Nipping council conflicts in the bud

The last mayor of Blantyre City, John Chikakwiya, is said to have stood his ground in stopping former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika from holding a political rally at Njamba Freedom Park.

“I can’t grant you the chance to hold your rally in my city; not at Njamba Freedom Park!”

This was when Mutharika had just ditched United Democratic Front (UDF), a party that had ushered him to the presidency to form his own Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2005.

Chikakwiya, a UDF loyalist who later became the party’s regional governor for the South, is reported to have barred Mutharika after being angered by the former president’s “lack of loyalty” to UDF.

Deputy chief secretary to government Willie Samute calls the scenario a typical example of ‘survival politics’, which he says seems to be the order of the day in the country.

“Actually, this is one of the challenges the decentralisation drive faces in Malawi; there seems to be a thin line in the separation of powers between local councils and the central government,” explained Samute.

According to the Office of the President and Cabinet, the country inherited a highly decentralised administration when it took over from its colonial masters, Britain, in 1964.

In those days, district councils were responsible for local service delivery up to the post independence build up of the single party administration.

But later, factors emerged to push for the need to have a robust decentralisation drive with the need for an efficient service delivery topping the list.

The Statement of Development Policy (1991-2000), an older version of the Malawi Growth Development Strategy (MGDS), also contributed heavily on the calls for decentralisation.

Among others, the Decentralisation Policy, advanced by the German Government through its technical corporation arm, GIZ (formerly GTZ), sought to create a democratic environment and institutions in Malawi for governance and development at the local level and facilitate the participation of the grass roots in decision-making.

The Local Government Act of 1998, a legislation that reflects the national decentralisation policy, states: “The objectives of local government shall be to further the constitutional order based on democratic principles, accountability, transparency and participation of the people in decision-making and development processes,” it reads.

And in his inaugural State of the Nation Address during the opening of the current sitting of Parliament last Tuesday, President Peter Mutharika said to the newly elected councillors: “From this year, the politics of development has changed. With the arrival of ward councillors, government has come to your door step. I welcome all ward councillors, irrespective of your political party into the fold of government. You are part of the government of the people.”

The President’s message was not restricted to the public officers alone. Watchdogs were also called to action: “And to you the people, make sure we do your will, provided it is the right will. And I invite the media to ensure that we deliver our promises.”

In its simplest definition, decentralisation is the transfer of authority for decision making and implementation from the centre to lower level.

But during a Malawi-German Programme for the Promotion of Democratic Decentralisation (MGPPDD) symposium held last Wednesday themed ‘Shaping Decentralisation in Malawi 1996-2014’, it was discovered that efforts to roll out and implement the decentralisation process faced various challenges from a cross section of stakeholders.

Among other issues, the conference’s objective was to assess where stakeholders see effects of MGPPDD over the last 18 years it has been operational.

The programme was being implemented with financial and technical support from other donor partners, led by the GIZ.

“Basically, there seemed to be a mix-up of roles, right from the start, between traditional power holders such as chiefs, party chairpersons and the elected councillors themselves. Even district councils seemed reluctant to give up some powers as mandated by the respective legislation. Things have changed a bit nowadays, but there still remains a lot to be done to best make the initiative effective,” explained Samute.

Failure to hold scheduled Local Government Elections, conflictS between councillors and members of Parliament and chiefs rated highly on the list of challenges.

But as MGPDD phases out this month, stakeholders present at the symposium, who included the directorate of Local Government Services, German Embassy, the OPC, and several heads of local councils agreed to revisit the three elements of local governance in the form of defining the local policy space as such, citizen’s participation in the formulation of policies and the controlling of public funds, and the delivery of services and efficiency of the local administration.

MGPDD team leader Dr Wolfram Jaeckel said: “What was agreed in the symposium today will ensure that the nation does not fall apart, but that nationwide laws, rulings, standards and principles prevail. The definition of the policy of the local policy space is a matter of political powers, vision and understanding.”

However, the symposium also drew some positives from the programme. Kester Kaphaizi, principal secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development said the MGPDD helped keep up the decentralisation agenda over the years and thus provided the opportunity to make practical experiences with decentralisation.

“This will only become an impact, though, if the story continues and such experiences will be productively used for shaping the future of the decentralisation path in the country to which the symposium was trying to make a contribution,” he said.

Much as the country may be parting itself on the back for finally being able to conduct Local Government Elections last month, there was a stern caution from the German Ambassador to Malawi Dr Peter Woeste who, in a separate interview, cautioned that councillors need to undergo orientation urgently.

“If we wait for two months or so, we fear councillors may be oriented to being bulldozed into party zealots and not as civic leaders as their statuses stipulate. There is a need to clearly define their roles so as to reduce, if not eradicate, cases of meddling between them, MPs, DCs and even the chiefs in initiating various developments in their areas of operation,” said Woeste.

In a telephone interview, spokesperson for the Local Government Ministry Muhlabase Mughogho said the ministry has already drawn a timetable for the orientation of councillors.

“We are starting the orientation from June 23 to the 30th of this month. The orientation will be conducted concurrently in all the regions. The ministry is surely committed in having effective councils.”