MCP MP demands DPP slash CDF pledge from K5bn to K500m

Salima North MP Maxwell Mnjema, speaking at a political gathering in Lilongwe, tore into the DPP’s financial credibility, accusing the government of wildly over‑promising and now scrambling to avoid the embarrassment of failing to deliver. Mnjema said the DPP had effectively “written a cheque it can’t cash,” insisting the K5 billion figure was never realistic and warning that ministers were misleading voters by pretending the money existed. He argued the government should immediately scale down the pledge to K1 billion — or even K500 million — to avoid further humiliation.

His remarks, delivered at an event hosted by Lilongwe Chilobwe MP Lawrence Chakakala Chaziya, exposed what appears to be growing unrest inside the opposition benches, with MCP MPs openly questioning the DPP’s fiscal discipline and accusing the government of political showmanship over genuine development planning. The CDF — a pot of money meant to fund constituency‑level projects such as boreholes, school blocks and clinics — has become one of Malawi’s most contentious political battlegrounds. Constituents across the country continue to demand answers on when the promised funds will actually arrive, and Mnjema’s intervention will only intensify pressure on the DPP to explain how it intends to honour its commitments.

His comments raise fresh questions about how the K5 billion figure was ever approved, and whether any serious financial modelling was done before the pledge was announced. Critics are already seizing on the MP’s remarks as evidence that the CDF has become a political tool rather than a properly costed development programme. For ordinary Malawians still waiting for stalled projects, Mnjema’s admission will come as a bitter blow, reinforcing fears that the government may have promised far more than it can deliver. The Ministry of Local Government has been approached for comment.