Early this year, a number of local government officials, including district mayors and their subordinates, were forced to relinquish their posts – and some even prosecuted – for cooking up figures in their performance contract reports.

Those who faced criminal charges were accused of falsifying documents and inflating figures of Mutuelle de Sante subscriptions – all in the name of looking good in their performances – but could not account for the "ghost” financial contributions.

Mutuelle de Sante, a community health insurance, was set up to improve the social welfare of the population by according them affordable healthcare. So, for a leader to be more interested in raising their statistics but deny services to the people, it is unpardonable.

Now the Senate has summoned the Minister for Local Government and Social Affairs to explain what was being done to address issues of abuse of programmes aimed at improving the welfare of the most vulnerable.

The most serious abuse was in social protection initiatives such as VUP and the One-Cow-Per-Family programmes aimed at giving direct support to the most disadvantaged.

Initial investigations by the Senate uncovered several cases of cronyism; where local leaders diverted aid meant for the poor and the vulnerable to family members and friends.

That kind of practice can only be uprooted from society if more effective checks and balances are put in place to unearth dishonest leaders who, knowingly, throw the spanner in the works, and derail well intentioned policies in the process.

We should not be satisfied with such leaders being forced to step aside; heavy penalties should also be considered for those who sabotage national programmes that are a lifeline to the country.