The Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia, CSAWUZ, in Mazabuka has called on the government to institute a taskforce to probe the abuse of funds released for payment of housing allowance by the district health office in the district.

CSAWUZ Mazabuka district vice chairperson Violet Phiri made the call in a statement to ZANIS in Mazabuka today.

Ms Phiri said unless a taskforce is appointed to clear suspicions of alleged financial abuse, the current strike by health personnel in the district will continue.

Ms Phiri said most health workers eligible for house allowance were being forced to sign for the money which they were not given.

She claimed that the district health office was instead paying landlords in a suspicious manner.

Ms Phiri said the current abnormal deductions were meant to confuse the workers because none of them is aware of the amount owed to the government.

And Ms Phiri has called on the government to explain why todate clinical officers, nurses and other para-medical officers were still staying in a compound declared unfit for human habitation by the ministry of works.

Acting district director of health, Mr Ellias Hamatanga refused to comment on the allegations by union leaders.

Acting Northern Province Permanent Secretary Gabriel Kaunda has called for prudent ultilisation of public resources if the province is to attain meaningful development.

Mr. Kaunda made the call when he closed the fourth quarter Provincial Development Coordinating Committee (PDCC) meeting over the weekend.

The meeting was also attended by Provincial Minister Lameck Chibombamilimo and six other Members of Parliament.

Mr. Kaunda observed that the province had a lot of potential to attain high levels of development adding that this would only be possible if public officers responsible of managing public resources utilize them prudently.

He said the culture where officers drew public resources without corresponding output should come to an end as he would not tolerate such acts in the New Year.

Mr. Kaunda who was flanked by the acting deputy Permanent Secretary Micah Zyambo added that government was in a hurry to develop the province and urged all public workers to rise to the occasion and ensure that they effectively implemented government policies.

He observed that there was no province which was so much endowed with abundant natural resources like Northern Province.

Earlier, Mr. Kaunda told the meeting that the province has changed its budgetary focus for 2008 from rehabilitation of Social infrastructure to the rehabilitation and support to economic infrastructure.

Mr. Kaunda noted that the budget focus for 2008 was to support development of infrastructure which will increase economic activities as compared to the previous year when the emphasis was on rehabilitation and construction of health infrastructure and provision of school requisites such as desks and table.

The acting PS further said the province has set aside funds for the revival of Mbesuma ranch, Mpika diary farm, rehabilitation of furrows and weirs, construction of an industrial development centre and construction of warehouses for the marketing of tradition crops such finger millet.

Last year, the Province allocated over two K2bn to rehabilitation and construction of health and education infrastructure in the province.

Meanwhile Members of Parliament in Northern Province have appealed to government to consider allocating more resources to the Province for development in this year’s National budget.

The MPs’ made the call during the Provincial Development Coordinating Committee (PDCC) meeting in Kasama over the weekend.

The MPs said despite the Province being the biggest in the country, it usually received low funding for developmental activities resulting in the low investment levels in the region.

The MPs who included Mpulungu MP, who is also Provincial Minister, Lameck Chibombamilimo, Isoka West MP, Paul Sichamba, Lubanseshi MP, Lazarous Chota, and Lukashya MP, Alfridah Mwamba, called for fair distribution of national resources to all Provinces in order to stimulate economic development.

And Mr. Chibombamilimo said this year’s budget ceiling allocated to the province which stood at K29 billion was not adequate to cater for both Personal emoluments and developmental programmes.

He noted that the increment of K3 billion from last year’s K26 billion budget ceiling casts doubt on the prospects of the Province attaining meaningful development this year.

Mr. Chibombamilimo explained that Northern Province has abundant natural resources that needed to be exploited fully to boost economic activities in the area.

The Minister has since appealed to President Levy Mwanawasa to intervene in the matter saying it was unfair for the Province to continue crying out for more budgetary allocations every year.

Members of Parliament in the Province have also expressed concern with the continued inadequate funding towards the construction of high schools in the area.

The MPs said last year, the Ministry of Education only allocated funds for construction of one high school in Chilubi, when in fact the Province had 12 districts that also needed school infrastructure.

They observed that Northern Province deserved to have a university in order to cater for the growing populations and called on government to consider establishing one using the already existing infrastructure at Lukashya Trades Training Institute in Kasama town.

The MPs further appealed to minister of education, Professor Geoffrey Lungwangwa to consider allocating more resources to school infrastructure in the Province this year in order to enhance the standard of education among the local people.