MWANZA: MWANZA Regional Commissioner, Mr Said Mtanda has directed the Magu District Council to recover 700m/- in outstanding loans issued to youth, women and people with special needs, while also ensuring contractors owed by the council are paid.
Mr Mtanda issued the directives yesterday during a special meeting of the Council of Councilors convened to discuss the Controller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report on the Magu District Council. He said councilors should be fully informed of all debts owed to contractors and council employees to enable the preparation of a plan to reduce the liabilities gradually over the coming years.
The RC directed the council to identify all contractors owed by the authority and the amounts due to each so that a payment strategy can be prepared to clear the debts within two to three years. He also instructed the council to identify employees with outstanding claims and develop a special plan to settle the debts in instalments in order to ease the financial burden.
ALSO READ: Govt validates baseline findings for climate resilience project in Kigoma
Mr Mtanda further stressed that all outstanding government funds must be recovered, directing all councils in the region to establish task forces to track and collect debts accumulated from 2023 to date.
He also urged the Magu District Executive Director, Mr Mohamed Ramadhani, to strengthen cooperation among staff without discrimination, saying divisions among employees undermine service delivery and work efficiency. On discrepancies in the names of some employees, Mr Mtanda said he will work with the National Identification Authority (NIDA) to ensure affected employees have their records corrected and the challenges resolved.
He also commended the Magu District Council for obtaining clean audit reports for four consecutive years, noting that the council had continued to record few audit queries, many of which had already been addressed while the remaining ones were being worked on. Meanwhile, the CAG for Mwanza Region, Mr Richson Ringo, said the Magu District Council has received an unqualified audit opinion for three consecutive years.