Political Index Feature

Who should control CDF wallet?

The CDF is meant for development projects such as construction of bridges
The CDF is meant for development projects such as construction of bridges

By now, the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) could have stamped a mark of hope on the country’s development sheet. Its nine-year journey of funding small-scale development projects has seen billions being invested in fighting poverty.

CDF is entrusted in the hands of members of Parliament (MPs), and by last year, its allocation had risen from an annual K1 million (about $2 500) in the 2006/2007 financial year to the current K7 million (about $17 500) for each constituency.

At national level, the allocation has increased from K193 million (about $483 500) to K1.3 billion (about $3.2m).

However, in these nine years, stories of CDF have hardly inspired confidence. In December 2011, the office of the Auditor General released the first comprehensive audit report on CDF funds.

The report, which audited accounts of district councils for 2006, 2007 and 2008, showed that about K107 million (about $267 500) was spent without the approval of internal procurement committees (IPC) at Salima, M’mbelwa, Karonga, Nkhata Bay, Mulanje and Phalombe district councils.

According to Rockford Kampanje, the then Auditor General, the CDF was ‘being heavily abused’.

Of course, since then, there has not been any comprehensive report regarding CDF.

However, early last year, MPs from Ntcheu formed a task force which queried the district council to refund in installments the K11 million (about $27 500) meant for seven constituencies for projects under CDF.

The funds were said ‘to have been diverted to other projects’.

Following the diversion of the money, some contractors were forced to abandon projects for non-payment of their dues, a situation which forced some MPs to use money from their pockets.

These gestures, according Dr Henry Chingaipe, a development and governance specialist, shows that the management and implementation of CDF is rather poor and uninspiring.

“The story of CDF in all the districts is littered with stories of abuse, unnecessary politicisation of development projects by MPs and the deepest deficit of accountability both for the money and the for the results that the fund has achieved,” he says.

He recommends the need to reform in the implementation and operational framework.

As part of the need to reform management of CDF, the National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice Public Trust), with support from the European Union (EU) has been holding public debates in the country institutions of higher learning.

The debates—which tackle the necessity of having MPs voting at the council meetings—are seeking views from university students and their lecturers on whether it is necessary for MPs to continue being involved in the implementation of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and Local Development Fund (LDF).

During the debate at Chancellor College—the country’s centre for liberal arts where politics and law are taught—the question of reforming CDF’s management attracted critical analyses from the debate’s panelists and participants.

Deputy Mayor for Zomba City underlined that as long as MPs are custodians of the CDF wallet, the fund will continue to face abuse.

“What we should know is that it is us, councillors, who are should manage development at the council level. It is what the philosophy of decentralisation demands. An MP’s job is to make laws in Parliament,” he said.

He added that councillors have been left with an avenue which they can use to facilitate development in their areas with MPs controlling CDF.

Making his contribution, Chancellor College political science lecturer Boniface Dulani said the best way to manage CDF is to take it away from MPs and give it to councils, not councillors.

“We need to wean off CDF from the hands of politicians as soon as possible. I guess politicians should just be providing checks and balances. Not them controlling the wallet,” he said.

Dulani further said he understands why MPs would barely let CDF go.

“Both MPs and Councillors campaign on the premise of bringing development to their respective area of influence. Now CDF helps MPs to fulfill the development they promised,” he said.

Dulani noted that as part of reforming the process, it might be imperative if even the wording CDF is changed.

“MPs manage constituencies and as long as it is called ‘Constituency’ Development Fund (CDF) it will always fall into their hands. We need to rethink this fund so that it goes to the councils. I am sure this process will bring in many players in its management, as a result, some level of independence would be achieved,” Dulani said.

While agreeing with Dulani on the need to put CDF management in the hands of the councils, fourth year law student Lusungu Mtonga, however, argued that MPs need not have power to vote at the council—even on CDF issues.

“We need to develop a culture of respecting the boundaries between the Legislature and Executive, and again, the central and local government. MPs should focus on making laws, not being voting members at council level.

“As long we do not control the extent of influence of MPs at the council, I don’t think CDF will be effective. It will only turn out to be a battlefront between MPs and councillors—which is not healthy to local development,” he said.

Policy and development specialist Blessings Chinsinga argues in an article titled The Interface between Local Level Politics, Constitutionalism and State Formation in Malawi through the Lens of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) that after refusing to pass the 2006/2007 national budget, opposition MPs used the passing of the budget as a bargaining chip to force the government to bow down to their demands for a CDF.

Taking advantage of their dominance in Parliament, the opposition insisted that they would pass the budget only if the CDF was accommodated.

One parliamentarian described the CDF as “a tool that we used to bargain with government to have the budget passed. So, they gave us CDF and we passed the budget”.

“The pressure by opposition political parties to force government to hold local polls has never been so great and sustained as it were before the establishment of the CDF in the 2006/07 fiscal year.

“The argument of most observers is that the establishment of the CDF has tremendously pacified parliamentarians across the political divide because it serves their selfish political interests that are central to building a potentially successful political career without having to dig deep into their own private vaults,” writes Chinsinga.

Against such a background, it remains to be seen if MPs would allow CDF to slip through their fingers.

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