In northern Malawi, communities are growing increasingly frustrated as the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) continues to be mismanaged.
The fund, intended to bring tangible development, is instead being used for purposes other than intended, with some projects being of poor quality or taking too long to complete.
These failures have seen some representatives caught lying and even sent to prison.
Karonga-Chitipa: Community demands accountability
In what was formerly Karonga North West Constituency, the former legislator, Felix Katwafu Kayira (UTM Party), has come under fire from community members demanding an explanation for his use of CDF money since 2019.
This public confrontation was organised by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) of Karonga Diocese, following a formal request from the Kilupula Area Development Committee (ADC).
The ADC’s letter, dated September 23 2024, accused the former MP of unequal resource distribution, failure to attend development meetings, and a lack of transparency.
The community sought answers on why their area had not benefited from the CDF’s 20 percent bursary fund and 10 percent youth and women empowerment allocations since 2021.
During the meeting, the community was angered by the revelation that K50 million of CDF money was allegedly donated to the Karonga-Chitipa Cultural Festival in 2022.
Kayira’s explanation that the funds also went to other projects—including K3 million for mattresses at Ngerenge Community Day Secondary School and K6.2 million for a road—was swiftly challenged.
Group Village Head Mwangomba pointed out that the road was never rehabilitated and demanded evidence for the mattress purchase. “Why was the contractor paid for the rehabilitation of the said road yet he did not do anything?” he queried.
Senior Chief Kilupula condemned the diversion of public funds to a cultural event as illegal.
The the festival’s organising chairperson, Marumbo Mwamsinga, even challenged Kayira’s donation claim, stating if the festival’s entire budget was only K30 million, how can he claim to have donated K50 million to the same event?
Mzimba: A trail of unfinished, missing projects
Mzimba District is also grappling with CDF hurdles. In the 2020/21 fiscal year, K130 million of the district’s K440 million CDF allocation was misallocated to a public event, depriving communities of much-needed development projects.
In Mzimba South East Constituency, the Kabuwa CDSS Girls Hostel, despite having K53 million spent on it, remains incomplete.
The project, which was initially budgeted at K2.98 million and was supposed to be completed within a year, has received subsequent infusions of cash, including K39.1 million in February 2025. Still, it stands unfinished.
In the neighbouring Mzimba Luwerezi, a bridge at Kasongolo has stalled for four years after consuming K8 million, with only substandard pillars in place.The uncompleted Phazi Girls Hostel in the same constituency has already used K19 million, and its roofing is so substandard that community members we talked to fear it can collapse any time.
Community forum chairpersons Clement Kamanga and Kondwani Longwe both reported that many projects in their areas either exist only on paper or are of poor quality.
Accountability and legal consequences
The widespread mismanagement has led to legal consequences for some individuals.
In May, former Mzimba councillor Dan Nkosi was sentenced to four years in prison for misusing and forging CDF-related documents. He was found guilty of diverting materials meant for a health centre, a police unit, and two bridges.
Further south, in Nkhata Bay South, a market shelter at Tukombo, on which over K27 million was spent has stalled since 2019, leaving vendors without a place to operate during the rainy season.
Councillor Acran Chenya questioned the fund’s use, highlighting that a similar shelter in a nearby ward was completed with the same budget.
In Chinthenche Ward, an under-fives clinic was opened in a dilapidated state against hospital advice, while another clinic has been under construction for years with no clear budget.
The evidence points to a system where MPs hold too much power and are not held accountable, according to a civil society official working in the governance space in the district who asked not to be named.
She said the situation is dire, and as communities grow angrier, they are demanding greater transparency and consequences for those who steal from them.
