The Malawi government has, with immediate effect, banned the use of public funds for workshops, seminars, meetings and other official engagements held away from officers’ designated duty stations, in the latest move in President Peter Mutharika’s administration’s push to rein in public spending.
The directive, issued by the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), instructs all Controlling Officers across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to stop booking external venues for government-funded activities and instead make full use of existing government facilities — including conference rooms, boardrooms and other institutional spaces already at their disposal.
“No Government-funded workshops, seminars, meetings, or other official engagements involving public employees shall be conducted outside their respective duty stations,” the OPC said in a statement signed by Chief Secretary to the Government Justin Adack K. Saidi.
Controlling Officers have been directed to fully and deliberately utilise existing government facilities at their duty stations for meetings, seminars, workshops and other official engagements, and to prohibit the use of external venues for government-funded activities altogether. They have also been told to exercise firm oversight to enforce strict compliance across their institutions, ensuring that all expenditure is properly authorised, justified and consistent with government’s austerity agenda.
The OPC framed the order as part of a broader commitment to fiscal discipline, saying it is meant to eliminate avoidable expenditure, make better use of existing public infrastructure, and ensure resources are channelled toward essential services and national development priorities.
The workshop ban adds to a series of cost-cutting measures the Mutharika administration has rolled out in 2026 as it grapples with a public wage bill that has climbed sharply in recent years — from about K479.6 billion in the 2021/22 financial year to a projected K1.6 trillion in 2025/26, according to government figures. That surge prompted a nationwide payroll and staff audit launched in December to weed out “ghost workers” and reconcile personnel records with the government’s HR database.
Treasury has also moved this year to suspend funding for a batch of government contracts signed between 2023 and 2025 pending a review of their value for money, while the Ministry of Local Government has separately cracked down on council officials who live away from their duty stations while still drawing full pay and allowances.
Workshops, seminars and travel allowances have long been a flashpoint in Malawi’s public finance debates, with critics arguing that “workshop culture” — where officials are paid sitting allowances to attend meetings, often at hotels away from their offices — has been a significant drain on the public purse.
The directive comes as government faces continued scrutiny over public spending amid a tense political backdrop, including a recent standoff between the Executive and Parliament’s Speaker over oversight committees, and reports of friction within the administration itself.
