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GOVERNMENT has urged local authorities to embrace principles of good corporate governance in managing council affairs and to be accountable to residents. Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Dr Ignatius Chombo said councillors should come out of the election mode and start delivering on their promises.
“Elections are now over our citizenry look up to us to deliver in terms of water supply, road maintenance, solid waste management, health services and educational facilities among other needy areas,” said Minister Chombo while officially opening a three-day national induction and training programme for councillors here.
“We cannot afford to let our people down. My expectation following this training programme is that all councillors will go back home better placed to tackle the challenges on the ground in a manner that will bring a marked difference to the lives of our people.”
The Minister said in keeping with the modus operandi already enunciated by President Mugabe, all local authorities’ chief executives and town clerks shall be put on a clearly defined performance contract with effect from January 2014.
He added that the system should be cascaded to lower echelons of the council bureaucracy in line with result-based management principles.
The workshop which was organised by the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing and funded by United Nations Development Programme is meant to equip councillors with requisite skills needed in running council affairs.
It is also meant to capacitate the new councillors and provide them with a platform to familiarise themselves with local authorities operations.
The councillors are being educated on issues to do with service delivery, functions and configuration of council, their interaction with the communities as well as the relationship between council and the parent ministry and central Government.
The training will entail education on the role of committees, budgets and finance in local authorities, among other key issues.
Government introduced this national induction and training workshop after it realised that it was important to ensure councillors were fully aware of their mandate before assuming office.
Online Reporter