Blantyre City councillors will elect their chairperson and his or her deputy, who will in turn become mayor and deputy mayor of the city during their first meeting on July 5 2014.
One of the councillors, Noel Chalamanda, confirmed in an interview on Thursday that he has received communication about the July 5 meeting to be held in Blantyre City Council’s hall.
“According to the notification, the agenda includes swearing in the councillors, an induction session and election of our chairperson and his or her deputy. These will then become our mayor and deputy mayor,” said Chalamanda.
He declined to state whether he will be one of those vying for either of the two positions, only saying: “I vied for the position of councillor to make a contribution towards the collective efforts that are aimed at agenda of the development of our city.
“It is not about positions that I run in the race. It was about the need to participate in the efforts of making our city a better place. I have my own modest ideas. And it is these ideas that I will be sharing with others so that together we can make the difference which we all scarcely need for our city,” said Chalamanda.
According to Chalamanda, public infrastructure is deteriorating in Malawi.
“Our roads are poor, potholed in rainy seasons, not smooth due to patches, in need of proper drainage systems, pavements street lights and in extreme cases, they are impassable or just do not exist where they are most needed.”
“The result is obviously rendering some sections of the population inaccessible by cars and rendering it extremely difficult to connect with the hubs of economic activity or other such essential services as hospitals.
“Suffice to say, a major component of economic and social development, which is mobility, is not being catered to by most national governments in Africa, including Malawi,” he said.
Watch video of Gertrude Chirambo who is challenging Chalamanda for the post of Mayor.
