Minister of Local Government , Unity and Culture Richard Chimwendo Banda has told councils to continue implementing Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects despite a recent court ruling because existing contracts remain legally-binding.
The minister issued the directive in Salima yesterday during the 2023/24 Local Authori ty Per formance Assessment (Lapa) awards ceremony.
His sentiments follow a judgement in May this year by the High Court of Malawi sitting as a Constitutional Court that barred members of Parliament (MPs) from managing CDF and Water Resource Funds, c i ting violations of separation of powers and conflict of interest.
But Chimwendo Banda clarified that the ruling only stripped lawmakers of their management roles. He said halting ongoing projects would harm communities.
He said: “Communities should not suffer due to misunderstandings. CDF is continuing and will always operate. Councils should not misinterpret the court’s decision.”
Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) executive director Hadrod Mkandawire, in an interview yesterday, agreed with the minister’s position, saying the court only revoked MPs’ roles in fund administration.
“No one has the authority to reverse this other than the Supreme Court. As Local Government Authorities, we already have a framework for managing and administering funds meant for local development,” he said.
During the Lapa awards, Neno District Council, which previously ranked 25th, surged to first place with a score of 93 percent. It was followed by Dowa and Nkhotakota district councils in second and third respectively, having been in positions one and six in the previous Lapa. Notably, 15 councils performed above the national average of 72 percent.
Chimwendo Banda also warned underperforming councils, including Likoma, Lilongwe, Mulanje, Mchinji, Karonga and Chitipa to accelerate project completion ahead of imminent final assessments or risk exclusion from the next funding cycle.
Government, from the 2024/25 financial year, through the ministry and the National Local Government Fi n a n c e Commi t t e e (NLGFC), is implementing yet another programme, the Regional Climate Resilience Programme-2 (RCRP-2) with funding from the World Bank.
The ministry and NLGFC disbursed K17.3 billion to all local authorities in 2023/24 and yesterday disbursed K21 billion.
