Africa-Press – Malawi. A system of national government in which power is divided (shared) between central authority and a number of regions with delimited self-governing authority also known as covenantalism (because it is a covenant or agreement that whatever the case this state will never move away from the federal grouping).
It should be noted that in federal arrangement a state is already in existence however the major issue is the power concentration (federal is concerned with constitutional power sharing). There is the existence of two governments with different functions.
There is the central government also known as national government or federal government depending on the choice of naming a nation chooses. This is the top government where it is headed by the president as regards to political setup the president works with members of the senate (works as ministers) which are representatives of different states.
Unlike the current situation where the President hires and fires ministers at will these senators are elected by people and the president can’t fire them. It is through this arrangement that senators have power to criticize the president when he feels things are not working.
Basically the president might have senators from both the opposition and ruling so when it’s time to pass decisions each party is able to push for their ideologies to be implemented.
So whether you are in opposition or not all ideas will be considered because senators have voting powers while the president holds the executive power to veto other decisions made by the senate. In this way the president still remains in control of the nation.
Every public appointment is subject to senate approval (unlike in the current scenario where the PAC of Parliament makes recommendation to the president but here its vice versa the president makes recommendations to senate, so the senate is the final appointing authority. Like the DG of ACB, Justices of Appeal, Chief justice, Police chief (Federal Police) all are answerable to the senate so the senate is very powerful. With this arrangement the civil service is relieved from political pressure.
Another level of government is state or province or county, it is headed by a governor and his deputy, in this arrangement the governor is overseer of that state and there is link between the Republic constitution and that of the state. Basically at this level its where control and implementation is done.
All infrastructure projects are carried out at this level of government. The state is responsible for taxes and a small contribution is made to the national government while the rest is left within that state. There is a parliament at that level responsible for checks and balances making laws etc.
It is from this parliament where senators are elected to represent different states in the senate. So all local issues such as education, security, agriculture and almost everything is at state level. This means there are all levels of courts at state from magistrate to Supreme Court. Each state has its own Attorney General (public officer not political position), Director of public persecution. This is good for speedy justice no one can take a case committed in another state to another state’s court that is not possible.
The president does not interfere with whatever is happening at the state level in fact the president becomes an alien in a state. However it is the responsibility of the ruling party or any party to campaign for their candidates in the states in order to implement their policies. It is easy to reject a policy made by the president at state level but when the governor of that state belongs to same political party with the president it is easy to carry that policy out.
Disadvantages and Advantages
We need to honestly say that this arrangement is costly in fact very costly as running these offices will require a lot of resources. Secondly there is room for a criminal to commit a crime and run to another state for refuge and the repatriation of that criminal becomes difficult. Similarly when disaster strikes there is delay in response because there is need to make all communications to be made to the highest office unlike the current situation in which when a the Army can respond immediately to disaster in lower shire. However if we compare the benefits versus the losses, the benefits outweigh the losses in several aspects.
Infrastructure development- there is competition among states over their budget allocation to put it into proper use Corruption is localized it is done at local level therefore its effects can not affect the whole nation and like in the present scenario the Sattar effects he managed to capture one and all of us have been affected but in federal arrangement, it will require Sattar to go and corrupt all governors which might not be possible.
Education there is equal access to quality education unlike the current system where the education system puts categories of schools which means other schools receive more resources than others.
Federation
The process of putting or uniting smaller multiple states or nations together with the aim of building strength either economically or military. The Soviet Union was such an example of a federation the present day Russia. However there are different reasons scenarios where federations are formed either by force made by one dictator. In federation there is one common thing shared resources. The federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was one example of a federation which is mostly forced.
Models of federalism
Federal has different models and the models are created based on the issues to be addressed for example if the challenges a nation is facing are religious conflicts then a model is designed to address those issues, similarly if they are to do with ethnicity, then a model is designed to fix ethnic issues.
In the context of Malawi we don’t have religious or ethnic differences that have culminated to war but administrative which need to be addressed. These issues arise because power is on one person and is overwhelmed. Let me put it simple the federal system works like the way the churches operate like CCAP or Roman Catholic where Dedza diocese and Lilongwe diocese are all under episcope conference of Malawi but they have their own jurisdictions in which there is no interference.
The same way a congregation (session) is having absolute power within its operational boundaries. The synod does not interfere with the operations of a congregation, the congregation designs its church buildings collects tithes and uses within its projects but that doesn’t mean it is separated from the synod that’s a simple explanation.
In Africa we have the Nigerian model, South African model (which is not called federal but it works like federal) the Kenyan Model which first focused on power devolution and it is a good model for Malawi which is also called dual federalism. There are basically three models of federalism which are;
The Territorial Model
This model recognizes that there is a discernible boundary between the subjects fit for national regulation and those reserved for state governance. Territorialists argue that the national government is supreme in some areas, while states reign sovereign in others. Adherents of this model, for example, might declare that the national government directs foreign affairs while the states control domestic relations. Under the territorial model, federalism violations occur when the national government attempts to invade a substantive area of law reserved to the states.
The Federal Process Model
In US after they got frustrated with the shortcomings of territorial federalism, the Supreme Court abandoned territorialism in Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority and adopted its second model, the “federal process” theory of federalism.
This theory derives from the work of Herbert Wechsler, Jesse Choper, and others. According to this model, the Constitution is framed to protect the integrity of state governments through the structure of the national government rather than through judicially enforceable limits on the scope of national regulatory power.
In particular, advocates of this model maintain that the Senate protects state interests by guaranteeing equal representation to each state. Because the federal legislative process adequately protects state interests, federal process theorists conclude that the states need no further protection from the courts.
The Autonomy Model
This is the third and most recent, model of federalism that debuted in New York v. United States. Once again, the model rests on the work of several commentators.
According to autonomy theorists, courts should intervene in the political process to protect the independence of state governments, but only when the federal government has tampered with the independent relationship between a state government and its voters. That sort of interference occurs when the federal government dictates the structure of state governments, commandeers the energy of state administrators, or forces state enactment of particular laws all without offering state governments the option of nonparticipation.
What Is Dual Federalism?
One of the principles of the U.S. Constitution is federalism, which is the division of power among the federal government and the governments of each of the fifty states.
The U.S. Government has enumerated powers, which are powers that are specifically given to the US Government. These are often referred to as delegated powers and include things that the U.S. Government has exclusive control over, like foreign policy. Any power that is not strictly given to the U.S. Government in the Constitution must belong to the states.
This is due to the reserved powers clause in the 10th Amendment to the Constitution. Some powers are also shared between the federal government and the state governments. These are called concurrent powers.
Throughout American history, there have been federalism eras, where there have been different roles for the state and federal governments with respect to their powers.
Dual federalism is one of those eras. What is dual federalism? Dual federalism is when the different levels of government operate with a distinct division of power.
For example, the national government has exclusive control over foreign policy, and states have exclusive control over other areas. There is also very little overlapping. This division reflects dual federalism.
There are several different characteristics of federal systems of government. Many of these types of governments have a Bill of Rights in their government constitution.
They also include characteristics such as division of powers, a list of the government’s power in the constitution, and the supremacy of the constitution.
Dual federalism is often called “layer cake federalism”. This is because the powers of the state and federal government are so distinctive that states have powers without federal government interference. There is minimal, if any, overlapping of powers. This clear division of power can be envisioned as a layer cake with clearly visible “layers” or powers of the state and federal governments.
Other countries that practice federal system in Africa are Zambia much that it is not fully federal but it operates like a federal because it has provinces so is Tanzania.
Somalia is was formed to address ethnic and religious challenges among others. However let me be quick to say that from the models that are at our disposal a model can be designed to fit in the needs of our country where all characteristics of different models can be accommodated.
In a nutshell, the current system was adopted from our colonial masters whose ultimate goal was control so the unitary system is based on control while federal system is based on administration and development.
This unitary system was fitting well under the administration of our colonial masters but since we freed ourselves from them it was necessary to come up with our own model of administration that would serve the interests of our people.
Secondly it’s not automatic that when we adopt federal system we will maintain the current regional boundaries, these regions were demarcated by our colonial masters.
We may come up with different regions or for administrative purposes. Lastly almost all nations under federal arrangement are doing well economically and the geographical size is not a justification for a system but the population is.
For More News And Analysis About Malawi Follow Africa-Press
