The Ministry of Local Government and Housing is to embark on an exercise of establishing the financial base of councils in Eastern Province.
Provincial Local Government Officer, Alex Bwalya has confirmed to Breeze News in an interview.
Mr. Bwalya says the exercise will also involve getting information on when these councils last received CDF, Constituency Development Fund, projects being executed and what challenges are being faced.
He says that government is aware that most local authorities have poor sources of revenue, which has created financial challenges.
And Mr. Bwalya says that councils have not been stopped from paying salaries to Division four workers using local resources.
He says that councils are expected to fill up the gap in meeting salary bills if the grants, which they receive from government, are not enough.