The Treasury has slashed the allocation to the presidency vote, which caters for salaries for the State President and Vice President, The Daily Times has established.
According to Budget Document Number 5, in the 2024-25 proposed budget, the vote was allocated K118.12 million.
However, the vote has been allocated K107.57 billion in the 2025-26 proposed budget.
Next year, the Treasury has projected that the vote will be allocated K118.38 million.
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The development has left Malawians wondering as to whether President Lazarus Chakwera and his Vice President Michael Usi have opted to take a pay cut this year—at a time commodity prices are on the upward trajectory.
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Scotland-based economist Velli Nyirongo said the Treasury needed to come out clearly to explain the reasons behind the budget cut.
In an interview on Tuesday, Treasury spokesperson Williams Banda said salaries are budgeted for based on the actual expenditure at a particular expenditure performance.
“So, lower provisions are reflective of the status quo,” Banda said, without elaborating.
While the budget for the presidency vote has gone down, the Treasury and increased the allocation for State residencies from K61.432 billion in the 2024-25 budget to K67.322 billion in the 2025-26 proposed budget.
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Within the State Residencies allocation, the amount going towards the President’s office and resident management has gone up from K25.041 billion in the 2024-25 budget to K28.437 billion in the 2025-26 proposed budget.
Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda presented the K8.05 trillion national budget statement on Friday.
He described it as “production-oriented”.
