KOROGWE District Commissioner, William Mwakilema, has urged local ward councillors to work closely with the Director of the Korogwe Town Council to enhance and accelerate revenue collection across the Town Council.

Speaking yesterday at the third quarter council meeting for the 2024/2025 financial year, Mwakilema stressed that effective revenue collection and professional financial management are key to the council surpassing its fiscal targets.

 "The Director, in collaboration with councillors and council's technical staff, must work to close all loopholes that lead to revenue losses and strengthen financial oversight," he said.

 He added that transparent and diligent revenue collection is vital for the council’s self-sustainability and successful implementation of development projects. "Revenue is the lifeblood of the council," Mwakilema noted.

 Echoing this call, the Chairperson of the Korogwe Town Council, Francis Komba, reiterated that revenue collection is a shared responsibility. "From councillors to technical officers, we all have a role to play. We must intensify our efforts and improve the efficiency of revenue collection so that the council can operate independently," Komba said.

 In a related development, Korogwe Town Council development officers have provided training to nine community groups approved for loans under the council’s 10 percent loan scheme. The training focused on financial management skills to ensure proper use of the funds.The objective is to equip beneficiaries with the knowledge to use the loans productively, enabling them to achieve economic self-reliance and avoid misuse of the funds.

 Loan scheme coordinator Blandina Mhina urged beneficiaries to adhere to the intended purposes of the funds to maximize their impact. "Any misuse of the loans will hinder the achievement of intended goals and delay repayments, which in turn would prevent other eligible groups from accessing the same support," she warned.