The National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) has written to some local councils expressing concern over poor workmanship in the construction of public infrastructure.

The projects are supported by the World Bank through Governance to Enable Service Delivery (Gesd), whose components include performance-based financing for service delivery, and inter-governmental accountability systems.

Santhe: We can’t compromise on that

NLGFC executive director Kondwani Santhe, whose institution is managing the project, said they have warned Mangochi, Chitipa, Thyolo, Nkhotakota and Nkhata Bay councils over poor workmanship and will be meeting them soon.

Projects in question include a K75 million hostel at Mzenga Secondary School in Nkhata Bay which has developed four cracks, a K36 million abattoir in Chitipa and a K36 million Kabango Market shed in Mwanza District.

Said Santhe: “We have to be serious, government has come up with a policy on value for money and we can’t compromise on that.

“We have been lacking resources and now that we have some, let us put them to good use. We need to work without compromising any quality or standards.”

He said revelations of poor workmanship mean that systems are not working effectively in local councils.

Meanwhile, Citizen Engagement Committee chairperson Willy Kambwandira, whose organisation is also under Gesd, said they were getting complaints from across the country.

He said: “This is a sign of a general decay in integrity and moral values which has not only institutionalised corruption but also decentralised corruption and plunder of public resources.

“We have instituted parallel investigations on these matters. Some projects are implemented without Project Implementation Committees. Where you have committees, some have not been trained.”

Kambwandira said there is need for projects to dedicate funds for monitoring activities.

The Gesd project is financed by the World Bank to the tune of $100 million (about K103 billion) and runs for five years from 2020 to 2025.

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