Shielding of errant officers irks DCs

District commissioners have decried the tendency by some politically-linked persons to shield errant officers in the local councils in the country from being disciplined.

The sentiments were expressed during the Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) Managers Network (Magnet) symposium and fourth annual conference in Mzuzu on Thursday.

During the meeting, district commissioners (DCs) and chief executive officers (CEOs) from councils decried the role of “an invisible hand which protects” errant officers.

In his contribution at  the meeting, Machinga DC Rodrick Mateauma said some officers misbehave knowing that they will be protected, a situation which was making the DCs’ job difficult and compromising service delivery.

He said:  “It is like some errant officers know that the punishment they can get is to be transferred to another council as an invisible hand is always there to protect them.

“We have never had intentions to deliberately preside over a system of failure, abuse of public resources or corruption. But most challenges coming out of local governments are not particularly by controlling officers.”

Mateauma said they are mandated to manage the human resource at council level, but sometimes they fall short of disciplining errant officers.

“It is not that we lack the skills to deal with those issues, but because there are other forces that come into play to protect such errant officers. But we are glad that the Local Government Service Commission comes in to help,” he added.

But Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture director of local government Douglas Mkweta said the DCs and council CEOs have been empowered to punish errant officers.

He said: “No one and no authority at Capital Hill is protecting errant officers. There is no such a situation where we have junior officers who work under the protection of an invisible hand.

“All officers are under the charge of controlling officers and disciplinary measures are vested in them. The minister [Richard Chimwendo Banda] has always said that no one will be protected because of political reasons.”

Mkweta said the ministry has also received reports that some controlling officers who stay outside their duty stations abscond work while others report to work while drunk and late, but are not being cautioned by the DCs and CEOs.

He said: “DCs and CEOs need to show that they are in charge. They need to show that they are in control of the affairs at the council. Failure to discipline errant officers is a big anomaly.”

Nation Planning Commission director general Thomas Chataghalala Munthali, who delivered a keynote speech at the summit, suggested the need for the two parties to find an amicable solution so that councils ably contribute to Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development strategy.

He said: “Malga should engage the central government on this matter.  The bigger picture is that there should be improved quality of life for each Malawian so that we meet the goals of Malawi 2063.”

In a separate interview, Malga executive director Hardrod Mkandawire expressed hope that the Mzuzu meeting will enhance strategic leadership among controlling officers, which will improve the delivery of services across the country.

The symposium was held under the theme ‘Strategic leadership towards Malawi 2063: The role of controlling officers in local government authorities’.