Dedza Council cautions communities on human rights
Dedza District Council has advised communities against placing emphasis on rights while ignoring their own responsibilities.
Dedza District Council service charter coordinator Sothine Ndazi observed last Wednesday that communities have a tendency of blaming government workers for inefficiency ‘yet on their part they fail in their duties as citizens’.
He was speaking during a training workshop for complaints handling committees formed to follow up complaints regarding public service delivery.
Ndazi said some community members coax police officers with money to secure police bail for their relatives when they know that such bail is free.
He said: “The same people start complaining later that police is forcing them to pay for bail when they offered money voluntarily.”
He said the training was aimed at sensitising the committees about services provided by various government sectors and what they can do when they are not properly assisted.
“We want people to be knowledgeable about services they are entitled to from different government departments as well as their own roles and responsibilities as citizens. These are outlined in a document called Service Charter which the council drew up in 2013,”
One participant, Matiki Gongoni, from Traditional Authority (T/A) Kachere in the district said the training empowered him with knowledge that will help demand quality services from public institutions
