Africa-Press – Malawi. Ward councillors have complained that the government keeps sidelining them as their perks have stagnated despite the increase in the cost of living.
Currently, a councillor receives a minimum honorarium of K150,000 per month.
However, according to Malawi Local Government Association Executive Director Hadrod Mkandawire, ward councillors have not been considered despite that the government increased honoraria for other duty bearers.
“Honoraria should be enough to motivate someone to effectively provide meaningfully oversight. This is because when, for instance, a councillor is being called to undertake council duties, they should not be demotivated because of the issue of honoraria.
“That is why, in the recent past, the government has revised upwards honoraria for board of directors for different statutory corporations. In the same vein, we would expect the same to apply to councillors,” Mkandawire said.
The councillors, who are hired as volunteers, have had their perks increased from K80,000 to K90,000; and then K120,000 to the current K150,000 since being re-introduced in 2014.
Mkandawire added that the government needed to come up with other incentives so that other people could be attracted to contest as ward councillors.
“We ask the government to waive a duty on one vehicle so that a councillor could be importing a vehicle every five years. This is because the motorcycles are not safe for councillors when executing their duties. If we are to attract and retain the best talent, this is the way to go,” he said.
Ward councillor for Thundu in Phalombe District, Francis Nunkhazingwe, said they had huge responsibilities which are not compensated by honoraria.
“A councillor gets 40 litres of fuel per month. How much does an MP [Member of Parliament] get for fuel? It is the councillor who is supposed to be supervising a lot of projects. His or her operations are on daily basis, unlike an MP. Commodity prices have gone up in this country but a councillor is not being considered,” Nunkhazingwe said.
His sentiments were corroborated by Chibavi Ward Councillor Edward Simwaka, who said the “low” perks were demotivating.
“The country overlooks works of a councillor. That is why most of the councillors are not committed to their work because they are not appreciated,” he said.
Willy KambwandiraExecutive Director for Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency Centre Willy Kambwandira shared the councillors’ concerns.
“Their honorarium is far too low despite rising costs and this will obviously affect their morale and ability to perform duties effectively.
“In addition, many ward councillors lack the capacity and skills to effectively monitor Local Government budgets and expenditures. The stagnant compensation will obviously affect their morale and ability to perform increased responsibilities. There is a need for increased honoraria and additional benefits to match their responsibilities. Again, we need to establish robust mechanisms for preventing potential misuse of funds and maintaining public trust,” Kambwandira said.
Governance commentator Joseph Chunga said it was high time the country changed its framework for local councils.
“There are different ways on how we can organise the governance structure of the local council, including the role of the councillors. The framework that we use best suits having individuals who hold the position while holding other positions elsewhere. The framework we are using [means] councillors [are working] on a part time basis. Here we have people who treat this issue as a full-time job and that is why these questions are coming,” Chunga said.
The country has 462 ward councillors.
The number could be increased to 509 following the demarcation exercise, whose effects will be borne after the September 16, 2025 Local Government Election.
However, some councils topped up perks for their councillors.
Currently, councillors in Mzuzu get K220,000 per month while those in Zomba and Blantyre receive K250,000 and K270,000, respectively.
Other elected officers, such as MPs, are engaged on full-time basis and, according to figures from Parliament, a legislator gets a basic salary of K2,035,712 per month.
Among other benefits, parliamentarians get a chauffeur allowance of K528,005, special house allowance of K580,800, security allowance of K528,005, utility allowance of K414,480 and K1.6 million fuel allowance per month.
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