Govt stirs fresh CDF controversy

Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has stirred controversy after suspending preparatory activities for implementation of the expanded K5 billion Constituency Development Fund (CDF) with analysts saying it defeats decentralisation principles and court rules. In a memo released on Wednesday, Secretary for Local Government and Rural Development the Reverend Moses Chimphepo said the decision will allow all stakeholders to participate in the exercise. The ministry argued that the decision seeks to enable all stakeholders to participate in the exercise, especially members of Parliament (MPs) and await new guidelines.

He said: “This will enable all key stakeholders to effectively participate in the participatory activities. In view of this, all the district stakeholder consultative meetings planned by councils should be postponed until further notice.” The ministry’s spokesperson Chimwemwe Njoloma yesterday said the suspension will enable MPs, who are currently engaged, to participate in the exercise. “Remember that MPs are also members of Area Development Committees [ADCs] so they are supposed to take part in these activities, while we wait for guidelines,” she said.

But in an interview yesterday, Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) executive director Hadrod Mkandawire said they have serious reservations with the directives contained in the circular. “We will be engaging the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development on the matter. For now, we reserve further comments until our engagement with the ministry,” he said.

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Malga also wrote Chimphepo wondering why councils’ business should be halted when MPs are not around yet the High Court of Malawi sitting as the Constitutional Court in June 2025 ruled that legislators are no longer members of councils. Activist Benedicto Kondowe, who chairs the Civil Society Negotiating Team on the matter, yesterday said the decision suggests that political actors at the national level, rather than community-based institutions, are being positioned to drive local development processes. In a separate interview, Centre for Social Transparency and Accountability executive director Willy Kambwandira said if the suspension is about inclusivity and improved guidelines, it must be followed by transparent reforms that separate MPs from direct control of the funds.

Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation spokesperson Williams Banda on Wednesday said the development of the guidelines is at an advanced stage, as they are now moving towards stakeholder engagement. “Donors are also pumping in resources so they have to be engaged because they want this to be performance-based, then we have MPs, Malga and councils,” he said.

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