By Pemphero Malimba:
There is a cold war between members of Parliament (MPs) and councils as the MP for Mzimba South Constituency Emmanuel Chambulanyina Jere has asked Parliament to investigate the mandate of the Malawi Local Government Association (Malga).
Chambulanyina made the call as MPs were winding up deliberations for the Mid- Year Budget review meeting in Lilongwe on Friday.
He said the association was operating with no constitutional authority hence the need for the investigation.
He observed that district, city councils and municipalities are recognised as local authority by the constitutional amendment that was made in 1998. He wondered why and how Malga was in existence.
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“I am seeing some danger that instead of the councils focusing on the mother ministry— being the Ministry of Local Government— they are shifting their focus to Malga which is just an association. So, I want the Speaker [of Parliament] to ensure that there could be an ad-hoc committee which can comprise different members from different committees to look into this matter,” he said.
He described the move as a “fair request” as MPs had a role to play in the operations of institutions utilising public resources.
“We want to find out where they (Malga) get funding from and how they operate and where they are getting their mandate,” he said
Public Accounts Committee (Pac) of Parliament Chairperson Steven Baba Malondera said the committee would summon the association on the matter in the next sitting of Parliament.
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Leader of the House Jappie Mhango urged MPs to follow proper procedures when bringing issues into the house.
Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman approved Pac and the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament to look into the matter.
“The issue brought by Mzimba South is pertinent. I should expect that we should follow the proper procedure. You could use standing order number 14 and submit it to my office. I will give a go ahead to Public Accounts and Legal Affairs committees to work on it,” Suleman said.
Commenting on the development, Malga Executive Director Hadrod Mkandawire described the move as a deliberate attempt to dissuade the association from pursuing the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) administration authority in court.
“Everybody is aware that this is a deliberate attempt to silence the association to pursue the matter of CDF (Constituency Development Fund) in court. Regrettably and unfortunately it will not work out so we will proceed with our decision whether one likes it or not,” Mkandawire.
He said the association was duly registered by relevant laws of Malawi.
“The issue of registration is neither here nor there because we are operating legally. We are duly registered by relevant laws, and not all institutions that operate in this country have to be created by a piece of standalone legislation. There are some institutions that are registered by certain pieces of laws; it can be a company’s or trustees act and that’s how the institutions work,” he said.
He indicated that the association was ready to face the committees of Parliament on the matter.
“If they invite us, we will go there. They have all the rights to seek any information that they like and we will provide it and we will appear before the committees,” he said.
On Thursday, Parliament passed the Constitutional Amendment Bill of 2025 which establishes the Constituency Development Fund, defines its purpose and how it would be managed and used.
The bill, once assented to by the President, would go a long way in the establishment of related laws and regulations that would see MPs exercising their oversight and representation roles.
However, Malga and various civil society organisations are against the passing of the bill arguing that MPs are not supposed to be involved in the management of CDF funds.
The concerned stakeholders have since disclosed plans of challenging the passing of the bill in court.
