IN his inaugural address to Parliament during the ceremonial opening of the First Session of the 13th National Assembly on September 10, 2021, President Hakainde Hichilema set out his agenda of action and how all leaders ought to pre-occupy themselves only with a call to duty.
Yes, Zambians voted for change and citizens have already started enjoying some of the fruits of this change under the New Dawn administration.
To achieve more development, Zambia needs a selfless leadership that works hard for the betterment of the country and improving people’s livelihoods.
On several occasions President Hichilema has been emphatic in directing local authorities to improve service delivery after the Government restored sanity in councils.
The New Dawn administration has allowed councils to collect levies from bus stations and markets unlike in the past when political
cadres shared revenue with the local authorities.
It is however disappointing to hear that some councils have not yet grasped the art of revenue collection to improve the authorities’ operations despite the goodwill from the central government.
Local Government and Rural Development Minister Gary Nkombo revealed that some local authorities were still corrupt, hence the inertia in executing their civic duties.
When he featured on national broadcaster Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC’s) Sunday Interview programme, Mr Nkombo said despite Government’s efforts to ensure all revenue streams were sealed, some councils, still had leakages.
The revelation by the minister just shows that some of our local authorities have not fully switched to the new order where there should be no pilferage of resources.
Due to mismanagement and corrupt practices, some councils are even struggling with a backlog of salary arrears.
Mr Nkombo warned the culprits that they should not take advantage of President Hichilema’s kindness and reluctance to use the statutes and retire some people in national interest.
Since assuming office in 2021, the United Party