Commission faces hurdles, wants extra K2bn funding

The National Planning Commission (NPC) says it is facing a number of challenges, including limited government financing, inflation-driven price increases and inadequate funding for its critical programmes. In view of this, the commission’s director general Frederick Changaya has appealed for an additional K2 billion to address critical operational gaps and strengthen the implementation of Malawi 2063 (MW2063), the country’s long-term development plan. He made the appeal on Thursday in Lilongwe during a meeting with the Parliamentary Cluster on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and Public Appointments.

“Austerity measures are in place, but we need more resources to drive development,” said Changaya. In the proposed 2026/27 National Budget, Treasury has allocated K4.4 billion to the commission with K1.3 billion for personal emoluments while K903 million is for other recurrent transactions. Changaya said the additional funding will support several priority areas, including K117 million for developing bankable projects in selected value chains, K323 million for project oversight and strategic interventions and K950 million for purchasing motor vehicles to strengthen the commission’s operational capacity.

He said K162 million is required for upgrading information and communication technology infrastructure while K400 million is needed for construction-related projects for the commission. He said despite its central role in coordinating and monitoring the implementation of MW2063, the commission continues to operate under constrained funding. “The commission aims to address these gaps and enhance its capacity to implement key national development initiatives,” he said.

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Parliamentary Cluster on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and Public Appointments chairperson Sylvester Ayuba James supported the commission’s request for additional funding, citing its mandate of driving the country’s development agenda. “The only question is where do we get that money from? The budget has a shortfall and you cannot execute your mandate properly if you are not adequately funded,” he said.

James said the commission’s financial challenges are largely due to inadequate resource allocation rather than institutional inefficiency. NPC is responsible for coordinating the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of MW2063, a blueprint that seeks to turn the country into a lower middle-income economy by 2030 and an upper middle-income economy by 2063.

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