Nankhumwa blames Cashgate for council woes

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Kondwani Nankhumwa has attributed failure by the government to construct purpose-built council chambers in districts to the plunder of public resources at Capital Hill dubbed Cashgate.

Nankhumwa was responding to a request from Mwanza Central member of Parliament (MP) Davis Katsonga who asked the ministry to consider constructing a new assembly hall for Mwanza District Council.

Nankhumwa said government had made an attempt under a municipal development programme to construct chambers and furnish them, but this did not materialise.

However, the reference to Cashgate did not please Rumphi East MP Kamlepo Kalua (People’s Party-PP), who argued that in the last two budgets Parliament has approved funding to the ministry which could have been used for the purpose. n