By Macdonald Kaleso
Ward Councillors at Balaka District council on Friday sealed the office of the acting District Commissioner Darwin Mngoli over alleged incompetency and misappropriation of funds at the council.
Speaking in an interview after sealing the office, council Chairperson Steve Michael Sauka Jr alleged that most sectors of the district council have abused their resources but the acting DC who also serves as Director of Administration (DoA) has been giving the councillors a cold shoulder whenever they ask for a roundtable discussion over the matter.
“We asked him to grant us audience but on several occasions, the acting DC snubbed us for no apparent reasons.
“The acting DC and the Secretariat are acting unilaterally on pertinent issues to do with the council. We therefore demand that he should go somewhere else. As citizens of Balaka, we cannot accept this kind of impunity,” Sauka said.
On his part, the acting DC said he would come back with a response later.
After sealing the acting DC’s office, the Councillors later on stormed Balaka District Hospital with a mission of closing down the office of the Director of Health and Social Services (DHSS) Dr. Eugene Katenga Kaunda on allegations of poor management.
However, their plan did not materialize as the office of Kaunda was already closed and he was not at the facility. The Councillors vowed to visit the hospital again to close down the office.
Almost 17 sectors in the district have been given a stern warning that come Monday, their offices will also be sealed if the acting DC does not take swift action.
