Promoting local democracy

The Malawi government is continuing steps to reinforce the administrative capacities of District Assemblies, to strengthen local democracy, promote development and reduce poverty. A national decentralised governance programme was recently unveiled in Mangochi district in the south of the country, where communities have carried out a number of local development activities, a UN Development Programme (UNDP) statement said. The Malawi Decentralised Government Programme is the latest decentralisation initiative developed by the government in partnership with the UNDP and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), covering the country's 27 districts. The new programme, which runs through 2006, will help improve district management of finances and development activities "Sixty-five percent of Malawians face poverty, food insecurity, poor health and a lack of productive assets. Decentralisation is a strategy to address poverty," Essau Chiviya, UNDP's regional technical adviser for decentralisation and local government told IRIN. District Assemblies, elected in 2000, provide democratic leadership at the local level, a shift from three decades of highly centralised rule in Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries, the UNDP statement said. The assemblies, in consultation with communities, decide on their priorities, such as building schools, improving water supplies and upgrading rural access roads, and help mobilise resources to carry them out. A District Development Fund, established by UNDP and UNCDF, supports these efforts. "Decentralisation is not an end in itself," UNDP resident representative, Zahra Nuru, was quoted as saying. "It is a means to achieve programmes for socio-economic development, poverty reduction and good governance." The programme provides financial management training for staff, from the central government to the District Assembly level, and has installed an integrated financial management system for all District Assemblies. Over the next few years the assemblies will take greater responsibility for planning and developing their own local budgets in consultation with the relevant national ministries. "One of the issues in local decentralisation is the issue of accountability - in terms of the way resources are spent by the District Assemblies and in their accountability to the communities they serve. So this is why we are concentrating on putting in place strong financial management systems and sound planning systems," Chiviya said. "It would be a bit early to start judging the achievements in the decentralisation process to say whether there's been an improvement in people's lives. Down the road we can start looking at what contribution the decentralisation process has made in improving the welfare of people," Chiviya noted.