Blantyre City Council Mayor Isaac Jomo Osman has won the Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) presidency and pledged that his first task is to end the tension between ward councillors and members of Parliament (MPs) for the sake of development.
Speaking in an interview in Lilongwe yesterday, he said he is determined to see the two parties unite.
“I must admit there are problems between councillors and MPs. I want to bring both sides together. We all want a better Malawi. We must work as one family. I have seen too much quarrelling. My first job is to make them work as a team,” said Osman.
He said his role is not restricted to promoting the welfare of councillors, but that he will also lead local government chief executive officers and district commissioners.
“I am president for all in local government. I will also bring in private sector partners. We must work as one family to develop Malawi. That is my goal,” said Osman.
To claim the presidency, he secured 34 votes against two for Nkhata Bay District Council chairperson Hannock Kachingwe while Maloto Joseph Chimkombero from Ntchisi District Council went unopposed for the position of vice-president after another candidate withdrew.
Osman’s call for unity comes amid a simmering constitutional crisis between local government authorities and legislators.
In his ministerial statement in Parliament in November this year, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Ben Phiri ordered MPs to stay away from council meetings and outlined a new interim structure that sidelines MPs in the administration of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
Introduced as a Private Member’s Bill by Mzimba South lawmaker Emmanuel Chambulanyina Jere (Malawi Congress Party-MCP), the Bill sought to amend the Constitution to establish the fund, outline its purpose, governance and guiding principles for governance, management and utilisation.The Bill places legislators at the centre of Executive and local government functions they are meant to oversee.
