Govt disburses K85.5bn for CDF, 6 councils out

The Malawi Government has disbursed K85.5 billion under the Reformed K5 billion Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to 30 of the 36 local councils to enable them pay contractors to mobilise resources for projects.

However, Blantyre City alongside Blantyre, Chikwawa, Kasungu, Mulanje and Nsanje district councils have not been funded after failing to complete the procurement processes for CDF projects.

Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Principal Secretary for Decentralisation Peterson Ponderani and his Local Government and Rural Development counterpart Moses Chimphepo said in a statement that the funding will enable contractors to mobilise and begin work.

The two officials said government has in September also released K5.49 billion for project management costs and K2.86 billion for sports development, creative arts and innovation.

Co-signed the statement:

Chimphepo. | Nation

They said a further K17.18 billion was disbursed in August for school bursaries, while K15 billion for youth and women loans was released in April. Project management costs amounting to K18.84 billion were also released between May and August.

In an interview yesterday, Malawi Local Government Authorities (Malga) president Isaac Jomo Osman acknowledged that some councils were yet to complete the procurement of contractors.

He said councils had to follow thorough procurement procedures because the projects involved billions of kwacha.

“We did not want to do haphazard work in the procurement of contractors. We took our time and have completed all the requirements. We should be able to unlock the funding and implement our projects,” said Osman, who is also Blantyre City mayor.

On his part, Parliament’s Local Authorities and Rural Development Committee chairperson Edward Chileka Banda welcomed the disbursement but said Parliament would conduct an oversight exercise to verify whether the money was reaching councils and financing projects on the ground.

“It is one thing for Treasury to disburse the funds and it is another to see the funds reaching the beneficiaries or suppliers,” he said.

Chileka Banda also urged the public to consider how much of the total CDF allocation had so far been released.

Meanwhile, Malga executive director Hadrod Mkandawire cautioned that the figures announced by government had not yet translated into actual credits in councils’ bank accounts.

He said councils had so far received indications of the amounts expected, with the actual funds yet to be credited.

Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira has said leaving six councils without funding meant communities were being penalised for institutional shortcomings.

He also questioned whether procurement delays were genuinely responsible for the funding gaps or were being used to mask wider fiscal constraints.

Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development spokesperson Chimwemwe Njoloma said the released funds represented 20 percent of each council’s submission for project procurement.

She said further disbursements would depend on councils’ submissions and the availability of resources.

The country has 229 constituencies, each earmarked to receive K5 billion for development projects, translating to a potential national CDF allocation of K1.145 trillion. This compares with K220 million per constituency allocated under the CDF in the previous financial year.

Parliament approved a combined K1.25 trillion allocation for councils in the K10.9 trillion 2026/27 National Budget, comprising K1.145 trillion for development, including the CDF and K109.3 billion for Other Recurrent Transactions.

In the 2026/27 financial year, CDF has effectively absorbed other development funding windows, including the District Development Fund, Water Resources Fund, Infrastructure Development Fund and Hospital Rehabilitation funds.

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