Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Blessings Chinsinga has called for strict public finance management in local councils to facilitate development.

The minister said this in a statement following the Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) induction training for mayors and their deputies and chairpersons of finance service committees.

Chinsinga: We want to turn councils into hubs of economic prosperity

Chinsinga said Auditor General’s reports show that some projects implemented at the local level cannot be traced in the development plans.

“My priority is turning councils into hubs of economic prosperity. For the local authorities to become economic hubs, there is need to run projects that will contribute to job creation,” he said.

Chinsinga said local councils are key drivers of socio–economic transformation in the country.

Malga president Wild Ndipo said the current financial year has been unstable for local governments financially.

He said the Covid–19 pandemic worsened the already fragile financial position of local governments as revenue was subdued.

“The mayors, chairpersons, district commissioners and chief executive officers continue to discharge their duties in a difficult environment, including mobility challenges,” said Ndipo.

Malga executive director Hadrod Mkandawire said the overall objective of the induction training was to orient the office-bearers on their statutory roles and responsibilities and also enlighten them on the policy and guidelines of conducting local authority business.

He said it was Malga’s expectation that the induction would help the mayors to set on ethical and corporate governance tone and effectively preside over the socio–economic development of their respective cities and municipalities.

Participants were oriented on four main topics, namely corporate governance of the local authorities entailing how to conduct council business properly and legally; public finance management at the local level; local revenue generation as well as change management and local economic development.

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