The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties says it has engaged two key ministries on how best to channel State funding to political parties represented in the National Assembly.
The office is seeking clarity in line with provisions in Section 40(2) of the country’s Constitution which states that “the State shall provide funds so as to ensure that, during the life of any Parliament, any political party which has secured more than one-tenth of the national vote in elections in that Parliament has sufficient funds to represent its constituency”.
The provision is also affirmed by the Political Parties Act (PPA) of 2018 in Section 21(1).
The office has since engaged Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation
Section 26 of the Political Parties Act provides that subject to the Public Audit Act and the Public Finance Management Act, the Minister of Finance may issue written instructions for the better control and efficient management of the funds to political parties.
In a written response, registrar Kizito Tenthani said yesterday that with the creation of the PPA, there has to be more clarity on the means of channelling the funds to political parties.
He said: “Since there was no ORPP, the Minister of Finance had decided that funding to political parties can best be handled by the Clerk of Parliament. So the funds to political parties have since then been appropriated through the National Assembly.
“In Kenya, South Africa and Sierra Leone, for example, you will notice that there is a formula that is prescribed. Political party funding in Kenya is regulated by their ORPP and primarily comes from the state-funded Political Parties Fund [PPF], which receives 0.3 percent of national revenue.”
This means with the current legislation, the ORPP is oblivious of how much resources have been allocated for the Democratic Progressive Party and Malawi Congress Party in the 2026/27 financial year.
On whether his office has the capacity to follow through these resources if mandated to handle them, Tenthani conceded there was none, but said the office needed to develop one because the Act gives it the mandate to follow through the state funding.
Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs spokesperson Frank Namangale was yet to respond to our questionnaire by press time yesterday.
Centre for Multiparty Democracy executive director Boniface Chibwana said in an interview yesterday that the conversation initiated by the Registrar should be supported as the country needs parties that drive democracy and economic agenda hence they should have proper secretariats.
