- About six in 10 Malawians (62%) say they have not heard of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). Only 38% report being aware of it (Figure 1).
- Among those who are aware of the CDF: o Close to seven in 10 (68%) say the doubling of funding amounts in 2024/2025 was justified (Figure 2). o Almost three-fourths (72%) say MPs or other politicians benefit most from the CDF, 10 times the proportion (7%) who think that ordinary Malawians are the primary beneficiaries (Figure 3). o More than half (55%) say the CDF should be discontinued, while 43% want it to continue (Figure 4). o An overwhelming majority (91%) say the use of CDF resources should be decided by constituency committees comprising multiple stakeholders rather than MPs alone (Figure 5).
- More than four in 10 citizens (43%) say village or area development committees would be best placed to manage local development projects, while 25% would assign this task to MPs (Figure 6).
A majority of Malawians who have heard of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) say politicians benefit more from the fund than ordinary citizens do, and most want local stakeholder committees to manage it instead of members of Parliament (MPs), according to an Afrobarometer survey.
Public opinion aligns strongly with this week’s landmark judgement in which Malawi’s Constitutional Court declared the current arrangement of the CDF – specifically, the involvement of MPs and the voting rights they have enjoyed in managing the fund – unconstitutional.
Survey findings show that fewer than four in 10 Malawians have heard of the CDF. Among those who have, a slim majority say it should be abolished. Assuming the CDF is continued, an overwhelming majority say the use of the funds should be determined by constituency committees rather than MPs. Two-thirds support the 2024 increase to K200 million per constituency.
In general, citizens are most likely to point to grassroots committees as best placed to manage community development initiatives, although one-fourth think MPs should do the job.