Youth and Society (YAS) has drilled councillors and civil society organisations (CSOs) in Mchinji on public finance management to enhance accountability and transparency at council level.
YAS programmes coordinator Mwandida Theu said this during a training on financial management in the district.
She said the training sought to strengthen the capacity of CSOs and councillors in expenditure tracking and oversight.
Theu said empowering the stakeholders was crucial in ensuring accountability in the management of public funds.
She said: “Council members should ensure that the revenue they collect is accounted for. It is, therefore, the duty of both the CSOs and council members to hold duty-bearers accountable.
“As YAS, we will try to empower CSOs and other stakeholders to play their oversight role.”
Mchinji district director of finance Fredrick Muyaba said the training came at the right time.
“The training will promote accountable and transparency at council level,” he said.
During the training, governance expert McCloud Kadammanja from Centre for Local Governance also emphasised the importance for CSOs and council members to effectively carry out checks and balances on public funds.
A resident Madalo Potani from Traditional Authority Zulu hailed YAS for the training, saying it is crucial for CSOs and other stakeholders acquire skills to track public finances.
“There are a number of projects duty-bearers implement in the district and citizens would like to follow how the resources are used,” she said.
The training is part of YAS’ efforts to promote good governance, transparency and citizen participation in public finance management at the local councils.
