Our Mandate

Functions of Local Authorities (Councils)

The Council derives its mandate from the Local Government Act No 2 of 2019 which lists the following as overall functions of Local Authorities:

HAVE THE COUNCILS AROUND THE COUNTRY THE CAPABILITIES TO TAKE WHAT IS EXPECTED AFTER THE DEVOLUTION?

(i) Local Councils are already doing tremendous work in the provision of public services and enhancing social and economic development to the local communities in the respective district boundaries.
(ii) Levels of capabilities differ from one Council to another owing to different levels of development and status. The financial strength of the Lusaka City Council cannot be compared to that of a small district like say Kafue, or Chongwe.
(iii) Provision of services largely depends on the balance of Estimates of Income over expenditure, meaning that each Council can only spend as much as it earns in terms of service delivery.
(iv) The Decentralization Policy assures that Local communities will be empowered by devolving decision making authority, functions and matching resources from the centre to the lowest level in order to improve efficient and effectiveness in the delivery of services.

HOW MUCH RESOURCES ARE ACCESSED BY LOCAL COUNCILS?

(i) This depends on sources of income for each Council, and the type.
(ii) Some smaller Council have a smaller annual budget of say K2.2 million, which is far below a monthly salary wage bill for Lusaka City Council.
(iii) District Councils, in addition to their local resources, receive annual grants from the centre to fund capital projects. Bigger Councils (Cities) are encouraged to generate own income from local sources of income such as property rates.

HOW CREDIBLE ARE COUNCILS AS INSTITUTIONS OF PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY AND LOCAL DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE?

(i) The credibility of Councils stems from the fact that these are body corporate entities created by an Act of Parliament, legally established as Agents of the Central Government in the promotion of social, political and economic development to the lowest level.

(ii) Local Democratic Governance

Councils operate a representative local governance system to elect a Council that has powers to make policies at local level.
– Ensure bottom-up decision making
– Citizens are involved in decision making by electing their area representatives who petition for their needs in the local Council Chambers.
– Area based interest groups are involved in community development.
Any person, who is ordinarily resident in a given geographical area called Ward, is free to seek election to the office of Councillor to represent the electorates.