Norwich - Dedza Partnership : Dedza

Dedza - Local Democracy

Dedza District has 8 Parliamentary Constituencies with one MP each. There are 32 Wards that elect a Member to the District Assembly.

Consultation with the community is an important aspect of local government. Development projects often require a contribution of labour or materials from the community. These activities are conducted through a hierarchy of District, Traditional Authority, Village Group and Village.

Dedza has eight Traditional Authorities (TAs). There is one Senior Chief (in the Kachindamoto TA), six chiefs and one Sub Traditional Authority. Each TA area has an Area Development Committee (ADC). Dedza Township is a separate area with its own Town Assembly.

An Area Development Committee is composed of -

The Chief
Village Group Headmen
Two ordinary representatives (one of whom must be a woman) from the Village Development Committee for each Village Group
Member of Parliament for the Area
One representative from each of the business community, religious groups, political parties, NGOs working in the Area and Members of the Assembly

The functions of the ADC include prioritising development requests from Village Development Committees to be passed on to the District Assembly, requesting funding from the Assembly, mobilising local contributions for community projects, monitoring initiatives and informing communities about government initiatives.

Map No	Traditional Authority	Population	Villages	Village Groups
1	Tambala	58,330	518	42
2	Chauma	19,011	310	24
3	Kasumbu	67,787	555	41
4	Kaphuka	121,860	109	16
5	Kachindamoto	82,258	129	8
6	Kamenyagwaza	25,048	143	12
7	Chilikumwendo	52,206	69	6
8	Kanchere	107,029	169	18
	Dedza Township	17,011
		550,540	2002	167

There are 2002 villages in Dedza District. The average population of village is 266. The villages are clustered into Village Groups, with an average of 12 villages per Group. Each Group has a Village Development Committee (VDC).

Dedza District Village Groups

A Village Development Committee consists of -

The Village Group Headman
Village Headpersons for each village
Male and female representatives for each village
Extension workers from District Assembly Departments
Representatives of religious groups, political parties and Members of the Assembly

The Traditional Authority system may deal with some civil law matters, such as land disputes.

Dedza, Malawi