CDF Row Erupts at Lilongwe City Council Over K5 Billion Projects

Tension briefly flared at Lilongwe City Council (LCC) on Wednesday after Members of Parliament (MPs) and councillors disagreed over the implementation of projects under the K5 billion Constituency Development Fund (CDF), particularly plans to improve untarred roads across the city.

The disagreement arose during a stakeholders’ meeting called by LCC Chief Executive Officer Clement Stambuli to discuss the use of part of the CDF allocation for road construction and maintenance.

The meeting brought together MPs, councillors, Constituency Development Committees (CDCs), constituency assistant accountants, public works supervisors and procurement officers.

According to the council, K300 million has been allocated under the District Wide Fund to hire equipment for the construction and improvement of untarred roads in Lilongwe.

However, the meeting was temporarily disrupted after some MPs objected to the proposed District Wide Fund arrangement and walked out of the council chamber in protest.

Some councillors and council officials also left the chamber as efforts were made to resolve the disagreement.

Stambuli later described the incident as a misunderstanding, saying some leaders had allegedly received information suggesting that decisions on the projects had already been made without their involvement.

“There was no major problem. It was mainly a misunderstanding. There were rumours that some leaders were already aware of the jobs, but after we explained the situation, they realised that what they had heard and what is actually being done are two different things,” said Stambuli.

He said the stakeholders eventually understood the implementation arrangements and the meeting resumed.

Stambuli explained that the road projects were identified through CDCs and that the council decided to bring all relevant stakeholders together to ensure smooth implementation.

“Having the CDF programme, we felt it was proper to bring all the stakeholders together so that we can start working together,” he said.

He said the council does not have adequate road construction equipment and has consequently hired machinery, while the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) has deployed engineers to assist with the works.

“We will be working hand in hand with the MDF and committees in various constituencies. We must also understand that CDF projects are a way of devolving funds to the grassroots, and that is why we are further devolving the funds to constituencies,” Stambuli said.

He added that part of the K5 billion CDF allocation would be used to hire equipment for road construction and improvement.

After about 40 minutes of boycott and discussions, the MPs and councillors returned to the chamber and the meeting continued.

The council is expected to spend K300 million on the construction and improvement of untarred roads, including graveling selected roads in Lilongwe’s locations and townships.