The same Old Story...

“ . . . when I was submitting to the CRC my mind kept wondering how possible that our local government system has been left unchecked in terms of Review even in the wake of serious steps towards decentralisation . . “

John W. Zulu, Acing District Planning Officer, Mambwe District Council

The seriousness of our Government to reduce poverty through the involvement of the rural needy can be measured against the degree of its seriousness in ensuring effective and efficient operations of Councils.

I feel the Government has not been serious enough in this regard, and this has been at the expense of poor quality yet inadequate social services to the local citizenry especially in rural areas of Zambia.

Availability of good quality social services should have translated into poverty reduction.

This scenario is emanating from two angles, which should have been cardinal areas of concern, had the Government considered the importance of periodic review of the local government system and did something about it.

Periodic review of the local government system is inevitable because it is common sense that society is dynamic as evidenced by the constant social change to which society is subjected.

Social change is synonymous with change of social needs and aspirations of any given human community. This therefore gives rise to the need and importance of reviewing the local government system so that the functions of local authorities are in line with peoples’ socio-economic needs.

1. Capacity of Councillors

How capable is a council to effect local policies when its members’ (Councilors) level of grasping issues is lower than that of his/her employee - chief officers.

How can he or she be expected to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the local policies?

Council mislead

Under these circumstances a chief officer takes advantage and manipulates the council through councilors by way of denying them information; giving them inadequate information or misinforming them. He does this for his own selfish ends knowing that he can get away with it.

2. Capacity of individual council officers

I am aware that the Government has put in place poverty reduction programmes some of which are designed to facilitate building of capacities for councils.

One thing still remains unanswered in this approach. How can council capacity be expected to improve when capacities of those charged with the responsibility to run these councils are lacing in their individual capacities?

In other words how possible is it that an officer who has no capacity to manage his or her personal life adequately, be expected to effectively run council functions. This is the more reason why capacity building of councils is not achieving similar and expected results.

Old local government system and new approach in the name of decentralisation... this is not compatible with government priority of reducing poverty.