A group of concerned citizens, led by chiefs, has given Mchinji District Council 21 days to account for public funds that allegedly went missing at the council.
This comes after audit reports revealed that about K66 million meant for Decent and Affordable Housing Subsidy Programme (Dahsp) went missing at the council —K52 million in 2015 and K14 million in 2019.
During a meeting attended by chiefs on Tuesday, the concerned citizens and some council sector heads, it was also established that K9 million meant for school improvement grants (SIG) programme was unaccounted for in 2014/15 financial year.
The meeting in progress at Mchinji District Council office
Speaking at the meeting, Mchinji Social Economic Concern Citizen Alliance (Mseca) executive director Lawrence Chikhasu lamented mismanagement of funds at the council in recent years.
He, however, said the council secretariat has agreed to provide answers to their queries within 21 days.
Mchinji district agriculture development assistant officer David Gondwe admitted that his office borrowed Dahsp money and they agreed to start paying it back.
“We will soon meet the secretariat to see how best we can do that,” he said. The council’s chief administration officer Raymond Nkhonya promised to provide answers within the specified period, saying they will need to first discuss the matter at secretariat level.
