the name of supporters or cadres if like??
Fube is right. 52 years after independence, you don’t need a foreign company to come and collect parking levies.
When did the Lusaka City Council tender for the collection of levies?
How many Zambian companies participated in the selection interviews?
When did it take place?
Which media was used to advertise the tender?
If, however, the tender was private then it has to be scrapped and a transparent process used.
The tender that has been given is stinky and smells with corruption and I am hereby reporting the Lusaka City Council to the ACC.
Kelvin bwalya is right only if it doesn’t benefit PF MEMBERS.
What LCC has done is exactly what is going on in Road tenders awardings. Fube is not barking at rda BECAUSE IT BENEFITS HIS CARTEL MEMBERS IN PF.
Even power imports chagwa is talking about will be a cartel scamming.
can’t wait for 5-10 year capital projects because they will not benefit in the immediate time frame.
The ”ifintu ni bwangu” syndrome!!!
Dialogue with street vendors is the right way to go! No need to chase our mothers and sisters brothers and fathers from the street in a very sudden manner. An added incentive should be given to the vendors- like it or not the vendors are an important part of the economy in the country- huge economies like India and Thailand rely on the revenue brought in from street vending.Let’s think smart- yes having it organised whereby vendors are allocated a place to conduct business is the way to go- let there be no political interference in their operations.
What warped thinking from KBF. He must be a Congo descendant where they have known nothing better but chaos from time immemorial. Much as the awarding of a foreign company to manage parking by LCC is suspicious, you cannot let revenue for the local authority go into the pockets of PF cadres at the expense of majority Lusaka residents. We are daily being shown piles of uncollected garbage in most parts of Lusaka and any added revenue the council can collect will go a long way in cholera prevention. Are we cursed? Am really worried that the longer we are in our ‘independence’, the deeper we are sinking into the quagmire of hopelessness. Those of you who have seen the garbage mountains in Lusaka will understand the seriousness of the situation.
Anyone serious should visits the markets in compounds the are empty, otherthan being turned into brothels and bars. I challenge any PF official or the Minister of Local government I can physically take him to empty markets spaces around Lusaka. Street vending is not due to inadequate space in markets its a greedy thing perpetrated by party cadres.
KBF DONT PAY TAX DONT PAY NAPASA FOR THIS WORKERS