The aim of this paper is to help government and donors better understand how local government works in Malawi and how decentralisation affects local service delivery. The research set out to understand why local government and service delivery work the way they do, to explain variation across the country, and to assess whether the return of local councils is likely to improve the functioning of local government and the delivery of services.
This study is based on case studies of two districts (Dedza and Rumphi) and one city (Blantyre) and three services – health, education and water and sanitation.
Key findings:
- Malawi’s political settlement is one of archetypal competitive clientelism, this makes elite collective action and the sort of coherent policy-making needed for the provision of public goods difficult. It has also contributed to the decimation of bureaucratic capacity over the past twenty or so years.
- Policy failures at the top in relation to local government decentralised services result in local governance conditions – de facto political recentralisation, functional fragmentation, unclear mandates, complex reporting structure, and disjointed planning – that actively militate against coordination and cooperation between local administrators and decision-makers, and between local government and other local stakeholders, such as funders, civic organisations and communities.
- The nature of Malawi’s clientelist factions and alliances, reflected in its highly personalised and weak political parties, acceptance of shifting allegiances and an extremely fluid party system, means that there is little reason to believe that the competitive-clientelist settlement will change any time soon.
- Whatever the country, the principal objective of all politicians and political parties is to gain and hold power, because it is only then that they can pursue other objectives, whether these are personal or for the benefit of society as a whole.
- Changing the political settlement in Malawi will be a difficult and long-term process driven by Malawians, not external actors.
- The conditions required for effective devolution – strong, consistent leadership across several regimes; clear mandates and coherently designed systems; institutional arrangements that promote (formal) rule-enforcement; adequate resourcing; local autonomy (including fiscal) and organised civil society – are simply not present in Malawi.
- It is unrealistic to expect that the return of elected local councils can in any significant way change the underlying political dynamics; in fact, they are likely to further entrench them at local level.
Recommendations:
- Consider support for asymmetric decentralisation: Asymmetric decentralisation would allow resources and expertise to be better targeted. Smaller towns and districts could capitalise later on the learning processes within city councils.
- Accept dual administration in districts in the medium-term and improve how it functions: Greater consideration should be given to which pathway is likely to improve service delivery in the medium-term rather than pushing ahead with a decentralisation policy that is likely to sustain policy incoherence within local government and services.
- Strengthen central ministries and de facto decentralised systems: Strengthen central government’s institutions so they do their work more effectively, including delivering services at local levels. A strong state is the basis on which decentralised governance and services might be constructed. Policy reform to support deconcentration or delegation of line ministry responsibilities rather than devolution in Malawi would mean that efforts could be focused on making the de facto system work better.
- Long-term support to strengthen the political-party system: Working to change the nature of political organisation in Malawi – from highly personalised clientelist factions to more institutionalised parties based on horizontal associations – must be part of the long-term solution in terms of a transition to a more developmental political settlement.
- Support the bridging of more successful civic groups: Where there are examples of civic groups working relatively well, donors might consider helping to build higher-level associations.
- Support review of legal framework for local government: There is a need to undertake a comprehensive review of the laws that pertain to local government, power-sharing and service delivery at local levels.
- Support to planning capacity of the councils: It is imperative that local planning and budgeting capacity is improved, regardless of whether or not the next government proceeds with integration of local employees into a single administrative unit and/or transfers more funding and functions to the councils and their secretariats.
