BALAKA district Council says the recent Local Authority Performance Assessment results in which the council scooped number one, has been possible because the council puts in place proper systems by putting relevant people in positions.

Balaka Chairperson Counsellor Patrick Botomani told the NLGFC News that, “working as a team is the tradition of our council, and we have a very vibrant team, despite that we have less resources as Balaka is small, we do not look down on that, we work very hard, we motivate the team that we have, and here we are on position one,” he said.

On his part, District Commissioner Dr. MaCloud Kadammanja told the NLGFC Newsletter that the very first thing that he did when he assumed office was to make sure that the system was up to date and vibrant.

“The Heads of Departments must always do what they came here for, and I always made sure that when we get funding, expenses must be in line with the work plans, which in time help in proper management of the funds,” he added.

The District Commissioner also highlighted that the council is consulting with multiple stakeholders on the District Development Plan (DDP) which was formulated and has the voice of the community.

“The service Committees of the councils also is another area of focus; these committees must be meeting including the Full Council as they help in making decisions unlike in some areas where the DC just sits down with few of his Directors to dictate on an issue.

“The vibrant Civil Society (CSO) network that we have also is helping a lot in shaping the council to be best, as they keep on providing checks and balances wherever necessary,” he said.

On her Part, the Chief Accountant Florence Chindenga, says Balaka District Council is in the process of updating the Quaquinnual Valuation Report QVR and this has already been included in the finance reform areas.

“We want to update the QVR to widen our financial base in terms of property rates, and once the QVR has been updated, we will be able to collect revenue from all the newly constructed structures which are currently not included in the outdated QVR,” she said