Government will reduce next year’s Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation below the level initially budgeted, Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane said. The Treasury is moving to contain overspending recorded this year, including…

Government will reduce next year’s Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation below the level initially budgeted, Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane said. The Treasury is moving to contain overspending recorded this year, including heavier-than-planned maize purchases for the strategic food reserve.

Dr Musokotwane said the Treasury would communicate the revised allocations to local authorities. The aim, he said, is to prevent councils from over-procuring and building up arrears on the strength of figures that will no longer hold.

The cut lands on one of the administration’s most visible programmes. CDF has risen from K1.6 million per constituency in 2021 to K40 million in 2026, a national envelope of about K6.245 billion. Constituencies have used it for classrooms, boreholes, bursaries and local empowerment schemes.

The Minister said Government had exceeded its planned spending on strategic food reserves after buying larger quantities of maize than it had budgeted for. The pressure on that line is already showing. A front-page report quoted Dr Musokotwane as saying there would be no Treasury funds for the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) next season. In Northern Province alone, the agency has bought 234,000 tonnes of maize this marketing season.

The squeeze does not end with CDF. Dr Musokotwane said Government’s limited cash position could also affect funding for road construction, as the Treasury tries to manage available resources and meet its financial obligations.

He warned that spending must urgently be aligned with available revenue. Limited revenue, he said, could affect funding for priority sectors, including free education.

The September Treasury figures show how tightly the budget is already drawn. Of the K14.6 billion released that month, K5.4 billion went to the public service wage bill. Another K5.4 billion went to debt service and arrears: K4.1 billion to domestic debt, K625.1 million to external debt and K674.2 million to clear domestic arrears. Capital expenditure received K526.9 million, of which K459.9 million went to roads.

Transfers, subsidies and social benefits took K1.8 billion. This covered K857 million for grant-aided institutions such as hospitals and universities, K435.8 million for the Social Cash Transfer, K200 million for the Food Security Pack and K120.8 million for the Local Authorities Equalisation Fund.

Dr Musokotwane said credible budgeting requires reliable revenue inflows, disciplined expenditure, sustainable debt management and stronger domestic revenue mobilisation. He tied the recent restoration of excise duty on fuel directly to that pressure.

“The excise duty on fuel has been restored to help ease fiscal pressures arising from the war in the Middle East,” the Minister said. He added that the measure would help sustain free education, school feeding and the Social Cash Transfer.

The planned CDF reduction comes days after President Hakainde Hichilema opened the 14th National Assembly. In that address, he cited the rise in CDF from K1.6 million to K40 million per constituency as evidence of development decisions moving closer to communities.

Public submissions on the 2027 national budget and the 2027 to 2029 Medium-Term Budget Plan have closed. The Treasury says it will analyse them to strengthen expenditure prioritisation and value for money.

“The 2026 budget remains under implementation. The detailed revenue and expenditure measures for 2027 will only be announced when the 2027 National Budget is presented to Parliament,” Dr Musokotwane said.

The exact size of the CDF reduction will therefore be confirmed only when the 2027 Budget is tabled. Councils will receive their revised allocations from the Treasury before then.