FUNDAMENTALS OF PUBLIC

ADMINISTRATION
Local Government Administration
• Local government organization and functioning.
• Legal provisions and principles.
• Central government and Local government relationship.
• Decentralization.
Local government organization and functioning
• Meaning of Local Government
The United Nations simply defines local government as political subdivisions
of a nation or a state.
Local government is a form of Public Administration (or an administrative
body) specifically for a particular geographical area of a central government,
with its powers restricted to that small; area for example a city, a town a
district, county, etc.
Simply put, it is Public Administration of towns, districts, cities,
municipalities, etc., as opposed to the administration of the central state.
There are two elements that are important in every definition and
understanding of Local Government;
The presence of higher authority in form of central government, and
territorial boundary thus the limitation of jurisdiction within the state.
Local government organization and functioning
• Organization
In Malawi, local government is organized in a single tier, meaning that each local
authority operates without the supervision of a higher ranking local authority.
Just as the administration of central government where it is organized by having
two folds, elected officials (politicians) and non-elected bureaucrats, local
government authorities are also organized in the same way.
There are 35 local government areas in Malawi, comprised of different council
types.
 Council types
Categorization of types of councils in Malawi is basically the desecration of the
President on the recommendation of the Ministry responsible for local
government.
Mostly, the decision is based on the level of economic activity as well as population
of particular areas of local administration.
It is worth noting that before the election of councilors, local administration
authorities were known as assemblies.
Local government organization and functioning
City council
There are four councils that are categorized as city councils. Lilongwe,
Blantyre, Zomba and Mzuzu.
In these city councils, the political body is comprised of elected councilors,
who in their first meeting elect a Mayor.
A mayor has a two and a half years term with a possibility of re-election
once.
The Executive arm is headed by the Chief Executive Officer who reports to
the council as well as their line ministry, the ministry responsible for local
government administration.
Municipal council
There are two municipalities in Malawi; Kasungu and Luchenza.
Just as in the city councils, the organization is similar such that the council is
headed by a Mayor elected among the councilors.
Local government organization and functioning
Town council
Before the amendment of the Local Government Act in 2010, there
were 8 town (councils) known as assemblies then; Balaka Town
Assembly, Dedza Town Assembly, Karonga Town Assembly, Kasungu
Town Assembly, Liwonde Town Assembly, Luchenza Town Assembly,
Mangochi Town Assembly, Salima Town Assembly.
In order to reduce costs in local government administration, 2 of these
town councils were elevated to municipalities, whilst six were merged
with their respective district councils, but still regarded as urban
centers (townships) managed by their own town management
committees.
In 2012, a presidential decree elevated Mangochi to a status of a town,
hence went back to have a town council, being the only town council in
Malawi currently.
Local government organization and functioning
District council
Malawi has 28 district councils.
The leadership in the district councils is as that of city and municipal councils only
that the leading councilor is known as the Chairman.
A council is comprised of:
i. Members that have voting rights, i.e. councilors (2 per each constituency in the
district), members of parliament in the district (given voting rights in 2010).
ii. Ex-official members, i.e. Traditional Authority chiefs, and five members
appointed by the elected officials, representing the interests of groups which
would otherwise be voiceless in the development process, e.g. people with
disabilities, the business community, etc.
The council operates through committees created by the councils depending on
needs and priority.
Commonly, councils have committees on health, education, agriculture, finance,
works, and development.
Each of these committees have technocrats from relevant sectors, are each chaired
by a councilor, to ensure that they are acting in the interest of the local population.
Local government organization and functioning
 Significant structures in councils
In and below the council, there are different committees that play a
significant role in the local government administration.
District Executive Committee
This committee is comprised of various technical actors that include
the District Commissioner,
Heads of council directorates,
Representatives of various government departments in the district, as
well as
Non-Governmental Organizations in the councils’ jurisdiction.
Local government organization and functioning
The roles performed by DEC are:
i. Provide technical advice to the District Council on the Socio-Economic Profile
(SEP) development of the district;
ii. Advising the District Council on sectoral policies and programs.
iii. Facilitate the mobilization of resources for social-economic development in the
district;
iv. Identification, prioritization and preliminary feasibility studies of the
community needs;
v. Monitor and co-ordinate the implementation of district projects;
vi. Produce the Social Economic Profile for the district;
vii. Prepare a District Development Plan; and
viii. Build awareness on development issues at both district and community levels.
ix. Train VDC, AEC, ADC in technical, leadership and management skills.
Local government organization and functioning
Area Development Committee
This is a committee at the Traditional Authority level.
It is comprised of:
i. VDC chairpersons and Vice Chairpersons,
ii. Ward councilors within the ADC,
iii. Representatives of religious faith,
iv. Representatives of youth and women groups in the area,
v. Representatives from the business community, and
vi. Chairperson of AEC.
The Traditional Authority plays a supervisory role and that the ADC has to
report to him/her on the outcome of their proceedings.
The main role of the ADC is to identify local needs that have to be addressed,
mobilize resources for local projects, and monitor the implementation of
such projects.
Local government organization and functioning
The ADC has its own executive arm known as the Area Executive
Committee.
The Area Executive Committee (AEC) is the technical body of the ADC.
It comprises frontline staff (FLS) working in various sectors, and plays
the advisory role to the ADC. As executive body, it is responsible for
day-to-day technical advice on projects within the area, and further
down to the Village Development Committee.
Local government organization and functioning
Village Development Committee
VDCs exist at a village level, covering the Group Village Headman area.
It is charged with the responsibility of facilitating planning and
development at the grassroots.
Composition:
Ward councilors falling within the VDC jurisdiction,
Elected member from each village within the VDC,
Four women representatives nominated by people within the VDC, and
Elected extension worker representative.
The Group Village Headman plays a supervisory role such that the VDC
is mandated to be reporting to the GVH on the outcome of all their
proceedings.
Local government organization and functioning
Functions:
i. To encourage and mobilize community resources for popular
participation in self-help activities;
ii. Initiate locally funded self-help activities;
iii. Assist in identifying, prioritizing, and preparing community needs and
submit the same to the ADC.
iv. Supervise, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of development
activities in the villages;

As stated earlier, the Area Executive Committee also provide technical

assistant to the VDCs.
Central -Local Government relationship
The central government is charged to manage the affairs of the state, hence
even though local governments are established, the control of central
government as an overall overseer is important.
• Forms of control
Legislative control
This is through the formulation of laws that govern the constitution,
structure and operations of local government authorities.
There is mostly a misconception that a council can do anything it likes for the
benefit of the people in its jurisdiction. It is a serious misconception because
a council is a legal body and hence it is restricted in what it can do by the
terms of the legislation which creates it.
Central -Local Government relationship
Financial control
Although local authorities can generate their own finances through
various levies (e.g. city rates), fees and taxes; much of funding for its
projects and operations come from the central government.
This creates a need for the local government to also be accountable
and under the control of the central government such that the central
government can withhold funds and grants directed to a certain
council.
Central -Local Government relationship
Administrative control
Central government can intervene in local authorities by retaining the power
to approve by-laws made by a council, and of controlling appointment of top
officers and directors, in order to ensure that properly qualified persons are
appointed.
Judicial control
The central government can use the power of the courts in order to provide
remedies to aggrieved persons resulting from actions or non action of local
authorizes.
The courts can also quash or nullify decisions made by local authorities
deemed ultra vires; i.e., acting beyond their powers as stipulated in the
legislation that establishes them.
Decentralisation
Delegation is when tasks and activities are not performed at the centre.
It is defined as the delegation of authority to sub-national entities.
There are three fundamental types of decentralisation:
• De-concentration
This is the redistribution of authority from higher level to lower level
within a bureaucracy or central government, e.g. from official at the
capital or headquarters to officials in the regions or district within the
same structure.
Decentralisation
• Delegation
This is more extensive than de-concentration as it involves central
governments transferring responsibility for decision making to semi-
autonomous organisations that are left to operate independently but
controlled by the central government.
This is done by creation of public enterprises that are responsible for
provision of public services on behalf of the central government, e.g.
water boards, housing corporations, transportation authorities, etc.
These corporations are not operated by civil servants, and they are able
to be charging users directly for the services offered.
Decentralisation

• Devolution
This is the transfer of authority for decision, policy, and law making to
local authorities with a corporate status.
Devolution mostly transfers authority to councils, that have locally
elected officials so that they make decisions that are typically related to
their geographical locality.
These councils make their own by-laws and raise their own income for
the purpose of rendering services to the local people.
Decentralisation
• Devolution/Political decentralisation
Transfer of decision and policy making powers from the central government
to elected local representatives.
It entails empowering the grassroots through their local representatives to
create and drive their own destiny according to their local needs.
Characteristics of an ideal decentralised system
The local units are autonomous, and clearly perceived as separate levels of
government over which central authorities exercise little or no direct
control.
This entails that local units (not just councils but also the grassroots) should
have the political powers to make and enforce their own policies and laws,
with minimal or no interference by the central government.
The local units have clear and legally recognised geographical boundaries
within which they exercise authority and perform their functions.
Decentralisation
Local units should have the capacity to operate and provide social
services to the local people as they are supposed to.
This capacity is in form of finances, personnel, organisation
structures, management systems, data and information, facilities, etc.
Much as local authorities must operate autonomously, they must as
well be accountable to the local population it serves as well as the
central government.
Also, local authorities are expected to be transparent and responsive
to the needs of the people under their authority.