After starving and strangling local councils through prolonged funding delays in the previous financial year, the Malawi Government now appears determined to finish them off altogether in the 2025/2026 fiscal year.
This is the chilling warning from a new fiscal space analysis released by the Malawi Local Government Association (MALGA), the umbrella body for all local authorities in the country.
According to the analysis, between April and June–the first quarter of the current fiscal year–government released just MK41.4 billion out of the expected MK58.9 billion, leaving a yawning deficit of MK14.9 billion. Even worse, councils received their June funding a staggering 45 days late.
“These funding cuts and delays are gravely undermining budget credibility in local authorities,” the report says bluntly. “It has become almost impossible for councils to carry out their basic functions to serve citizens.”
The situation is dire: the MK41.4 billion disbursed so far represents only 33 percent of the MK178 billion annual allocation.
Essential services–such as public health, education, and agriculture–are being crippled by the shortfalls.
To make matters worse, the analysis highlights how high inflation is eroding what little money councils are receiving.
“With inflation averaging 29.2 percent as of April 2025, delays in disbursement drastically reduce the real value of the funds,” the report warns, urging the government to act swiftly.
No official comment was immediately available from the central government.
However, MALGA Executive Director Hadrod Zeru Mkandawire was unflinching in his response.
“These continued delays and funding cuts should finally make government feel pity on the councils,” he said.
Mkandawire emphasized that intergovernmental fiscal transfers are a constitutional obligation under Section 150 (1) of the Malawi Constitution.
“Given the currently low levels of locally generated revenue, government has an even greater duty to adequately fund councils so they can carry out their mandated functions,” he added.
