Start generating income, councils told

By KALOBWE BWALYA
IT is high time that local authorities started generating revenue for themselves to pay out workers and other expenses without government support, National Governance Coordinator Lwipa Chisanga has advised.
Mr Chisanga said now that political party cadres who used to collect money and disturb council operations were no longer in public places, it was time for local authorities to be weaned.
He however said a lot needed to be done and put in place to ensure that councils became self-sustainable.
“We do not expect councils to depend on the central government for financial support,” he said.
Mr Chisanga said it is unfortunate that in all successive administrations, local authorities have been dependents on the government for financial support
He pointed out that local authorities that are in rural areas were doing far much better in terms of revenue collection compared to those in urban centres despite having received financial support from the central government.
“Local authorities should work hard and remain self sustainable and not depend on the central government for financial support because the councils have many ways of generating income revenue,” said Mr Chisanga.
And Mr Chisanga said after the new dawn government removed cadres from markets and bus stations, order has returned and councils are now able to collect money properly.