Local Governance Structures Challenged to Drive Self-Help Initiatives in Training Organized by CCODE
Local governance structures urged to promote self-help initiatives and empower communities to drive social change, writes Bridget Mwanoka.
LILONGWE, Malawi - Local governance structures in the country have been urged to become catalysts of self-help initiatives and work towards influencing their communities to take charge of the social change process, writes Bridget Mwanoka.
These remarks were emphasized during a training session organized by the Centre for Community Organization and Development (CCODE) on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.
CCODE, a local non-governmental organization dedicated to building the socio-economic capacity of the urban poor, conducted the training for local governance structures in Chinsapo 1 in Lilongwe.
The objective was to empower these structures to become champions of their own development and drive self-reliant and self-sustaining societies.
Wonderful Hunga, the Programs Manager at CCODE, highlighted the issue of dependency and the failure of development aid resulting from the tendency of poor communities to rely solely on their governments and external agents.
Hunga stated, "For a long time, the poor people have placed any development-related responsibility in the hands of their governments, development organizations, and other external agents, a situation that has resulted in a colossal failure of development aid, the perpetuation of dependency, worsening poverty, and a decline in self-help initiatives."
The training aimed to strengthen the competencies of the local administrative structures and enhance the participation possibilities of the local population. Hunga emphasized that the more competent the administrative structures are, the better they can respond to the needs of the people.
Mtemwanenge Mhango, the Chinsapo 1 ward councillor, expressed that being capacitated on their roles, duties, and responsibilities as local governance structures would help minimize conflicts regarding responsibilities.
Mhango acknowledged the training as an eye-opener on how they are expected to be effective and efficient in delivering their assigned roles.
The training sessions, which are part of a three-year project implemented by CCODE since December 2022, are targeting current local governance structures in the wards of Chinsapo 1 and Mtandire.
They focus on areas such as resource mobilization, problem identification, solution mapping, and project management.