At least 12 civil society organisations have launched a blistering attack on the proposed Constituency Development Fund (CDF) constitutional amendment, warning President Peter Mutharika that signing it into law would amount to endorsing illegality, institutional sabotage and a direct assault on Malawi’s constitutional order.
In a strongly worded petition, the CSOs urge the President to reject the Bill outright, arguing that it is being forced through despite a live appeal before the Supreme Court of Appeal on the very same matter. They say proceeding under these circumstances is reckless, contemptuous of the judiciary and a dangerous signal that Parliament can simply legislate its way around unfavourable court rulings.
The organisations argue that the Bill deliberately undermines decentralisation by stripping local government councils of their constitutional mandate and replacing them with parallel structures controlled by Members of Parliament. According to the petition, this move fragments accountability, weakens councils and reverses decades of hard-won decentralisation reforms meant to bring development planning and implementation closer to the people.
“Creating parallel structures under parliamentary control weakens councils, fragments accountability, and undermines decades of decentralisation reform,” the petition reads. “The recent move by members of Parliament, amounting to a blatant overreach of legislative authority, risks undermining the goodwill and reform intent of Your Excellency’s administration to devolve development planning and implementation to Local Government Councils.”
The CSOs further accuse lawmakers of arrogantly ignoring professional legal advice. They say technical guidance from the Ministry of Justice and legislative drafting experts clearly warned against assigning executive and administrative functions to legislators, citing inherent conflicts with constitutional principles and the doctrine of separation of powers. Despite these warnings, Parliament pressed ahead, choosing political convenience over constitutional discipline.
Even more alarming, the organisations argue, is the manner in which the amendment is being pushed. They describe it as a constitutional change of immense national consequence being smuggled through as a Private Member’s Bill, without Cabinet sponsorship, meaningful public consultation or thorough legal and fiscal analysis. The CSOs warn that allowing such a precedent would open the floodgates for future constitutional tampering driven by narrow political interests rather than national consensus.
The petition is signed by the National Advocacy Platform, Malawi Local Government Association, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency, National Anti-Corruption Alliance, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, Malawi Economic Justice Network, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, Youth and Society, Nyika Institute, NGO Gender Coordination Network, Centre for Civil Society Strengthening and the Youth Decide Campaign.
When asked about the petition yesterday, Chief Secretary to the Office of the President and Cabinet Justin Saidi appeared dismissive, saying he had not yet seen the letter. “I haven’t received that yet, maybe it’s here, because my tray is full,” he said.
Legal experts, however, have already raised red flags. Former minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Fahad Assan, who participated in drafting the Constitution, has previously stated that the supreme law already provides a clear framework for managing public finances through the Public Finance Management Act, making the proposed amendment unnecessary and constitutionally suspect.
Earlier this year, the High Court of Malawi sitting as a Constitutional Court delivered a damning judgement in the case of Registered Trustees of the Malawi Local Government Association versus the Attorney General. The court ruled that the involvement of MPs in the management, prioritisation and implementation of the CDF and the Water Resources Fund violated the doctrine of separation of powers under sections 7, 8 and 9 of the Constitution and unlawfully intruded into the core functions of the Executive.
For the CSOs, the message to the President is unambiguous: signing the Bill would not only defy the courts and expert legal advice, but would also entrench a culture of impunity, weaken local governance and reduce the Constitution to a political tool rather than the supreme law of the land.
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