Govt says councils need capacity building

——–Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing, Forrie Tembo, says there was need to strengthen the capacity of local authorities countrywide to effectively implement solid waste management programmes and ensure cleanliness.

Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Livingstone town clerk,  Vivian Chikoti today, Mr Tembo said many councils countrywide were facing problems in solid waste management and hence the need to improve their capacity to contain the situation.

“ I think solid waste management is one of the biggest problems many councils are faced with and I feel there is need to keep on building capacity of local authorities as well as strengthen the policy on waste management if this problems could be solved,” said Mr Tembo.

The Local Government Deputy Minister, who toured major projects implemented by the council, stated that he was impressed with the rehabilitation and construction works ahead of the United Nations World Tourism General Assembly (UNWTO) in August, this year.

He also expressed hope that the efforts by the council to improve service delivery through infrastructural development should extend beyond the event.

Mr Tembo also took a swipe at some water utility companies for charging exorbitant water bills to government institutions when their water supply is often erratic.

“It is sad to note that we have some water utility companies in the country that are charging unreasonably even when their commodity supply is erratic,” said Mr Tembo.

He urged water utility companies in the country to be fair in their billing and improve their service delivery if they were to win the support of both the government and the public.

Meanwhile, Livingstone Town Clerk, Vivian Chikoti, said the council has put up a budget of KR1.8 million to erect four traffic lights in the city to control traffic flow but that there has been no headway on the issue.

Ms Chikoti also said the council requires an additional KR 10 million to meet the terms of reference and scope of works to ensure that the market under construction is of high quality standards once completed.

The Government, through the council, pumped in KR 28.5 million for the construction of an ultra modern market expected to be completed by the end of July, 2013.

Other projects include the rehabilitation of the fire brigade, construction of public toilets, bus terminus and ablution blocks among others.