Court orders MPs out of CDF power at council level

The Constitutional Court sitting in Lilongwe has ruled that Members of Parliament (MPs) will no longer be involved in managing the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and the Water Resource Fund at council level.

In a landmark judgment, the court also stripped MPs of their voting rights in local councils, arguing that their dual role as both lawmakers and participants in council decision-making creates a conflict of interest that undermines their oversight function.

“We find that the presence of MPs and affording them voting rights under Section 5(1) of the Local Government Act is unconstitutional,” the judges said in their ruling.

The court further declared the guidelines introduced by the government to formalize MPs’ involvement in managing the two funds as unconstitutional and ordered that they should not be implemented in full. Instead, the court directed that the guidelines be revised to allow a different stakeholder to take over the MPs’ role.

“The Defendant’s action to implement policies under the said Guidelines is unconstitutional,” reads part of the ruling.

The case was decided in favour of the claimant, who was also awarded costs.

The judgment was delivered in open court by a three-judge panel comprising Justice Mzonde Mvula, Justice Howard Pemba, and Justice Eddah Ngwira-Mwakibinga.

The Malawi Local Government Authority, as the claimant, petitioned the Constitutional Court to declare as unconstitutional the Guidelines that assign Members of Parliament (MPs) an executive role in the selection, prioritization, and implementation of local development projects.

The claimant argued that such involvement undermines the principle of separation of powers and also sought a declaration that the implementation of these Guidelines is unlawful.

Furthermore, the claimant challenged the constitutionality of granting voting rights to MPs in their capacity as ex officio members of local councils under Section 5(1) of the Local Government Act.

Lastly, the claimant asked the court to declare Section 5 of the Act itself unconstitutional for making MPs ex officio members of the councils, thereby creating a conflict of interest that compromises their oversight role.