By Glory Msowoya
Blantyre, September 17, Mana: The British High Commissioner to Malawi, David Beer,toured Blantyre District Council on Friday to appreciate how the local authority discharges its duties in a decentralized setup.
During the interaction with council officials, Beer said the UK Government is committed to supporting the Malawi Government to address its various challenges.
He added that the UK Government appreciates the council’s efforts in implementing demand-driven projects at local level.
“The major focus is to help Malawi Government to improve its policy and support national level programs. So, these programs start at district level and this is why I’m here to understand how we can work together in improving those programs.
“We are working on different projects in the country like family planning and provision of commodities in health centres. We’re also working with the US Government on how we can switch people from using charcoal,” he said.
In his remarks, Blantyre District Commissioner, Bennet Nkasala, said there is need for the government to increase budget allocation towards development budget to ensure that more projects are implemented at district level.
“Central government should increase support towards development budget and if we can get five per cent, I strongly feel that will be at a better position of improving our projects at district level.
“As Blantyre, with bigger population, this year we are expecting to get K77 million towards development budget, so an increase in that area would mean giving us more opportunity to invest,” he said.
