When community voice becomes louder

In democracy, the voice of rights holders becomes louder than the sound of a trumpet. And when this voice is combined with decentralisation, duty-bearers can sweat due to pressure that emanate from the tax payers, the electorate who brace either cold weather or scorching heat to go to polling centres to usher into office leaders through the ballot.

And if the meaning of there is power in unity, is anything to go by, Karonga community leaders just sent a stern warning to elected leaders that they are not ready for substandard work.

With mounting pressure exerted by the people, the elected leaders were forced to postpone full council meetings twice, demanding an explanation from its secretariat on why it failed to monitor the recently rejected development structures by two area development committees.

This also meant milking the already thin cow twice in terms of allowances for meetings that failed to discuss financial report from the Audit and Finance Service Committee.

Asked whether it was not a waste of public resources, the council chairperson Isaac Kalambo said at that point, money meant nothing compared to the substandard work denting their image.

“We were elected by the community out there who have high expectations in terms of development. Therefore, their concerns are paramount because at the end of the day, we will be judged as failures by the same people.

“We have had enough of this and as representatives of the voiceless, we want the director of public works go,” he said.

The development follows recent rejection of two projects by Nyungwe ADC members, claiming it was substandard.

A similar incident happened at Iponga where Mwakaboko ADC members turned down a K14 million guardian shelter at Iponga Health Centre, alleging it had lacked water, electricity and toilets. They also claimed the shelter has huge cracks.

Mwakabobo public expenditure tracking chairperson John Mogha said apart from the challenges, they also established that some components of the building that appeared on Bills of Quantities were missing on the actual building.

Surprisingly, the rejected projects were done by one contractor.

The two incidences raised the full council’s eyebrows, wondering why the council continues to engage the contractor despite his track record.

Kaporo Ward Councillor Misheck Mwaijego said the community rejected the structures because they were substandard and had some missing structures that were embedded in the contract.

He explains: “As councillors, we are disappointed with the contractor. He has given us a raw deal. Surprisingly, the council continues to award the contractor more work despite the poor performance.”

In his recent visit in the district to appreciate projects, National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) board chairperson Richard Chapweteka warned the council against implementing piecemeal projects, saying money for development will always be there.

“Use development money wisely by ensuring that the infrastructure is complete. For example, if you are constructing a school block, ensure sure that you construct enough blocks for that school complete with teachers’ houses, toilets, bathrooms, water, electricity and furniture so that next year you go to another area,” he said.

Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) of Karonga Diocese project officer Obert Mkandawire, whose institution is implementing Fighting Inequalities project in the district, condemned the community leaders’ action, saying that their reaction implies that they were not involved in the implementation of the projects, defeating the spirit of decentralisation.

He said: “There were no project implementation and development committees that were not involved. It also exposes procurement shortfalls at the council since the contractor has been subject of substandard works on a number of projects.

“Now, for what observers describe as a face saver, the council has warned the contractor for what it described as poor adherence to construction standards and non-adherence to specifications over various development projects.”

In a letter dated November 19 2022 signed by the director of administration Dominic Mwandira, who was the then acting District Commissioner, the council cited the rejection of Nyungwe ADC chamber office by community leaders.

Reads the letter in part: “It has been observed that you continuously ignore implementing the instructions given to you by the client to the extent that the quality of the structure specifically the floor and roof areas including the drainage are of poor quality resulting in community raising concerns about your experience in construction works. We further note that the iron sheets used are of low standards not meeting the minimum requirements specified in the Bills of Quantities.”

Mwandira, however, justified the warning letter, saying the contractor defied the council’s supervisory team on areas that needed change hence the warning letter for him to redo the job.

The contractor confirmed having received the letter and said he would go back to the construction site to redo the job.

However, Mkandawire said the letter lacks the critical punch, describing it as a lukewarm and face saver for the council’s mess.

He said: “The contractor has messed up a number of projects in the district and the warning is long overdue.” n