Councillors are agents of development—Nice
National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust has said development will remain a far-fetched dream in areas that disregard councillors’ presence.
Mwanza Nice district civic education officer Paul Kanyenda said this last week during a performance review of councillor Godfrey Zamaheya of Mpandazi Ward in Group Village Head (GVH) Chiwembu in Traditional Authority Nthache in the district.
He said development plans in any area need acouncillor’s attention to be implemented.
Said Kanyenda: “They are responsible to present the needs to district councils where both government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) funds are available. Development plans that do not involve councillors are dreams forever. You have to make them [councillors] active.”
He also said Nice encourages communities to present needs to duty-bearers to achieve meaningful development.
GVH Chiwembu promised to discuss his area’s development initiatives with Zamaheya.
“Other villages have one or two development projects implemented. We have many needs but our silence has cost us a lot. We will compile and present them to the councillor for assistance,” he said.
As part of contributions to the development projects in the area, Zamaheya urged communities to mould bricks, provide sand and stones in advance. n
