Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare has assured current and former councillors affected by outstanding leave payments that the government is addressing the matter, stressing that it should be handled without political considerations.

Dr Ngurare was responding to a question from IPC MP Alosius Kangulu concerning former councillors from four regional councils whose leave days allegedly remain unpaid.

Dr Ngurare said the government was aware of concerns that councillors who had not received their payments felt they were being treated unfairly, but he stressed that the differences in payments were not based on political affiliation.

He said the government sympathised with the affected councillors and was committed to resolving the matter within the legal and regulatory frameworks.

"We are engaging, and we are amenable and sympathetic to the issue, as they are. I would like to assure all honourable councillors, as well as former honourable councillors who are affected by this issue, that we are addressing their concerns," Ngurare said. "We want to really look at this issue, not through any lenses of politics, but through the lenses of doing what is right, both legally and very fine, to ensure that whatever payment is being made is correct. Perhaps it is taking long, and perhaps it has taken long, but that is not done deliberately by anybody."