By Temwa Tembo

Zomba City Council has allocated approximately K377 million to the education sector in its proposed 2026/2027 budget, which is expected to be released soon after approval.

The Council’s Director of Finance, James Makungwa, said that out of the allocated amount, more than K80 million has been set aside to support free primary school education.

In other sectors, the Council has allocated K5.4 million to environmental management, K6.8 million to sports development, and K7.2 million to youth-related programmes.

The Council is also optimistic that government will provide about K10.5 billion to support community development projects under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

Meanwhile, the Council itself plans to collect approximately K3.2 billion in local revenue in the 2026/2027 financial year.

Zomba City Council recently held a special consultative meeting with various stakeholders from the city to gather their views and priorities on areas they would like to see included in the 2026/2027 budget.