Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has asked Parliament to review commissioners’ benefits because austerity measures coupled with rising cost of living and legal concerns have eroded conditions of service approved last year.
MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja told the Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of Parliament in Lilongwe yesterday that the government’s expenditure controls had reduced the value of commissioners’ benefits and created implementation challenges.
“The Public Appointments Committee is responsible for establishing and reviewing our conditions of service. We came to present the challenges we are facing and the adjustments we would wish to propose,” she said.
MEC cited reduced travel and fuel benefits, removal of top-up allowances for fully funded retreats and concerns that housing support no longer matches market rates or commissioners’ security requirements.
Mtalimanja, a judge of the High Court of Malawi, said the benefits revised in April 2025 have been overtaken by economic conditions.
“It is the commission’s belief that circumstances now justify adjustments to restore, and even improve, the net value of the revision made in April 2025,” she said.
Mtalimanja said austerity measures had downgraded business-class travel to economy class, cut fuel entitlements by 30 percent and removed top-up allowances as well as daily subsistence allowances for fully funded retreats.
She also expressed concern over accommodation, saying current housing allowances fall below prevailing market rates for secure housing suitable for commissioners.
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“It is not a matter of choice. It is about ensuring commissioners are kept safe at all times,” said Mtalimanja.
But she assured PAC that the concerns had not disrupted MEC operations.
PAC vice-chairperson Joshua Malango said the committee noted MEC’s concerns and would consult relevant authorities, including Treasury.
“There are issues surrounding conditions of service and interpretation of government austerity measures,” he said.
Malango acknowledged concerns about possible conflicts between expenditure controls and legal protections governing commissioners’ terms.
He said PAC would seek the Secretary to the Treasury’s position before making a determination.
The matter is likely to rekindle debate over how government balances austerity measures with maintaining conditions necessary for independent constitutional bodies.
Meanwhile, PAC’s other meetings with the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation board and the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority have been rescheduled after the institutions requested weekend engagements due to scheduling constraints.
But Centre for Social Accountability executive director Willy Kambwandira has questioned the decision to move the engagement from Parliament in Lilongwe to Salima this weekend, saying that the development risks creating perceptions of weakened parliamentary oversight.
