Lilongwe Mayor incorporates foreigners in committee
Lilongwe City Mayor, Desmond Bikoko, has appointed six people, including five foreign nationals, into the city council’s advisory committee.
Members of the committee, to be called mayor ambassadors, will be acting as a bridge between the city council and their respective communities.
The committee has one representative each of Burundian, Rwandan, Tanzanian, Nigerian, Indian, Chinese and Malawian communities.
Bikoko, who presented certificates to the representatives, said he would continue appointing people into the committee.
Speaking when he briefed them on their role at the Lilongwe Civic Offices on Monday, Bikoko said the council wants city communities to understand by-laws and their enforcement mechanisms.
“Issues of standard practices within the city are, ideally, on paper. We have done things properly but they are understood at council level and, at community level, people do not understand why we do what we do. And where the council is failing, we will seek advice from these community representatives.
“They are not going to be part of the policy-making process but their role is advisory and it is up to us, as council, to include their views on the way business is supposed to be conducted,” Bikoko said.
A representative of the Nigerian community in the committee, Kenneth Mwosu, described their role as crucial.
“We live peacefully here and we will work with the mayor for the development of Lilongwe City,” Mwosu said.
There have been cases of communication breakdown between the council and communities, which have led to avoidable chaos.
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