MALAWI: Bishop Mtumbuka Urges For Prioritization of Management of Government Resources Aimed at Development

The Bishop Chairman for the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) at the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) has called on all local development stakeholders and other duty bearers to a collective and systematic approach in addressing the challenges in local councils’ resources management for genuine development and the entrenchment of democracy and local governance.

The call was made during a national advocacy summit on local government accountability and local development in the country under CCJP Citizen Action in Local Government Accountability (CALGA) Project.

The CCJP chairman who was Guest of Honour at the summit aimed at examining local development and governance issues in the country said Malawi faces many challenges that are affecting local councils so much that there is need to influence the national policy and strategies in the management of local development resources.

“Major challenges in local councils include corruption, abuse and misuse of public funds, lack of adherence to required funding modalities and lack of genuine participation of the citizenry in development processes. Proper allocation and utilization of resources is paramount if we are to uplift the lives of the rural Malawians. ECM and its sister religious Mother bodies under the CALGA project are working to change the status quo by intensifying and holding districts councils and other national local government stakeholders accountable for improved management of local development resources,” said Bishop Mtumbuka.

He further said the religious Mother bodies expect that other National accountability institutions such as the National Local Government Committee, parliamentary committees, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), the Office of the Ombudsman, the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) and the Fiscal Police, to continue engaging local councils to address deficiencies and flaws in the management of development resources.

In his remarks, Irish Ambassador to Malawi, Gerry Cunningham said that if Malawi continues to make strides in decentralization, it can lead to greater coordination of programs in local authorities for the benefit of vulnerable groups especially women and children. He too acknowledged the need to inspire national policy on accelerating public accountability in local authorities in Malawi.

“In many different ways, every country faces challenges of limited resources against growing demand for social services and public accountability is one of the key pillars of good governance and sustainable development. This is critical to Malawi,” said the Irish Ambassador.

The CALGA project is being implemented in Mwanza, Neno, Dowa, Ntchisi, Karonga and Chitipa with funding from Irish Aid to amplify the voice of citizens and promote transparency and accountability in local development management.

BY: Stella Zulu Kaferapanjira