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.
