Calls For Elected City Mayors Intensifies

Some Malawians and members of Malawi diaspora have started debates calling for introduction of elected City Mayors who will have control over key public services.

Some commentators says this approach will steer Malawi in the right path interms of development, as cities will have to compete with one another on provision of better services to the people.

The call is to have separate elections to elect City Mayor’s in key cities. These Mayor’s will play a vital role in transforming our cities. They will be elected on manifesto. They will have powers to control local development budgets the way it is in many developed countries such as: France, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom instead of advocating for the adoption of the federal system of government.

The call is against the current Council arrangement where only Ward Councilors are eligible to vote for the Mayor who in most circumstances comes from a political party with a majority of his or her party members in the chamber.

Expressing his opinion, one of the patriotic Malawian activist and author, based in the United Kingdom, Allan Mandindi suggests that city dwellers should be play a pivotal role, privileged to cast a special vote electing their Mayors .

Mandindi further suggested that Parliament should consider passing a bill that gives the provision for elected Mayor’s and have a separate Mayoral Elections.

“This can be a very strategic position and they can be given powers to make decisions on education, policing and health while the central government can devolve powers and give them a budget that matches the population of the city they represent,” Mandindi said.

He further stated that the Mayors should also have control over revenue from tourism generated in their cities and this can start with Lilongwe, Blantyre, Zomba Mangochi and Mzuzu.

“I really think this can be a great start, we can have cities that are managed differently and surely this can develop Malawi,” he said.

Joining a band wagon of those calling for the Mayors to be voted into office by all the city dwellers is the Civil Society leader, Peter Mumba of APAUSE-Malawi stating that that is a step ahead in sustaining the country’s democracy arguing that Councillors should not impose a mayor on the city dwellers.

“Indeed the Mayor should be voted by the city dwellers themselves, and that is a step ahead in strengthening our democracy because it’s possible to corrupt nine people (Councillors) for one to become a mayor a situation which is very unfortunate,”

The former deputy Mayor of the City of Mzuzu, Alexander Mwakikunga also conquered with Mumbai and those calling for properly elected Council chiefs whose decisions will not be influenced by petty party politics.

Mwakikunga sighted the successful former Blantyre City mayor, Noel Chalamanda whom he described as the best ever mayor to have emerged from the city of Blantyre and the country, Malawi as a whole.

“The Mayors should not be directed or be influenced by petty party politics that only aims at benefiting for a few individuals at the expense of the majority, even those full Council meetings will be in tandem with the current development requirements and not the ideological principles of a particular political plan,” Mwakikunga said.

However, the Local Government System (LGS) in Malawi draws its legal mandate from Section 146 of the Constitution of Republic of Malawi the Local Government Act of 1998.

The experience of implementing this Act, especially in the period 2000 – 2005 when the
country had elected councilors, showed that the Act was not very effective as an instrument of promoting grassroots development.