The Lusaka City Council (LCC) is confident that the decentralization policy reinforced by the new dawn administration will ensure transparency and accountability in the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation.
In an interview with Lusaka Star, Council Assistant Public Relations Manager Nyambe Bulumba said that with the policy in place, funds will no longer be controlled by the central government; instead, each constituency will manage its own allocations.
Mr. Nyambe further said that the formulation of the Ward Development Committees (WDC) will facilitate a transparent process for CDF allocations.
“When someone is applying for skills bursaries, we know who is vulnerable and who is not. The central government is not going to know, but among yourselves, you know each other,” he said.
“This is decentralization: power to the people, money to the people, resources to the people, and decisions to the people.”
Mr. Bulumba added that the local authority will ensure that allocated funds are utilized for the appropriate projects.
“The council is the secretariat for all these processes. The council manages the money, but it is not council money we are just managing it.
“The procurement stage is also done at the council level.
“All these processes ensure that there is no cheating in any part of the process,” he said.
Meanwhile, Keembe Ward Councilor Gift Mwenda emphasized the importance of a bottom-up approach in handling community projects.
He noted, however, that climate-related projects are most likely to be prioritized when it comes to CDF grants, while ensuring that there is a balance in the awarding of these grants.
He explained that after priority needs have been identified, they are sent to another committee called the CDF Committee, whose job is to approve what the community has prioritized according to the available funds.
“These are later submitted to the Ministry of Local Government for approval. This entire procedure enhances democracy, transparency, and accountability,” he said.