Minister of Local Government and Community Affairs Tamba Lamina announced on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, that his ministry is working towards reviewing the Chieftaincy Acts of 2004, to support efficient administration and coordinate the activities of the various ministries at the provincial level.
He stated that the Decentralization Act enacted in 2004 demonstrates the government's commitment to reaching out to all arms of government while enabling Parliamentary and Local Councilors to function independently, given projects to implement in their localities, free from political interference at the local level once funding has been allocated to them.
However, he maintained that the ministry is faced with significant challenges since decentralization only focuses on the Local Council, leaving little or no attention to the Chieftaincy, necessitating a review of the decentralization Acts of 2023, which would make provision for the review of the Chieftaincy Act with more mandate given to the ministry.
The Director of the Decentralization Secretariat, Alex Bhonapha Esq., remarked that the Secretariat's mandate focused on devolution, encompassing the effectiveness of government at the local level.
He further stated that devolution is categorized into four stages:
The functions of Local Councils, which form close to 54 Councilors.
The way the money is distributed to localities to aid capacity building and their daily activities.
The different devolution of sector heads who pioneer the activities at their locality to enable effective work and also identify the key necessary work to be done.
The asset monitoring of these councils.
He concluded that for certain projects such as the Government Flagship Program "The Feed Salone Project", the Secretariat ensures that all assets given are used for the appropriate project and accounted for.
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