City, municipal councils face October CDF deadline

Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has cautioned city and municipal councils that they risk missing the October procurement deadline for the Reformed K5 billion Constituency Development Fund (CDF) disbursements.

The ministry’s director of administration Timpuza Mwansambo said at the opening of the two-day Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) City and Municipal Councils’ Symposium in Salima that some councils were moving too slow on CDF procurement processes.

Mwansambo: Ministry is

not happy with delays.

| Ntchindi Meki

“The ministry is not happy with delays, especially with procurements. As I am speaking, certain councils have not yet delivered what they are supposed to deliver,” he said.

Mwansambo said councils that failed to submit their projections, plans and budgets on time will only be considered for funding in October, warning that “time is ticking”.

He said the message came from Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Ben Phiri, who is out of the country. He said the minister is closely monitoring the performance of each council.

The warning comes after six councils missed the first CDF disbursement earlier this month for failing to complete procurement processes.

Blantyre City, Kasungu Municipality, Blantyre District, Chikwawa, Kasungu, Mulanje and Nsanje district councils did not receive any share of the K85.5 billion released to 30 other councils as advance payment to contractors.

The CDF allocation rose from K200 million to K5 billion per constituency in the 2026/27 financial year and accounts for K1.145 trillion of the K10.9 trillion National Budget, covering 229 constituencies.

Civil society organisations have since raised concern over the delays, warning that slow disbursement could leave communities without water and road infrastructure as the rainy season approaches.

The CDF roll-out has faced repeated delays since the 2026/27 National Budget came into effect on April 1, with implementation initially scheduled to begin on July 1.

In July, MPs from across the political divide accused government of dragging its feet on the rollout, leaving development projects stalled.

Malga executive director Hadrod Mkandawire said in an interview that some of the delays could be linked to confusion surrounding the reformed CDF guidelines.

Malga president Isaac Jomo Osman, who is also Blantyre City Council mayor, identified implementation as one of the biggest challenges facing local councils.

The symposium brings together mayors, deputy mayors and chief executive officers from the four city councils, three municipal councils and Karonga Town Council to share lessons on service delivery and infrastructure.

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