The Ministry of Finance has started releasing resources for the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) under a new system, with K7.9 billion already allocated for project preparation for the 2026/27 financial year.
In a statement signed by Peterson Ponderani, Principal Secretary for Decentralisation, the Ministry said unlike the previous CDF model where funds were disbursed quarterly before project identification, the new system releases implementation funds only after projects are identified, appraised and procurement completed.
“Project funding will be done after the projects have been identified, technical appraisal of the projects has been done and all the procurement processes have been completed,” the statement reads.
It also said that resources for Advance Payment to contractors will be released only after procurement is finalized and subsequent disbursements will be based on project performance and upon presentation of valid works certificates and funds requests.
The Ministry indicated that as of 1st July 2026, not all Local Councils had finalized the identification and appraisal of projects.
However, some councils have completed the process and are currently procuring contractors and once contractors are identified, Advance Payment resources will be provided to those councils.
The statement further revealed that disbursement of project preparation resources, which are part of CDF funds, started in May 2026 and as of end June 2026, a total of MK7,866,318,182, about K7.9 billion had been disbursed to Local Councils.
The Ministry confirmed that it has started disbursing resources for Youth and Women loans to the Malawi Enterprise Development Fund (MEDF).
The Ministry also described claims of delayed CDF disbursement as misleading.
