By Phillip Pasula
MZUZU-(MaraviPost)-The Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) Project which is under the Ministry of Local Government has said citizen engagement is very crucial in the implementation of public projects in the country.
GESD Director, Charles Chunga, said this in Rumphi on Friday night during a public engagement meeting that brought together different stakeholders including ward councillors, council officials, community leaders, Non-Governmental Organizations and members of development committees.
“Decentralisation that started in 1998 was necessary for citizens to make their own choices on projects they want. GESD has been providing funds to councils for development projects.
“It is important for citizens to take part in planning and monitoring of all projects in their areas,” remarked Chunga.
Chairperson for Citizen Engagement Committee, Edward Chileka Banda, who is also Director for Citizen Alliance, said public projects were a major source of service delivery in Malawi and local communities should not be left out in their implementation.
“Facilities including schools, hospitals, roads and bridges are critical in supporting citizens in the social economic drive for this country. These meetings are very important as different stakeholders come together to reflect on how we can improve on our implementation of public projects.
“One key gap is lack of effective citizen participation which has created room for mismanagement of public funds leading to poor quality projects. We have heard of projects that only exist on paper and yet they were paid for.
“At a time when government is planning for the next fiscal year, it is important to check what is changing and what is not. This therefore calls for citizen engagement in managing the resources and even procurement,” remarked Chileka Banda.
