Kasungu Town Assembly Sets the Trend!

It is always difficult to make sense of politics on my dear continent and my Malawi. Most people are disinterested in politics because of the face it is given in Malawi. Politics is portrayed as for the elites and as lying beyond the comprehension of the masses who are generally poor and illiterate. Their role is merely endorsing what the elites think is the way to do things. But things ought not to be so. Politics is for everyone. It is for everybody. 

Local governance is what I think is the bedrock for democracy and politics. It is rarely active in Africa. Yet we need it. This is why I was so glad today when I heard a story carried on Malawi’s local radio station Zodiak the only Malawi radio station streaming live online. In Kasungu one of Malawi’s districts where I grew up there is an interesting story similar to those cases which  I have more than thrice read in my studies’ literature as representing the conflict between the state’s principles and cultural or ethnic interests. In Kasungu the town assembly has dragged to court and is asking the court to ban from the district the Seventh Day Adventist Pentecost church because of the religious group’s values. Apparently the group forbids its pregnant women members from seeking conventional medical attention during and after the pregnancy. Young children are prevented from accessing immunization from fatal diseases in the name of religion. A good number of maternal deaths have been reported as well as high infant deaths linked with membership to this religious group so argues the Town Assembly. So there they were, the members of this group, at the court chanting songs of inspiration claiming that they ought to be strong as it is inevitable for them to face such ‘persecution’. The magistrate is yet to deliver his verdict over the case.

In the western world this is no news and there is nothing significant about such news. I am uninterested in evaluating as to what ought to be done, that is, which interests should be prioritized. Instead I am so delighted that Kasungu Town Assembly has set the trend of how politics should be conceived. Politics is about matters involving everybody especially the illiterate and poor. Definitely I know that a debate has ensued among the residents of Kasungu town. Reasons, arguments and counter-arguments are being given as to why which view is ideal. Public deliberation is at work now. The issues under debate are not far removed from the people. They are issues that concern not every Malawian. They are matters restricted only to Kasungu, their town. The issues demand the attention and decision of the residents of the town. You do not need a better presentation of how local governace and local democracy should be shaped. We only hope that the local assembly’s involvement and commitment to local issues should extend beyond these issues, to issues about local health, crime, town by-laws etc. 

The chief executive of Kasungu Town assembly ought to be commended. S/he has set a trend un-parelled. It is something all local assemblies should emulate. Then democracy and politics shall cease being elitist and exclusionary, a club of the elites. It will no longer be a no-go zone field for the ordinary locals. May the lessons be learnt please!