Government for vibrant district councils
Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development says it is building capacity of councillors, members of Parliament and traditional authorities to ensure smooth running of local authorities (LA’s) nationwide.
Speaking Tuesday when he closed a three-day capacity building workshop for Ntcheu District Council members, assistant director responsible for decentralisation Darwin Pangani said capacity building for members of district councils is important for LAs to be vibrant.
“There have been conflicts on roles and responsibilities of various members of local authorities; hence, the need for the ministry to intervene by organising capacity building workshops for these stakeholders to improve governance in decentralised development structures at all levels,” he said.
Pangani said such conflicts have been outstanding in some LAs saying such scenarios have proved to be counterproductive to communities’ development.
Speaking in an interview after closing the workshop, Ntcheu District Council chairperson councillor Shimita Njovu said the workshop created a foundation for better operations of the council.
“We have learnt, among other things, that the council’s secretariat has to be open by consulting council members whenever it is necessary before undertaking and making any decision which has a bearing on the council’s operations,” he said.
The workshop, facilitated by Local Government Finance Committee and Staff Development Institute officials was organised, Malawi Local Government Association in corroboration with Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development with funding from Irish Aid through United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
