NGOs lobby for training for community leaders

Norwegian Church Aid and DanChurch Aid (NCA/DCA) joint country programme officer John Chawinga has said there is need to train community leaders to enhance understanding of their roles in various development initiatives.

Speaking in an interview on Wednesday after a meeting with Karonga District ward councillors, he said having interacted with the community, area development committee members, chiefs and civil society organisations his office established that there was knowledge gap on procurement of contractors for construction works.

Chawinga said: “Councillors are kept out of information loop from council secretariat which makes it hard for them to follow progress of projects.

“We, therefore, suggest that our partners, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) of Karonga Diocese conduct a capacity building of community leader and Council Secretariat for the sake of development.”

He advised the council secretariat to be transparent on the composition of internal procurement committee to avoid conflict of interest which gives room to corruption.

Karonga District council vice-chairperson Councillor Wilson Mzumara admitted that there is a huge knowledge gap between community development structures and the council secretariat.

“It is knowledgeable community leaders that are able to contribute significantly to the socio-economic growth of any area, but with the current status quo, we cannot achieve any tangible development,” he said.

CCJP Fighting Inequalities project coordinator Tuntufye Simwimba said his office will source funds for the training to address the disparities.