Government, through the Local Development Fund (LDF), has withheld close to K3.4 billion meant for the Productive Public Works Programme in the local councils after reports of suspected fraud during the first cycle of implementation.
Head of Development Communications at LDF, Booker Matemvu, made the revelation on Wednesday after touring some of the projects in Chitipa in the second cycle of the programme under Masaf 4.
He said during the 12- day first cycle, most councils failed to account for the 40 percent of the funding which was meant for purchasing of equipment used in the various projects such as rehabilitation of roads.
“It came to our attention that there were some anomalies in how the 40 percent was spent; officials would claim to have purchased items such as tree seedlings or hoes which were never in sight when we went for inspection. So a decision was reached at that for the second cycle, that money should not be released immediately,” Matemvu explained.
He said a team of auditors would be completing their work in various councils shortly in order to establish how the funds were being used.
Matemvu, however, disclosed that this cycle’s 40 percent would be channeled towards the wages fund which would see recruitment of additional beneficiaries.
“To ensure that the money is injected into the rightful project, government has decided to increase the number of beneficiaries of the public works with about 200, 000 to avoid leakage of resources,” he added.
According to Matemvu, the recruitment process will take place in a not-so distant future since the money is available.
Apparently there is a paradigm shift in the implementation of Masaf projects from infrastructure development to creation of productive assets.
With a wage rate of K600 per day, community members engage in natural resource management as an environment conservation measure.
“We like this new approach because it puts into consideration the generations to come. While we earn a living from the project, we are able to conserve the environment,” said Benard Sikwese chairperson for Masyesye Village Development Committee in the area of Traditional Authority Mwaulambya.
LDF has released K7.6 billion for implementation of the second cycle of the 2015/2016 24-day public works initiative.
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