Malawi’s cities and municipals come together for first-ever urban governance symposium
Mayors, deputy mayors and senior council officials from across Malawi have gathered in Salima for a first-of-its-kind national symposium aimed at tackling the shared challenges facing the country’s urban centres.
The two-day event, organised by the Malawi Local Government Association (MALGA), brought together representatives from the country’s four cities, three municipal councils and Karonga Town Council — including chairpersons of service committees and directors of finance, planning, public works and engineering.
MALGA Executive Director Hadrod Zeru Mkandawire said the symposium was designed to give councils a shared platform to address urban challenges collectively, rather than tackling them in isolation.
“This symposium transitions into a premier platform for collaborative dialogue, knowledge sharing, and strategic planning to drive sustainable urban development across our nation,” he said.
He added that the gathering would help strengthen the performance of local government authorities through peer-to-peer learning, with councils expected to share best practices, success stories, case studies and lessons from their own experiences of city and municipal governance.
Mkandawire said the symposium builds on the recent government-led orientation and induction of councillors and controlling officers, and forms part of MALGA’s wider strategic plan for 2024–2030.
The initiative, he said, is aligned with Malawi’s 2024 Decentralisation Policy and sits within the association’s broader work on partnerships, capacity building and membership services.
Timpuza Mwansambo, Director of Administration in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, welcomed the initiative, saying urban centres stand to improve service delivery significantly by learning from one another and working more closely together.
The symposium was supported by several MALGA partners, including the Roads Fund Administration, Habitat for Humanity and Real Print.
