Yesterday’s decision by the High Court of Malawi sitting as a Constitutional Court to delink legislators from the administration of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) mirrors a regional trend.
In countries such as Kenya, Zambia and Tanzania, the role of members of Parliament (MPs) in local development has also been queried.
The Nation found that legal and regulatory frameworks across the region show that in some countries, MPs are part of the administration of this fund while in others, there are legal safeguards on the role an MP can play.
in Mzimba. | Nation
The analysis also reveals that in neighbouring countries within the region, it is an established standard that CDF is guided by its own Act of Parliament with legally binding functions.
Kenya
Last year, the High Court in Kenya ruled that the National Government Constituency Development Fund is unconstitutional because it violates principles of decentralisation.
However, the court granted members of the National Assembly two years to complete any pending projects before the fund lapses on June 30 2026.
This is different from Malawi where the court has allowed the fund to continue to exist, but without the involvement of MPs as prescribed in the guidelines.
The difference is that the CDF in Kenya was established by an Act of Parliament. The law also prescribes that the CDF shall be a national fund constituting of moneys or an amount of not less than 2.5 percent of all national government ordinary revenue collected in every financial year.
In Malawi, CDF allocation is dependent on political will, and the fund can be raised as deemed fit.
The law has established a board known as the Constituencies Development Fund Board.
In Kenya, the board constitutes a principal secretary for economic planning/ finance, Attorney General or anyone not below the level of senior State counsel and four persons qualified in matters of accounting, finance, economics, engineering, community development appointed by the Cabinet secretary. So while projects are community-driven, the board has a role to approve these and also responsible for monitoring.
Zambia
The CDF was first established in 1995 to support micro-community projects as part of the wider decentralisation and local development policy. This is the same spirit in Malawi.
However, two major differences are that the administration of CDF in Zambia is constitutionally governed.
The Zambian model provides clear accountability mechanisms, which include regular monitoring exercises. The guidelines require production of monthly progress reports, quarterly and annual consolidated reports that are shared at council and central government levels.
The minister responsible appoints committee members who include two nominees from MPs, three councillors two of whom are elected by councillors and one by the MP, a representative each from chiefs, civil society organisations.
Tanzania
It is called the Constituencies Development Catalyst Fund (CDFC) established under an Act of Parliament and has regulations to guide implementation.
In the spirit of decentralisation, each constituency has a CDCF account opened by the Council with a minimum of two signatories from the council secretariat. This is also similar to Malawi where the council is responsible for withdrawals.
The law establishes the Constituencies Development Catalyst Committees which shall have seven members. The MP is the chairperson. Two councillors are nominated by the council, one of whom is a woman. There are also two ward executive officers and one nominee from the NGO sector. District planning officer is the Secretary for the committee. The involvement of CSOs is also seen in the Zambian committee, but absent in the Malawian case , raising accountability concerns.
