Folks, some people are still wondering why Isaac ‘Jomo’ Osman, the controversial Blantyre City Mayor, is almost always out there sweeping the streets and squeezing himself into the foul-smelling corners of Limbe and Blantyre as he tries to set things right for the residents he serves.
Per haps they would rather have someone who sits comfortably on a swivel chair, barking orders from inside the Blantyre Civic Centre, the headquarters of the Blantyre City Council (BCC). Someone armed with qualifications in urban planning, civil engineering, budgeting, architecture or environmental management.
Yes, these are prestigious credentials, and Jomo lacks all of them. But tell me, do qualif ications sweep the streets? Have any such papers succeeded in stopping Malawian vendors f rom occupying ever y inch of pavement in our cities and towns in the past? The answer is no!
Ironically, most of the so-called ‘educated’ Malawians have in the past 3o years or so failed miserably to run our affairs, especially in the Executive and Legislative branches.
In fact, regarding this week’s topic, I can dare ask: apart from Noel Chalamanda, which recent Blantyre City mayor used their education to make this city cleaner, safer, or more orderly?
As for the current mayor, who represents the Bangwe Ntopwa Ward, I think he is already showing good commitment to address some of the longstanding struggles of Blantyre city residents in his first month. I also think he understands that his office is key in driving infrastructure development , ensuring security, and attracting investment and economic growth in the city.
That is probably why he has been physically present on the ground, engaging vendors, businesses, elders, street-connected children, and entire neighbourhoods, knowing that the city can be restored from the ground up.
And when he warns motorists who park illegally that the law will take its course, he is not overstepping his mandate. When he confronts a BCC traffic warden, snatching his reflector jacket and telling him to stop sleeping on duty because all he does is collect fees while parking chaos reigns, he is not staging a publicity stunt. He is doing the job the city pays that warden to do. And when he tells a Chinese shop owner to clean her frontage or pack her bags, he is not flexing muscle for the cameras. He is simply demanding the basic discipline that keeps a city civilised.
Of course, the biggest hurdle for the mayor will be those vote-hunting politicians who keep sabotaging the enforcement of city laws by shielding law-breaking vendors and minibus touts operating under their command. This is the political patronage that has choked our once vibrant cities, slowly turning them into ungovernable territories where noise, litter, and chaos rule the day.
And no amount of effort will succeed as long as politicians treat lawlessness as a campaign strategy rather than a crime.
But if ‘Ntopwa One’ is to succeed in making Blantyre City great again, he must grow an iron heart—one that does not tremble whenever party bigwigs issue contrary instructions to his office. Political pressure will come, yes, and it will come heavily. But only a mayor who stands with his people in the storm can deliver a Blantyre City worth living in.
At the same time, BCC must have high standards. It must learn to translate city rates into visible service delivery improvements. Collecting hard-earned city rates and taxes must never be an annual ritual that only fattens the pockets of the government or a few individuals serving it while the residents languish in filth.
Only then will the city and its people feel Jomo’s political weight, value and contributions. But even if he fails, at least I will still say Jomo failed while trying— something I have not seen in years.
