Malga asks Mzuzu City Council to develop plan

Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) has asked Mzuzu City Council (MCC) to come up with an urban development plan that will help the council generate revenue.

Malga held a meeting with MCC executive committee on Friday to appreciate efforts and challenges the council experiences.

Malga project manager Hadrod Zeru Mkandawire said MCC can do better and serve the people well through a proper urban development plan.

The advice comes amid MCC’s financial struggles that have resulted in failure to provide some services and pay staff.

“If you don’t plan, you cannot deliver effectively. So, it’s a general situation in all the councils in Malawi, particularly, urban ones,” he said.

Mkandawire said Malga  wants MCC by end of December this year to have an urban development plan.

He said Malga will support development of such plans through a project called Promising Initiatives for Urban Governance in Malawi funded by Tilitonse.

MCC director of planning Alexander Chirambo said the  council has been making plans, but the major challenge has been funding to implement them.

“The population is growing and we have to deliver services to the growing population. However, we can only deliver if we have resources,” he said. Chirambo said the council is developing a new urban development plan.