Daniel Munkombwe says councillors are more important than members of parliament.
But Vice-President Dr Guy Scott says it is easy for a nominated member of parliament like Munkombwe to say councillors were more important.

Speaking during the 58th Local Government Association of Zambia annual general meeting at Chrismar Hotel on Monday, Munkombwe, the Southern Province minister, said in terms of remuneration, members of parliament were exceedingly fertilised.

“We need to reform the local government in this country. I could not effectively contribute to this when I served as Minister of Decentralisation. For me, a councillor is more important than a member of parliament because they deal with real issues,” Munkombwe said.

But later when he officially opened the general meeting, Vice-President Scott said Munkombwe was not an elected member of parliamentm, making it was easy for him to think that councillors were more important than members of parliament.

“It is easy for him [Munkombwe] to say councillors are more important than members of parliament because he is not elected himself. He is a nominated member of parliament. Anyway, he is my friend so I can say this to him,” Vice-President Scott said as the audience laughed.

And Vice-President Scott said councils should not only be asking for money from the government but that the demand for money should be matched with service delivery.
He said it was important for councils across the country to realise where their deficiencies were and not being keen on getting money from the government.

“We need a sober approach to problems facing councils and as we do so, we should realise that people are interested in service delivery. You are suppliers of services,” he said.

Vice-President Scott said he personally supported the reintroduction of crop levy.

“I support crop levy for councils; after all farmers are putting pressure on the roads, it is right that councils get levy from these farmers. The removal of the crop levy was an attempt to get the rural votes in 2008,” he said.

Local government minister, Emmanuel Chenda, said the government had placed a lot of importance in the role that councils play in the development of the country.

Chenda said councils should be responsive to the communities they served by delivering on their mandate.

“The issue of illegal land allocations in councils is saddening. Councillors get elected into their positions not out of selfishness but out of the desire to serve,” Chenda said.

UN resident coordinator, Janet Rogan, said gender balance was missing in local governance.

Meanwhile, Local Government Association of Zambia president, Mulenga Sata, said grants alone could not meet the challenges faced by councils in the country.

Mulenga also called on the government to introduce some form of assistance to be given to councillors during their line of duty.

The theme for the conference was: “50 years of local government, treasuring the past, reflecting the present and shaping the future.”