The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is moving to scrutinise the Reformed K5 billion Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects nationwide following allegations of corruption, including bid-rigging, favouritism and abuse of procurement procedures.
In a letter dated October 26 2026 addressed to local authorities and copied to Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Principal Secretary Dingiswayo Jere, ACB acting director general Gabriel Chembezi said the bureau has noted growing public concern over alleged malpractices in the awarding of CDF contracts.
He said the ACB will start monitoring the implementation of the projects and institute investigations and legal proceedings where evidence of wrongdoing emerges.
Chembezi said the alleged practices, if established, undermine public trust, compromise the quality of rural infrastructure and deprive communities of the benefits of decentralisation.
He said: “The ACB expects all local government authorities to strictly adhere to all legal, regulatory and procedural frameworks governing public financial management and procurement.
“However, in any instance where monitoring reveals divergence from established legal frameworks, the ACB will immediately institute formal investigations and criminal proceedings under the Corrupt Practices Act or any applicable law.”
According to the letter, the monitoring will cover procurement and systems reviews, spot-checks on contract execution, lifestyle audits and field inspections.
Although the bureau will give councils at least 24 hours’ notice before formal monitoring visits, Chembezi said its teams reserve the right to conduct unannounced inspections where complaints or high corruption risks are identified.
He has also directed councils to keep procurement records, CDF committee minutes, tender evaluation reports, financial vouchers and project progress reports properly documented and readily accessible to the monitoring teams.
The councils have further been asked to cooperate fully with the ACB teams and support their Institutional Integrity committees to independently monitor CDF implementation.
In an interview yesterday, ACB spokesperson Gift Mhone said officers are expected to start visiting councils next week, although preliminary work, including consultations with institutional integrity committees, have already started.
“We have been doing preparatory works,” he said.
However, Ministry of Local Government spokesperson Chimwemwe Njoloma said ACB’s involvement is part of routine safeguards under the CDF, rather than a response to the corruption allegations.
She said the ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the bureau to facilitate monitoring of the fund’s implementation.
“We are not surprised that ACB is coming in to do the monitoring because we have an MoU on the same. With or without allegations, the ACB is supposed to be on the ground monitoring the CDF,” said Njoloma.
She said the ministry had also appointed zonal focal persons to receive complaints on possible malpractices.
However, Njoloma said the ministry had not received complaints of favouritism or other irregularities in contract awards, despite providing channels through which the public could report such concerns.
She urged communities to play an active role in protecting projects, saying the current CDF model is demand-driven and encourages citizens to report suspected malpractices.
Meanwhile, National Advocacy Platform chairperson Benedicto Kondowe has welcomed the intervention, saying allegations of bid-rigging, favouritism and abuse of office in CDF procurement require impartial investigations.
“CDF was established to develop communities, not to create opportunities for personal enrichment. Reform becomes meaningless if corruption merely changes hands rather than disappears,” he said.
Kondowe said the bureau should focus on preventing corruption before public resources are lost, rather than waiting for scandals to emerge.
“Corruption in CDF procurement does not merely steal money; it steals classrooms, health facilities, roads and development opportunities from communities,” he said.
Section 10 of the Corrupt Practices Act empowers the ACB to take measures to prevent corruption.
