Chiengi FDD member of parliament Given Katuta says government should not blame opposition members of parliament for slow delivery of projects in various constituencies because it points down to technocrats that are charged with the responsibility to deliver development objectives.

Reacting to repeated assertions by government officials that opposition MPs were deliberately denying their constituents development despite being given full Constituency Development Fund (CDF), Katuta said such accusations were just making the opposition grow wings.

She also argued that it was every MP’s desire to develop their constituencies so that they can be re-elected again in 2021.

“There are certain projects, which you cannot do using your own money from the pocket, there are certain projects, which you cannot even get from any donor. So, for someone to say opposition [does not want to develop their constituencies even after being given CDF], maybe some opposition, but the truth of the matter is that it is not fair to generalise opposition. That is why we were fighting for that CDF. Every member of parliament what they want is to improve their constituencies so that they can be re-elected again in 2021. How can you sit on K1.4 million? So, there is no such a thing or they should name them, they should not just say opposition. They should name them and their constituencies,” Katuta said.

“How can an opposition (MP) frustrate a voice of the government? How can an opposition (MP) have more power than the government itself? It’s not possible. You know, it’s like when there are no rains, they say it’s the opposition; when there are rains they say it’s the ruling government. It doesn’t work like that. They are just making the opposition grow wings and to feel they have got more power than the government when it’s not so.”

She observed that government ought to utilise the various different technocrats available to improve service delivery.

“The government has the technocrats, the civil servants in other words to implement what the government wants to do. We have the ward development committees, they put in, but if there are other projects like in Chiengi, we have projects, which need to be worked on which stalled some years back. We need to finish those projects before we go into new projects,” said Katuta.