Local authorities

Creating links between local authorities

There are 39 single-tier local authorities (assemblies) in Malawi, which include 27 district assemblies (predominantly rural), 3 city assemblies, 1 municipal assembly, and 8 town assemblies. Individual districts have on average 320,000 people, with the capital of Lilongwe being the largest district with almost one million people. The largest city assembly is Blantyre with around 500,000 inhabitants. Each of the 860 wards in the country has one representative (Councillor) in its respective assembly. In addition to elected voting members, assemblies also have non-voting members, including traditional authorities within the area and members of the national assembly, whose constituents fall under the local council.

There has been some devolution of authority from central government to district assemblies in the delivery of public services such as health, education, natural resources, or community services and the process is still underway. Decentralization is one of the strategies and objectives of the Malawian government under the 2020 Vision, as well as the National Decentralisation Programme I and II. The central government provides the majority of the funding for local assemblies (60%), followed by revenues from property rates and rents (20%). Each district also develops its own District Development Plan, which prioritises specific development issues pertinent to the area.