DOWA-(MaraviPost)-District Information Officers (DIOs) from all 28 districts in the country have agreed to strengthen their role in communicating progress on decentralization, 22 years after Malawi adopted the decentralization policy, allowing central government to devolve some of its political and administrative duties to district councils.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop held on January 23, 2020 at Mponela in Dowa, Director of Chiefs in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Charles Makanga (a former district Commissioner for 22 years), urged all DIOs to explore ways of strengthening information systems between the district council and citizens in the decentralization process. 

“There is a lot happening in decentralization. The Ministry has done a lot but little is known out there on the progress that has been made. We want you to provide awareness to people for them to know what is happening in their districts, so they can demand services and monitor development implementation,” said Makanga.

Makanga then called on the DIOs to be proactive and take a leading role in disseminating information on the progress of decentralization to allow citizens to become aware of what is happening at the council, participate in development activities, demand services and hold leaders accountable for their actions and decisions.

The training, with support from USAID and UKAID through the Local Government and Accountability (LGAP) project, aimed at addressing the existing information gaps which are delaying the implementation of improved local governance and decentralization in Malawi. 

It also attracted Regional Information Officers and editors from Malawi News Agency (MANA) who publish stories from the DIOs. Presentations dwelt on progress of decentralization policy implementation since 1998, LGAP approach and interventions in the 28 districts, role of DIOs in decentralization, strengthening partnerships through information sharing and the local government system.

Today, 21 years after rolling out the decentralization agenda, the government has devolved some powers, functions, responsibilities and resources to Councils, an indication that strides have been made towards implementation of decentralization in sector, fiscal and human resource devolution. 

One of the explanations on why decentralization has stalled is that the messages have not been consistent, due to different reasons, be it funding or lack of enough experts to deliver the message. 

The DIOs, as central information players at the council level, are therefore key in addressing information gaps existing at the council. 

The DIOs have since developed an action plan on how to strengthen decentralization communication at the district council level through use of appropriate communication tools to reach target audience particularly the local citizens