Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE government will continue working on issues associated with allowances for Local Government Authorities (LGAs) leaders so that are paid from the councils’ internal sources.
Similarly, all councils with the ability of setting aside 20 per cent of their revenues for local government leaders’ allowances have been directed to do so as required by the law.
This was stated in the Parliament here yesterday by the Deputy Minister of State in the President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG), Dr Festo Dugange in response to a question from Arusha Urban-CCM Legislator, Mr Mrisho Gambo.
The lawmaker sought to know plans set by the government to ensure LGAs leaders receive their allowances like ward councillors and members of parliament, considering their crucial roles that include property tax collection.
Responding, Dr Dugange said the government recognizes the major role taken by the local government leaders, as main supervisors of all development projects in their respective areas. He said that local government elections guidelines in the villages and streets level as indicated in the Government Notice No 322 require that for a person to be elected as local leader in a village, street and hamlet must have another legal economic activity that earns them income.
The deputy minister also pointed out that the government had issued a guideline for local leaders’ allowances that are being paid through councils’ internal sources.
Generally, most of the councils countrywide lack the ability to fulfill the requirements specified under the guidelines. “The government will continue to look for a possible solution to improve the system for the local leaders to secure their allowances as per the set guidelines,” noted the deputy minister.
In his supplementary question, Mr Gambo wanted to know how the government intends to ensure the councils which have allocated the funds, citing an example of Arusha, meet the requirement of settling the allowances. In his response, the deputy minister called upon such councils to finalise the payment of the allowances.
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