By Memory Chatonda

Blantyre, September 4, Mana: Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture, Richard Chimwendo Banda has warned local authorities against mismanagement of funds meant to implement different developmental projects in their respective councils.

He said this on Monday in Blantyre during the official opening of the two-day- quarterly coordination meeting for the local authorities in the southern region.

Banda observed that this year, three councils have failed to receive performance-based grant known as Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) to implement various projects saying some councils mismanaged resources while others underperformed.

“The missed money is more than K 2 Billion in total which would have benefited people in rural areas with infrastructural development.

 “It is time to remind them that government will not tolerate any abuse or mismanagement of funds because we do not want to see any council failing again to access the grant,” he said.

The Minister advised the councils to fast-track developmental infrastructures and deliver services efficiently and effectively to benefit local Malawians.

Banda urged controlling officers to take charge of the financial resources at their disposal, saying anyone misusing funds would be held accountable.

Malawi Local Government Association Executive Director, Hadrod Mkandawire said it was a regrettable development that some local authorities failed to access GESD funds which were meant to benefit the local masses.

He said, “There might be a number of factors that could lead to this. Therefore, controlling officers and technical directors need to tie down key performance indicators and work to achieve the required results within that specific period of time.”

District Commissioner (DC) for Zomba, Reinghard Chavula described the meeting as essential and urged her fellow controlling officers to adhere Minister’s call.