Parliament yesterday unanimously supported a motion by Mzimba South member of Parliament (MP) Emmanuel Chambulanyina Jere (Malawi Congress Party-MCP) to formulate a law that will guide the management and administration of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
Reads the motion: “That considering the absence of an appropriate legal framework governing the Constituency Development Fund and the resultant challenges that have arisen in the management of CDF owing to such absence, this House resolves that appropriate Private Members’ Bills be introduced in the House in order to provide for an appropriate legal framework for the proper management of the Constituency Development Fund.”
Presenting the motion in Parliament, the legislator said if passed into law, the Bill would provide an appropriate legal framework for proper management of the CDF.
CDF is a public financing initiative that channels budgeted funds directly from the central government to constituencies to support locally determined development priorities.
Jere observed that currently, CDF is regulated by guidelines some of which were recently found to be problematic by the Constitutional Court
Stated the MP: “Whilst we celebrate the many successes of the CDF and its contribution to decentralization; it must be stated that there have also been challenges along the way. Key among these is the absence of an appropriate legal framework governing and regulating CDF operations. The CDF is currently being regulated by guidelines, parts of which were recently found to be problematic by the Constitutional Court.”
He further noted that Malawi can draw valuable lessons from other countries to strengthen its CDF framework.
“Kenya and Zambia , f o r instance, have robust lega l frameworks including Acts of Parliament, which govern the CDF. These legal frameworks have signif icantly improved transparency, accountability, and citizen participation. In this regard, Mr Speaker Sir, I beg to move that appropriate Bills be introduced in the House in order to provide for an appropriate legal framework for the management of the CDF,” stated Jere.
According to the MP, the Bills will also be in line with the recent presidential address and will further aim to address issues raised by the Judiciary on the CDF.
He was referring to a May 2025 ruling by the High Court of Malawi sitting as a Constitutional Court, which outlawed a provision in the Local Government Act which handed MPs voting rights at council level as ex-officio members, arguing that the arrangement compromised their oversight role and was unconstitutional.
In his ministerial statement on Monday this week, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Ben Phiri also directed MPs to stay clear of council meetings in line with the Constitutional Court ruling.
The minister announced that new guidelines for the management of CDF, whose allocation is set to increase in the next financial year to K5 billion from the current K220 million per year, are being developed and will be presented to Parliament after Cabinet approval.
Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman then posed the question for the House either to adopt or reject the motion to which the House unanimously accepted it.
Said Suleman as his gavel descended to the lectern, “The I’s have it and the motion is carried.”
In an interview, Jere said the Bill is at consultation and lobbying stage, but soon he will give a seven-day notice to Parliament before the Bill is brought to the House on any of the remaining Private Members Days.
Meanwhile, legal expert Khumbo Soko has described the move as a great development, but hoped that when putting the law in place the MPs will be able to address the constitutional gaps that were identified by the High Court in the May 2025 case.
In a statement issued yesterday, National Advocacy Platform (NAP) also praised the move, saying the law, when passed, will deepen community participation and ownership of projects, align project identification and implementation with public finance and local governance laws and strengthen oversight to prevent abuse and leakage of public funds.
In the statement, signed by chairperson Benedicto Kondowe and Baxton Nkhoma, NAP also calls for fast-tracking of the processes and the need to ensure public dissemination of the CDF guidelines and broad stakeholder consultations.
Reads part of the statement: “The law will strengthen audit, procurement and social accountability mechanisms, including citizen oversight and public disclosure of all CDF projects and contracts. Will ensure transparent recruitment, reconstitution, and performance monitoring of Village Development Committees (VDCs) and Area Development Committees (ADCs) to avoid politicisation of projects and ensure they serve communities effectively.”
Since its inception in 2006/07 financial year, funding for the CDF has expanded significantly alongside national budget growth supported by domestic revenue and foreign aid.
