DOWA DISTRICT COUNCIL LOSING OUT ON REVENUE DUE TO ILLEGAL REVENUE COLLECTION

One of the committee members at Chimwaza Market in Dowa Boston Chunga says the Dowa district council is losing out on revenue as some unscrupulous individuals have opened markets where they are collecting revenue.
Chunga revealed this during a town hall meeting at the Mponela resource training center in Dowa when the Malawi Human Rights Resource Center (MHRRC) engaged the Dowa district market committees and council officials on progress made on the newly launched E-ticketing.
Chunga argues that the council should come up with deliberate measures to deal with those who are illegally collecting revenue at the Nyengere, Mtekateka, and Chinguwo/Chimwaza markets.
“I feel like there is more that the council can do to scale up collection of revenue, such as opening car packs and rectifying bottlenecks rocking the newly introduced e-ticketing system.” Said Chunga
“The council should also move in and bring to book unscrupulous individuals who are illegally collecting revenue on markets in the districts.” Said Chunga.
He also says the council should come up with incentives that will motivate the council’s revenue collectors to work hard.
“The council should raise payments of revenue collectors to motivate them to meet the council’s revenue targets.” Said Chunga.
Responding on the matter, the chairperson of the Finance and audit committee for Dowa District Council councilor Martin Luka, conceded that the council is facing several challenges in revenue collection.
However, he argues that the council is currently engaging the said individuals to address the abnormality.
“The council has on several occasions engaged the said individuals though they seem to be reluctant to comply but we will deal with this once and for all.” Said Luka.
Luka also assured the market committee members that the council will not lose the battle but make sure that the two parties come to a consensus.
Meanwhile, Malawi Human Rights Resource Center, capacity development associate Noel Msiska expressed satisfaction with what had transpired during the meeting saying the development means the project is yielding results of fostering citizen participation, voice, and action to promote development.
“We are marking that as progress as the council through the meetings has learned that there are some individuals who are illegally collecting revenue from markets and is poised to deal with the anomaly,” Said Msiska.
Msiska also says the council has got the mandate to collect revenue from any business entity operating within the district and nobody should stand in its way.
Malawi Human Rights Resource Center is running a project called Fighting Inequality in Education, health, and social protection with funding from the Norwegian church aid and Danish church aid in the districts of Ntchisi and Dowa.