Government orders council officials to live in duty stations, cracks down on absenteeism and misuse of resources

Government has issued a sweeping directive ordering all local council officials to reside in the districts where they are officially posted, in a move aimed at restoring discipline, improving service delivery and curbing the abuse of public resources. In a hard-hitting memorandum dated February 3, 2026, Secretary for Local Government and Rural Development Moses Chimphepo says government has observed with concern that many officers are living in cities and districts far from their designated duty stations, yet continue to draw salaries and benefits as if they are fully present at work. Chimphepo says the practice of long-distance commuting has become a major contributor to poor performance in local councils, with serious consequences for ordinary citizens who depend on councils for basic public services.

According to the memorandum, some officers report for duty late, frequently absent themselves—especially on Mondays and Fridays—and routinely misuse council vehicles and fuel for personal travel. He says this behaviour has entrenched a culture of inefficiency and lack of accountability in local authorities, undermining government’s decentralisation agenda and weakening service delivery at the grassroots level. “The identified challenges include late reporting for duty, absenteeism—particularly on Mondays and Fridays—and the misuse of Local Authority resources, such as fuel.

The practice, unfortunately, undermines efficiency, accountability, and the quality of public service delivery at the local council level,” reads the memo in part. Chimphepo has therefore directed that all officers currently living outside their official districts must immediately relocate and take up residence within their duty stations. The directive applies to all categories of council staff, including senior managers, technical officers and support staff, and is expected to be enforced without exceptions.

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The move signals a major policy shift, as for years many council officials have quietly lived in major cities like Lilongwe and Blantyre while working in distant districts, often turning council jobs into part-time engagements in practice. Governance experts say the directive exposes a long-standing structural problem in Malawi’s local government system, where weak supervision and political patronage have allowed absenteeism to flourish with little consequence. If enforced seriously, the directive could significantly improve responsiveness in councils, particularly in areas such as infrastructure maintenance, social services, disaster response and development planning.

However, analysts also warn that the order will test government’s political will, as similar directives in the past have often collapsed under pressure from senior officials who enjoy urban lifestyles while holding rural postings. The success of the new policy will largely depend on whether councils are empowered to monitor compliance and impose sanctions on defiant officers, rather than treating the directive as another circular that gathers dust. For many Malawians, the directive touches on a deeper issue of fairness, as ordinary civil servants and private sector workers are expected to live near their jobs, while senior public officials have for years operated under informal exemptions.

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