ROGERS KALERO
COPPERBELT Deputy Permanent Secretary Daniel Kamenga has said disciplinary action must be taken against council officers found to have compromised themselves on the supervision of the various Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects.
He said charging someone who has made a mistake was not a way of instilling fear, but a corrective measure because local authorities and government were not there to maintain friendship which will compromise service delivery.
Mr Kamenga, who is Copperbelt Provincial Delivery Unit (PDU) Focal person, was speaking on Friday when he addressed the management at the Mufulira Municipal Council (MMC) before embarking on a tour of CDF projects in Kankoyo constituency.
He insisted that those officers who had compromised themselves on supervising the CDF projects must be charged because of the shoddy works which were done on most CDF projects in Kantanshi constituency which he had inspected on Thursday.
“Charging a person or meting out disciplinary action against those who have made a mistake in the course of executing their duties is not meant to install fear, but to correct the situation. We are not here to make or maintain friendship that will compromise friendship. No, we are here to deliver quality service delivery that will gain and hold the confidence of the public,” Mr Kamenga said.
Mr Kamenga has also cautioned local authorities against side-lining qualified personnel to supervise Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects in preference for wrong people who do not understand the construction industry because they are able to control and dictate to them.
He stated that said some management at councils were preferring their bootlickers to supervise CDF projects whom they are able to control than those who have been in the job for a long time and understand the works because they are able to control them.
He said council management should not assign the Quantity Surveyor to supervise construction works when it has well qualified building inspectors.
“You are sidelining people who know the job in preference for those you can control and in most cases these people you are assigning don’t know the job. You can’t assign a quantity surveyor to supervise construction works when you have well qualified building inspectors.
“You can’t choose people to work with. You can choose friends but not people to work with. So assigning wrong people to supervise construction works is also contributing to these shoddy work,” he said.
