By Mercy Matonga:
Members of Parliament (MP) Tuesday debate on the 2025-26 national budget, which Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda presented to the House weeks ago.
MP for Dowa East-cum-Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda was the first to speak on the budget.
Chimwendo Banda expressed satisfaction with this year’s national budget, and said that the Minister of Finance has prioritised agriculture, infrastructure development and health service delivery.
On the issue of dry spell, he said his constituency was one of the areas affected, lauding Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale for increasing funding to the agriculture sector.
Chimwendo Banda cited irrigation and mega farms as some of the areas that had been considered in the budget.
“I would like to thank the President [Lazarus Chakwera] for introducing a budget that will benefit all Malawians, especially in [the area of] agriculture. In my area, there are places where maize has not done well due to climate challenges but the Minister of Agriculture has increased the budget for the purchase of maize to distribute to affected families,” he said.
He further praised the President for investing significantly in national development through infrastructure projects, such as road and National Cancer Centre construction, which he said would soon be fully operational.
On his part, Mzuzu City MP Bennex Mwamulima said that there was a need for leaders to be fully committed to development efforts rather than politics to drive the country’s progress.
“What is destroying Malawi is that people are more connected to their political parties than to the government, a development that has fuelled corruption. I want to appeal to all citizens to start respecting the government more than their parties to foster national development,” Mwamulima said.
He further said seasonal rainfall alone could not sustain the country’s food security goals, highlighting the need for diversified farming methods such as solar irrigation.
“I am glad that this government has intensified irrigation efforts, which will ensure enough food for both consumption and sale,” Mwamulima added.
However, Rumphi West MP Yona Mkandawire said while the budget was well-crafted and had the potential to develop the country if properly implemented, he raised concerns over rising national debt, which has now surpassed K16 trillion.
He asked the government to explain how much of the borrowed funds had been allocated to production and how much was planned for future investments.
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