Tempers flared during a stakeholders’ consultation on proposed constitutional amendment to the management of Constituency Development Fund (CDF), especially the role of members of Parliament (MPs) in its management.
Stakeholders, including Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) and civil society organisations (CSOs) have protested the idea of retaining MPs in the management of CDF, suggesting that the legislators’ role be confined to oversight.
Led by chairperson Gilbert Khonyongwa, the committee met separately with officials from the ministries of Local Government and Rural Development and Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Malga and CSOs on Saturday in Salima.
In his presentation, Malga executive director Hadrod Mkandawire said the Bill is an attempt to directly undermine the judicial authority and the core principles of decentralisation.
He expressed fear that if the Bill is enacted, it will erode gains Malawi has registered in the past 30 years on decentralisation and bring a serious constitutional disorder that would create conspicuous governance and rule of law challenges instead of reforms.
Mkandawire said in an interview yesterday: “We stood our ground and challenged them that we won’t [bow] down to their demand for us to concede that MPs be responsible for approving CDF projects. It didn’t end well although the chairperson was neutral and level headed on how he presided over the engagement.”
The CSOs, led by National Advocacy Platform (NAP) chairperson Benedicto Kondowe said in its current form the Bill is neither constitutionally defensible nor administratively sound.
He said any constitutional amendment, if deemed necessary, should limit itself to establishing the fund and must not designate operational roles for MPs.
Said Kondowe: “Further, such reform must be introduced as a government Bill, not a Private Member’s Bill. During the engagement, the committee inquired about the role that members of Parliament would play under a reformed CDF framework.”
The Nation sources also indicated that the team from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development went to the meeting with clearly defined roles of MPs in CDF, limiting them to oversight which did not also amuse the
legislators.
But in an inter v i ew yesterday, Khonyongwa said the consultations were generally cordial and that a report would be ready by today.
The amendment seeks to amend the Constitution to provide for the establishment of the CDF, purposes of the fund, governance of the fund, guiding principles for the governance and management and utilisation of the fund.
Meanwhile, in an advisory note to Parliament, CSOs under NAP and Malga argue that giving MPs CDF project approval roles risks drifting back towards operational involvement previously outlawed by the High Court of Malawi.
They cite experiences from Kenya, Uganda and Zambia where MP-controlled development funds have faced legal battles, politicisation, poor targeting and procurement weaknesses.
Yesterday, representatives from over 25 district CSO coalitions warned that giving MPs direct influence over CDF design and implementation would reverse the court’s ruling, concentrate excessive power in Parliament and legitimise patterns of politicisation and misuse observed before the court intervened.
Earlier, the High Court sitting as a Constitutional Court delivered a judgement in the case of Registered Trustees of Malga against Attorney General, declaring that the involvement of MPs in the management, prioritisation and implementation of the CDF and Water Resources Fund violated the doctrine of separation of powers under Sections 7, 8 and 9 of the Constitution and improperly intruded into the core functions of the Executive
