National Federation Party Leader Professor Biman Prasad says they firmly believe the government, through the Local Government Minister’s micro-management of municipalities, has entrenched nepotism, cronyism and lack of adherence to transparent financial practices in the town and city councils.
Prasad says the Government’s decision to trash democracy in municipalities in favour of Special Administrators of their own liking and choice have miserably failed.
He says for a month now, the un-elected Administrators are missing after they completed their contracts and the Councils find themselves in a corner in terms of upholding financial transparency as one of the signatories at any given time was the Administrator together with the council’s CEO.
Prasad says the difference is that prior to the dissolution of all Councils in 2009, the Mayor as representative of ratepayers and citizens, signed and co-signed cheques for payments made by each Council.
He adds a CEO/Town Clerk of any municipality cannot sign a cheque alone under the Local Government Act.
Prasad is questioning who is the main signatory in the absence of Administrators and says there is no law authorising the CEO or any member of the management to sign cheques and disburse the hard-earned money of ratepayers and other sources.
The NFP Leader goes on to say their motion regarding a holistic inquiry into the operations and management of all municipalities and to determine the effectiveness of service delivery to ratepayers and citizens in each of the 12 municipalities didn’t reach the floor of parliament in the September sitting.
Prasad further says this government and its two Local Government Ministers since 2014, have failed miserably to give power back to ratepayers and citizens.
We have contacted the Minister for Local Government, Premila Kumar for a response. She is yet to respond.
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