Africa must take local government more seriously and treat it as a fundamental institution of democracy, development and human dignity, rather than merely an administrative extension of central government, former Attorney General of Malawi, Hon. Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda, SC, has said.
Chakaka-Nyirenda made the call while speaking on the role of local government in driving development, strengthening democracy and improving the everyday lives of citizens across African communities.
According to him, the impact of government is most visible at the local level, where citizens directly experience the quality of roads, sanitation, markets, waste management, public health, education, housing, environmental protection and other essential services.
He noted that although national governments often formulate broad policies and development plans, many of the issues that determine the quality of life of citizens are ultimately experienced and addressed within communities.
“Development must reach people where they live, and democracy must reach them there too,” he said.
Chakaka-Nyirenda explained that local government is closely connected to the daily experiences of citizens, from the roads they use and the markets where they trade to waste collection, drainage, public conveniences, street lighting, business regulation and access to basic social services.
He argued that these issues should not be regarded as peripheral matters because they form what he described as the infrastructure of everyday life.
Drawing from experiences across African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Malawi, he said different constitutional arrangements may exist, but the underlying principle remains that local institutions must have clearly defined functions, adequate resources and the authority required to deliver services effectively.
He stressed that development should not be measured only by economic indicators such as gross domestic product, investment, employment, income and consumption.
According to him, genuine development should also reflect improvements in healthcare, education, housing, social welfare, environmental conditions, safety, democratic participation, social inclusion and the ability of citizens to participate meaningfully in economic life.
“A national economy may grow while particular communities remain excluded from its benefits,” he said.
The former Malawian Attorney General further emphasised the importance of local knowledge in development planning, noting that the needs of communities differ significantly depending on their geographical, economic and social circumstances.
He said strategies that may work in a major city cannot simply be transferred to a rural community without considering local realities.
For him, local economic development should therefore not be something government imposes on communities but a process undertaken with the people.
“Local economic development is not development done by government to communities. It is development undertaken with communities,” he said.
Chakaka-Nyirenda said local authorities should move beyond merely issuing licences, collecting fees and enforcing regulations to becoming facilitators of economic activity.
He explained that councils should bring together government, private businesses, civil society and community groups to identify barriers to enterprise, determine infrastructure needs, unlock investment opportunities and create employment.
He also placed significant emphasis on citizen participation, arguing that democracy should not end on election day.
According to him, citizens should participate in identifying community priorities, developing local plans, monitoring approved projects and demanding explanations when public commitments are not fulfilled.
“A citizen who may never meet a president or a minister can attend a community meeting,” he noted, stressing that local government gives democracy a human scale.
He also warned against a situation where responsibilities are transferred to local authorities without giving them the financial and institutional capacity to perform those responsibilities.
“We decentralise responsibilities more readily than we decentralise resources,” he said.
According to him, assigning local governments responsibility for waste management, public health, settlement planning, markets, environmental protection and social welfare without providing sufficient financial, technical and institutional resources does not amount to genuine decentralisation.
“It is the decentralisation of responsibility without the decentralisation of power,” he said.
Chakaka-Nyirenda also stressed the importance of accountability, saying stronger local government should not mean weaker oversight.
He called for transparent procurement, accessible development plans and greater public knowledge of government projects, including their costs, contractors and implementation status.
“Decentralisation without accountability can simply decentralise inefficiency and corruption,” he warned.
He maintained that resources must follow functions, authority must follow responsibility, and accountability must follow power if decentralisation is to deliver meaningful results.
Responding to questions about how citizens can help make local government work better, Chakaka-Nyirenda said civic education is essential.
He explained that citizens need to understand both their rights and their responsibilities, including obligations such as paying taxes and rates that enable local authorities to provide public services.
He also urged citizens to use lawful channels, including the courts where necessary, to demand compliance with constitutional and legal provisions governing local government.
Addressing concerns about interference by higher levels of government, particularly in relation to local government autonomy, he said the rule of law must remain central.
He argued that where constitutional provisions clearly define the functions of local authorities, those provisions should be implemented rather than undermined through administrative practices.
The former Attorney General further noted that effective decentralisation requires more than laws on paper. It requires capable personnel, predictable financing, functional institutions and citizens who understand how local government works.
In his concluding remarks, Chakaka-Nyirenda returned to the central message of his presentation: that Africa’s national development depends heavily on what happens within its communities.
“A nation is actually a community of communities,” he said.
He explained that when communities fail, national development is affected, just as poor sanitation can create wider public health challenges, weak local planning can affect cities, and stagnant local economies can limit national economic growth.
He therefore called for capable local administrations, adequate and predictable financing, meaningful citizen participation, strong accountability and development planning that reflects the realities of individual communities.
“We need local authorities capable of bringing government, business, community and civil society together around local economic development,” he said.
Chakaka-Nyirenda also advocated a more cooperative relationship between central and local governments, based on collaboration rather than institutional competition.
He concluded that government becomes more meaningful to citizens when local institutions possess the authority, resources and accountability necessary to address issues people encounter in their daily lives.
“When local institutions possess the resources, authority and accountability necessary to perform their responsibilities, government becomes something citizens can see, experience and trust,” he said.
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