Suleman Chitera 
By Suleman Chitera
LILONGWE — Karonga Central Member of Parliament and National Development Party (NDP) president Frank Tumpale Mwenifumbo has welcomed President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika’s decision to significantly increase the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), describing the move as a major boost to grassroots development.
Mwenifumbo has hailed the increase of CDF from about K200 million to K5 billion per constituency, saying the expanded allocation gives constituencies greater financial capacity to implement development projects that directly respond to the needs of local communities.
The NDP president said the increase represents a significant shift in the resources available for constituency-level development and could provide communities with greater opportunities to address long-standing infrastructure and social development needs.
His remarks come at a time when government is stepping up the release of CDF resources to local councils. In September 2026, government announced the release of more than K85.5 billion to 30 local councils for CDF projects after procurement processes had been completed and contractors identified.
Additional CDF-related resources have also been released for areas including school bursaries, youth and women loans, project management, sports development and creative arts.
For Mwenifumbo, the significance of the K5 billion allocation lies in its potential to put substantially more development resources within constituencies and enable locally identified priorities to receive greater financial attention.
The Karonga Central legislator has therefore commended Mutharika for what he sees as a stronger financial commitment to constituency development.
The increase also places greater responsibility on Members of Parliament, councils and communities to ensure that the resources are properly managed and translated into visible development projects.
CDF projects are implemented through local government structures and are intended to support community priorities, including infrastructure and other development programmes.
The government has said the timely release of CDF resources is part of its broader decentralisation agenda and is intended to accelerate implementation of projects at community level.
Mwenifumbo’s endorsement adds parliamentary support to the expanded CDF programme, with the Karonga Central legislator emphasising the importance of ensuring that increased financial resources ultimately produce tangible benefits for people in constituencies across Malawi.
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