13 billion ways to whine

Our local government authorities are governed, at law, by the Local Government Act. Under the Act, a local government authority has the following functions: to make policy and decisions on local governance and development for the local government area; to consolidate and promote local democratic institutions and democratic participation; to promote infrastructural and economic development through the formulation, approval and  execution of district development plans within its jurisdiction; to mobilize resources within the local government area for governance and development; to maintain peace and security in the local government area in conjunction with the Malawi Police Service; to make by-laws for the good governance of the local government area; to appoint, develop, promote and discipline its staff; to cooperate with other Councils in order to learn from their experiences and exchange ideas; and to perform other functions including the registration of births and deaths and participate in the delivery of essential local services.

The essential services that a local government authority must discharge include the provision of environment and health services, physical planning, parks and recreation, works services, education services, development, and finance services to mention a few. So; as residents of local government areas, our expectation – a legitimate one for that matter – is that our council shall be responsible for the administration and management of good access roads that are well lit at night; the administration and management of well-resourced health centres; the administration and management of local education authority (‘LEA’) primary schools with well-ventilated classrooms to boot (no learning under some tree please); the administration and management of commodities markets; and indeed, the administration and management of kuntaya for our zinyalala.

The Local Government Act states that the Minister may declare a local government area as a ‘township’ or ‘municipality’. The Act goes on state that it is the prerogative of the President of the Republic to confer the title and dignity of ‘City’ on a municipality. Hence, the designation of ‘City’ on a local government area is no small matter. It is such a big deal. In 2017, we have four cities in Malawi: Blantyre and Zomba in southern Malawi, Lilongwe in central Malawi, and Mzuzu in northern Malawi.

Local government authorities – and these include our cities – have the power to raise money, whether by means of rates or borrowing. The generation of revenue ensures that a local government authority is capable of discharging to its residents the essential services that we have pointed out above: environment and health services, physical planning, parks and recreation, works services, education services, development, and finance services.

In relation to our cities, the average resident does not hesitate to bash the apparently poor services that our city fathers and mothers provide. The resident will moan about the potholed roads in our neighbourhoods; he will whinge about the long in disuse sewage system; and what about the no-show waste collection truck or indeed the pitch dark nights because the street lights are not working.

You – the resident – must hold your peace and listen to this: If we restrict our story to the four cities in the country, the city councils are owed a little over 13 billion Kwacha in unpaid city rates. Lilongwe residents are the worst with some 8 billion Kwacha due and owing to the city authorities; Blantyre residents owe some 2.8 billion Kwacha; and Mzuzu and Zomba residents are some 1.2 billion Kwacha respectively in the red.

City rates – as a form of revenue generation by a local government authority – are a tax that a resident must pay to the council for the services that the council renders. The non-payment of city rates that is pervasive in our cities is most unfortunate. As residents, we cannot have our cake and eat it. If we are of the view that we deserve five star provision of essential services from our councils, let us pay our city rates.

It is our civic duty to pay city rates when they are due. I am reliably informed that some city rates’ accounts have been due and owing as far back as 1999. This is simply deplorable. A kid born in 1999 will be eligible to vote in the general elections of 2019. It shouldn’t be this bad. The Malawian Constitution also states that every individual has a duty towards the State with due regard, among others, the common interest. Therefore, this is the message: Before you grumble about that potholed road, the pitch dark night in your downtown and what not; do me a favour and pay your city rates. Once you will have paid your city rates, you will have earned your right to whine about the perceived misconduct of a local government authority.