CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE - A CASE STUDY OF THE BLANTYRE DISTRICT, MALAWI

Abstract

The government of Malawi is using decentralization as a strategy to speed up development and alleviate poverty. To accomplish this, local participation structures such as Village Development Committees (VDC) and Area Development Committees (ADC) were established to increase Citizen participation and facilitate a demand-driven approach to development. This research examined the effectiveness of VDCs and ADCs in Decentralization. The study examined the methods of citizen participation in Malawi and analyzed the awareness levels and attitudes of citizens in the rural areas of the Blantyre district. It assessed the roles of citizens in influencing participation in local governance through the local development fund (LDF) and Community development fund (CDF) projects. The study employed qualitative research methods to acquire and analyze data. Document review, semi-structured interviews with key informants, and focus group discussions were used to collect data. The study reveals that the decentralization process has encountered several challenges in terms of representation, implementation of accountability, and mobilization of local citizens to participate in the decision-making process. Citizens in the rural areas of the Blantyre district are not empowered by the district council to demand transparency and accountability from duty bearers. As a result, the ADC and VDC lack the autonomy to act as guardians of development or to foster citizen participation. Factors such as the lack of capacity of citizens, lack of adequate project funding, the politicization of development projects, and the undesirable attitude of elected leaders have contributed to the poor implementation of decentralization reforms. Overall, therefore, the study recommends that all

development institutions reorient their decentralization efforts to support effective local governance.