In 2024, they unanimously gave former minister of Finance Simplex Chithyola Banda a standing when he announced the doubling of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) from K100 million to K200 million. The lawmakers were back to their unanimous ways in November 2025 not once but twice. First, they clapped and cheered in unison when President Peter Mutharika announced that CDF increase from K220 million to K5 billion.
They did again weeks later when Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Ben Phiri told Parliament that CDF projects and spending will be determined by village and area development committees in concert with members of Parliament (MPs), not councillors. There is something about CDF that did not only excite the lawmakers, but even persuaded them to amend the Constitution to secure their involvement in its spending despite being outlawed by the High Court in May last year, which affirmed separation of powers. The year ended marked a historic political turning point when the nation of about 20 million, saw an increase in constituencies from 193 to 299 following the demarcation exercise conducted by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).
With each constituency promised to get K5 billion from the 2026/27 National Budget, as promised by the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the country will spent about K1.2 trillion on the fund for local development. “We will allocate K5 billion every year to each constituency, that is K2.25 billion to be spent in every ward every year,” reads the DPP manifesto. The party in power also promises to recruit at least 229 executive directors together with thousands of engineers, doctors, nurses, auditors, researchers, artisans and many more as part of the national decentralisation initiative.
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The increase in constituencies is envisaged to enhance representation and bring government closer to the people, with MPs serving smaller populations and becoming more responsive to local needs. However, representation must be supported by adequate resources, strong governance systems and clear checks and balances. Thus, the K5 billion-per-year promise is a boost to the decentralisation agenda, but could be wasted on pilferage, substandard projects and populist agendas if not well implemented.
Spending K1.2 trillion on constituencies every year represents a huge knock on the national budget, currently totalling K8.5 trillion. This could significantly reshape public spending priorities, transform local economies and improve access to essential services. Economic experts say decentralisation has the potential to stimulate grassroots development and improve efficiency in public service delivery.
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