By Memory Kutengule Chatonda

Blantyre, July 17, Mana: District Commissioner for Blantyre, Alex Mdooko has advised Area Executive Committee (AEC) members that are mostly tasked to provide technical guidance to communities when revamping Area Development Committees (ADCs) and Village Development Committees (VDCs), to desist from partisan politics in the course of their duties.

Mdooko said this on Tuesday in Blantyre during the orientation meeting of 60 AEC members on revamping of the community level development structurers.

Mdooko said AEC members as technocrats, are expected to put partisan politics aside and work with the communities at the community level to provide guidance on what constitutes ADCs and VDCs, including the roles of the development structures in promoting sustainable development in the district.

"Man is political by nature, and we know that in the villages, there is a lot of politics that takes place. We are strongly advising the AEC members to do their work as technocrats, not as politicians to politicize every task.

"They should not engage in party politics. They should rather be revamping development committee structures," he said.

The DC then expressed optimism that the AEC members, through their guidance to communities, will ensure that respective areas have development structures led by opinion leaders to oversee project planning, management and implementation on top of developing Village Level Action Plans.

He also commended the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Trust, Foundation for Civic Education and Social Empowerment and other non-governmental organizations for supporting the council in orienting the EAC members.

Revamping of ADCs and VDCs is expected to start soon in the areas of Mudi, Kapeni Chisenjere, Machinjiri Mtenje, Chilaweni, and Kuntaja.

NICE Trust Pogrammes Officer for Blantyre rural and urban, Glory Ngosi Maulidi, said that NICE, Trust through its programmes of promoting democracy and governance, intends to work with the well-organized local structures that understand their roles in project implementation, monitoring, as well as service delivery tracking, hence offering support to the activity.

"Additionally, we want to see members of the local structures knowing their roles so that they build capacity among the grassroots for them to ably understand their roles and participate in development activities fully," she said.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, Patrick Kakande hailed the Blantyre district council for orienting the AEC members to understand their roles and responsibilities.

He therefore, pledged to work with a high sense of professionalism when carrying out assigned task in their respective duty stations. adding that the AEC members were ready to provide necessary guidance to the local citizenry when revamping the ADCs and VDCs and also make them understand their roles in development.

AEC is composed of extension workers from various sectors such as agriculture, community development, health, forestry among others that work in various tradition authorities.  

Last year in August, government through the Ministry of Local Government, Unity, and Culture, ordered the reconstitution of all VDCs and ADCs due to allegedly rampant corruption among the members.