Mzuzu MP decries two and half year Mayors’ tenure
Mzuzu City Constituency MP, Leonard Njikho, says the two-and-half-year and one-year tenures for city mayors and district council chairpersons, respectively, are not enough for the office bearers to effect tangible development.
Njikho said this Saturday in Mzuzu during the last of the six series of debate, which the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) had been organizing across the country, concerning the councils’ set up.
The Mzuzu lawmaker added that if mayors are changed in every two-and-half years, many development projects may be abandoned because every leadership that comes in will try to look unique by making its own plans, hence having a bunch of uncompleted projects at the tail end.
“We are coming from a period where we had no councilors for so long. This means that there are a lot of issues that need to be taken care of,” said Njikho, suggesting five years as a reasonable term.
“Experience has shown that every time one comes into position, he or she tries to look unique by coming up with very new strategies- leaving out everything that his or her predecessor had left, instead of just continuing from where things were left,” he said.
Commenting on the development, Mayor for Mzuzu City, William Mkandawire, said every mayor may have his own philosophy towards development, of which continuous changing of positions may not have a tangible impact towards development.
Mkandawire also argued that every time a term of an office of a mayor draws to end, councilors may be busy with unnecessary politics since they will be eyeing the position, rather than putting much focus on development.
“If the philosophy surrounding the two-and-half year-term in office is that we should be working hard, then I don’t have any problem with it,” he said.
“But for one’s plans to be fully successful, a longer time frame is crucial. This is because you need to strategize first and then you implement, which is not easy to do within a shorter period,” Councilor Mkandawire added.
Mzuzu University based Historian and lecturer, Chrispin Mphande, concurred with the MP saying the two-and-half years technically are not enough to measure the successes and failures of the mayors.
“From development’s perspective, two-and-half year [period] is a non-starter. The period is too limited to have a meaningful development. Let the mayor finish five years, then we can measure his failures and successes,” he said.
According to the current Malawi Electoral Laws, a mayor and chairpersons for district councils are obliged to save tenures of two and half years and one year in office, respectively.–Mana
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Each office has it own terms as well as the duration so Mr MP let the system work if you have any say come up with evidence based information for governamet to act on . see you in 2019 and thereafter reforms .
This is another attempt at :kuzigulira malo”. It is not how long people stay in office that determines whether they have been performers or not but rather it is the quality of planning that is done during such a tenure and how religiously the planners adhere to those plans. The problem in our country is that we tend to attach a personality to any development initiative which ought not to be the case. Development is a continuous process. Where one leadership team stops the next team is supposed to pick up from there and so goes the process. The claim… Read more »
2.5 years is accurate mayors should come up with plans way ahead before they start off their contract this will not only push them to work hard so that they can re elected.
I think this is good for Lilongwe coz we really need to change that good for nothing mayor who thinks that being a mayor is just a position of prestige and political influence.Please those those who aspire for this office must be those who are timing with plans and desire to change the city!!! please!!
Malawians must think from first principles. Given that there is no specialisation in the country ie when people are outside the office they do not focus on the mayoral aspects.The first few years are used to gain experience on the job learning curve, therefore 5 years is needed to maximise contribution and to provide continuity to accomplish development projects.
As a matter fact, I strongly believe that MPs and Councilors are just a resource drain. Malawi can’t afford this luxury…
Azungu zakuti zawo potiumiliza kukhala ndimauseless councillor-wa
Without beating about the bush, development is not personal to the incumbent, its a councils masterplan. After all what can this naive mayor show as being his own Blueprint for Mzuzu development, since may? Him and the MP are serious accidents waiting to happen for Mzuzu city. I rest my case.
Two and half is enough . Just be development concious . That’s all .
Zaka ziwiri ndi theka zachuluka.
Mpandowu ndi onona ndipo azisankhanso every year KOMA akachita bwino azipitiriza.
In lilongwe we need less than a year coz 2 and half is too much for our nonsense retired teacher