MALGA Institutional Renewal 

The Malawi Association Local Government Authorities (MALGA) has begun 2026 with a renewed leadership and president, and they have adopted a new strategic plan.

17-18 December 2025 MALGA successfully held an extra-ordinary general assembly. The meeting entitled “Rejuvenating the Status of Decentralization and Local Development in Malawi: Looking at the Future with Renewed Hope” was an important step forward for MALGA renewing the association’s leadership and also validating the 2025 – 2030 MALGA strategic plan.

The theme of the AGM strongly aligned with the priorities of the new Government, which is committed to advancing the decentralisation agenda and elevating local development to greater levels. Hon Minister Dr. Ben Malunga Phiri attended the GA and gave a keynote address stressing the new government’s commitment to decentralisation and the importance of local development. Within this context he urged leaders to work in the interest of national development rather than along political party lines, and encouraged unity and collaboration between the political and technical arms of government.

Strategic Plan 2025-2030

While the goal of the extra-ordinary general assembly was to foster dialogue and collaboration among councils as well as with other levels of government and stakeholders, it was also a timely opportunity to  identify and address gaps in fulfilling local government and MALGA’s mandate. CLGF was pleased to support the strategic plan development process and the presentation and validation of the 2025-2030 plan in December. The realigned strategic plan affirmed the mission of “championing and defending the interests of Local Government Authorities through representation and advocacy”, as well as the vision “Towards a louder unified voice for service delivery in local government authorities in Malawi”.  The key pillars include:

• Governance And Institutional Strenthening
• Strengthened Partnerships And Networking
• Policy Advocacy And Dialogue
•  Enhanced Strategic Membership Support
• Enhanced Resource Mobilization And Sustainability
• Communication And Cross-Cutting Issues

The validated strategy now places MALGA in a strong position to work actively over the course of 2026 to reinforce local government in Malawi and MALGA and CLGF are currently reviewing follow on activities that can support these ambitions.

His Worship Isaac Jomo Osman was elected President, while Councillor Maloto Joseph Chimkombero was elected Vice President.

Key issues discussed 

Key issues discussed at the GA included issues around aging infrastructure and underfunding of key sectors such as agriculture, which constrains the directorate’s ability to provide the key infrastructure that supports this key value chain;  The importance of full technical integration of staff from sectors such as health, agriculture, and education into the local government system; and delayed disbursement of funds from central government to local government, which adversely affects service delivery.