A week after Malawi News reported that Treasury has not funded all councils for two months, government has finally started releasing funds for Other Recurrent Transactions (ORT) and General Resource Fund (GRF) to the councils.
But the funding is for the month of June only.
In separate interviews, several DCs who opted for anonymity confirmed the development but they said the funding will not cover the gap created over the past two months.
The DC’s corroborated that the money will be used to cover current expenses but also pay back some of the internal loans that were accrued when the councils had no funding.
“We have the funding but it is only for June. That was not our expectation. We did not get funding for two months and that means we were dry for two months and that means the gap that is there is for two months.
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“But now what it means is we will have to manage the one-month funding for the gaps created but also the expenses now. We are now in August and if we keep moving like this, surely we will keep moving in circles. All the same we are happy something has been sent our way,” one DC said.
Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) Executive Director Hadrod Mkandawire said releasing funding for only month to cover a gap created over two months is like mopping a floor under a leaking roof.
Mkandawire said government should have settled all the two months funding arrears if councils are to start operating as per expected.
“Our expectation was that the funding missed in the two months would be combined to ease the pressure that has been there; so the fears are that this will be carried on where monthly funding will be delayed throughout,” he said.
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Mkandawire has since pleaded with government to quickly release funding for both July and August to help smoothen operations in councils.
“Much as we appreciate the release of the June funding, it will be no work done if the money is given in such bits and pieces,” he said.
Secretary to the Treasury MacDonald Mafuta Mwale said in a text that he would call back later for his comment.
Malawi has 35 local government councils comprising four city councils of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Zomba and Mzuzu, two municipal councils, namely Luchenza in Thyolo and Kasungu, one town council in Mangochi and 28 district councils.
