In 2010, Salima District Council constructed a factory under One Village One Product on a piece of land valued at K5 million, promising to compensate the owner. 10 years later, the council has not honoured the pledge, prompting the resident to sue the council and the court ordered it to pay about K13 million which has accrued interests over the years.

Acting on the dues, Sheriffs impounded Salima District Council’s vehicle, a Nissan Hardbody, for failing to settle a K13 million fine as ordered by the court.

On the other hand, councils in Malawi are being queried over abuse of funds. Last October, Ombudsman Martha Chizuma has announced that her office will investigate all councils for financial mismanagement and abuse of office.

The announcement follows an audit in March, by the National Audit Office (NAO), which revealed that councils failed to account for almost K5.9 in the June 2018 fiscal year. The audit report was presented to Parliament, exposing how the funds may have been abused, like payment vouchers that were not submitted for audit. Failure to provide other documents for audit inspection was also noted by the audit.