Reported by Leah Malimbasa
World Bank Country Manager Firas Raad, has commended Chikwawa District Council for its collaborative efforts with the community and stakeholders in prioritizing development projects that directly address the needs of the people.
Raad was speaking on Tuesday during his visit to Chikwawa, where he inspected Nkhate Health Post, a facility built with funding from the bank under the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) project.
“By involving these stakeholders, the community takes ownership of the development and sustains it,” Raad said.
Raad also highlighted the importance of incentivizing local authority performance, and further praised GESD for promoting accountability and improving service delivery for citizens.
“GESD ensures that good performance by local authorities is rewarded so the competition brings motivation,” he added.National Local Government Finance Committee’s GESD Project Coordinator, Charles Chunga, echoed Raad’s sentiments, emphasizing that the performance-based grant under GESD has indeed led to improved outcomes, with councils putting in more effort due to healthy competition.
“Chikwawa is also excelling in engaging stakeholders in development projects, which is one of the reasons we chose to visit the council,” Chunga said.
He further noted that the council for completing its projects within the set timelines.
Chikwawa District Commissioner, Nardin Kamba, expressed his gratitude to the World Bank for its ongoing support and for recognizing the council’s efforts.
“This visit has motivated us to work even harder because our efforts are being noticed,” Kamba said.
Earlier in the day, the delegation also toured the Shire Valley Transformation Project and Phata Sugarcane Outgrowers, where they engaged with various stakeholders.
