By Tovin Ngombe
Sinazongwe district Commissioner (DC) Laiven Apuleni has said some Southern Province Local Authorities were failing to deliver social services because of the poor financial management and low calibre of the elected councilors.

Apuleni said at the German Technical Support to Zambia (GTZ) sponsored exchange visit for local authorities in southern province to Sinazongwe that the success of any local authority lies in its ability to manage financial resources.

“It is evident that we still have a good number of local authorities that are limping because of mediocre financial and administratively management coupled with low calibre of the elected representatives (councilors).” Apuleni said.

He said performance of local Authorities lies in providing services to community and not using the provision of salaries to their workers as bases for good management
“In our eyes as stakeholders you are judged by your ability to deliver services and not to pay salaries,” the DC said.

He recommended Sinazongwe District Council for exhibiting remarkable and admirable financial management.

GTZ has also ranked Sinazongwe district among the top three council in the Southern Province that have innovative ideas of raising revenue and to providing services to the community.

GTZ Local Government Adviser Kaunda Mapoma said the other councils include kalomo and Mazabuka which were managing to implement their activities based on budgeting and documentation of their revenue data base.

Mapoma said these districts also provide services such grading of the roads, sweeping the streets, providing street lights, and Kalomo have even gone on commercial bases.

He said Sinazongwe district Council has was managing to operate well with the private sector in the grading of the roads; they publish budget, and receipts on how the money was being spent.

“The public are aware of how their money was being used, there is transparent in the use of resources at Sinazongwe District Council,” Mapoma said.

He said the exchange visit was meant for Southern Province councils to know how others were managing their finances well and how others were performing poorly to ensure that they all improve their delivery of social services.

By Tovin Ngombe

Senior Chief Mweemba has appealed to government to assist him in assessing medication to improve his failing health.

The Senior Chief told ZANIS in an interview through his representative Richwell Ntundulu that from the time the Senior Chief became ill he has not received any support from government.

He said only Sinazongwe District Commissioner Laiven Apuleni provided transport for him to be taken for Medication in Lusaka.

Senior Chief Mweemba said going for medical reviews has posed a financial drain on his resources from the time he became ill.

“You know when a person is ill and he has no time to look for money and the senior chief has been using his own money which has created financial difficulties on him,” Mr Ntundulu said.

Mr. Ntundulu said he could not understand why the senior chief has been neglected even in times of difficulties.

“I do not know if we are in a different government, the senior has not received anything from the time of his ill health,” Mr Ntundulu said

Two months ago the Senior Chief was diagnosed with the liver problem.

A check by ZANIS at his palace found that the chief’s condition was not good though he was able to talk to for a short while.

By Tovin Ngombe

Senior Chief Mweemba of the Tonga people said the hunger situation in Sinazongwe District would be worse in September if government fails to send relief food to save his subjects from starvation.

The Senior Chief who was speaking through his representative Richwell Ntundulu at his palace said the hunger situation in his areas has continued to haunt his people because of the poor rainfall experienced in the district in the previous farming season.

Senior Chief Mweemba said government should urgently send relief food to save the starving villagers from perishing of hunger.

“The situation is pathetic, it is a dry season and there are no fruits that people can pick up to eat, my people are not being cared for even the local investors are doing nothing to assist them,” Senior Chief Mweemba said.

The chief who was also able to utter a few words because of his poor health said Kafwambila, Siampondo, Muuka, Denganza, and Kanchindu the area around his palace were the most affected.

He said people living in Siameja had no land to cultivate from because the area was too rocky adding that it was not out of there own making that they fail to grow food.

“But displacement has done them more harm because they were growing their own food before they came to this place,” the Senior Chief said.

The number of people requiring relief food in Sinazongwe district has doubled as compared to last year’s Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) estimates.

Sinazongwe District Commissioner (DC) Laiven Apuleni said in March that the number of people in need of relief food has swelled from 5,241 to 10,656.

The DC disclosed that he was receives a lot of calls from people who want to know what was being done to save people from starvation.

Statistics from the District Agriculture office indicates that Sinazongwe has a population of 80,750 and it has 99,300 arable land and only 20,000 is cultivated annually.