Ben Phiri unveils K520 million Iceland-backed education boost for council staff — targeting cholera-hit Balaka and beyond
Malawi’s government has teamed up with the Embassy of Iceland to launch a groundbreaking performance-based education grant scheme worth roughly K520 million, aimed at supercharging the skills of district council staff across the country and improving public services at grassroots level.
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development officially unveiled the initiative — dubbed the Iceland-Malawi Basic Service Programme (IMBSP) — in Lilongwe on Tuesday, with 70 council officers selected from an eye-watering 183 shortlisted applicants across five district councils to benefit from the scheme.
Minister links scheme to K5billion CDF concerns
Speaking at the launch, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Dr Ben Phiri framed the programme as a direct response to public concerns over whether councils have the capacity to manage the huge sums of money now flowing into local government.
“When the State President announced that K5 billion would be allocated to every council through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), many people asked whether we had the capacity to manage such resources,” Phiri said.
“This programme responds to that concern because the beneficiaries will upgrade their skills and knowledge, which will help us implement projects, manage resources and reach people with quality and excellent services.”
Phiri urged the scheme’s beneficiaries to take their studies seriously, insisting the ripple effects of their newly acquired expertise must extend far beyond themselves to benefit their councils, communities and the country as a whole.
Iceland envoy: “We expect to see strong performance”
Head of Mission at the Embassy of Iceland, David Bjarnason, confirmed that beneficiaries had been carefully selected from devolved sectors including health, agriculture, education, forestry, finance, planning and development, nutrition, environment, gender and social welfare — a deliberate strategy designed to plug specific skills gaps within district councils.
Bjarnason was clear the funding comes with strings attached.
“The education grant programme is here to enhance public services, especially in district councils. It is a performance-based grant, which means that when the beneficiaries return from their studies, we expect to see strong performance and improved service delivery on the ground,” he said.
Fighting cholera through education
Among those benefiting is Emmanuel Nkhonjera, an Assistant Water Resources Development Officer at Balaka District Council, who will pursue a Master’s degree in Sanitation at Mzuzu University — training he hopes will directly help tackle the recurring cholera outbreaks that have repeatedly plagued his district.
“Balaka is one of the districts that is frequently affected by cholera. With this scholarship opportunity, I believe I will acquire the right knowledge and learn better innovations that can help us fight this problem in the district,” Nkhonjera said, thanking both President Peter Mutharika and the Embassy of Iceland for an opportunity many beneficiaries say they could never have afforded on their own.
Salima leads the pack with 19 beneficiaries
Salima District Council secured the highest number of beneficiaries with 19 officers selected, followed by Mangochi and Nkhotakota with 14 each, Machinga with 12, and Balaka with 11 — a distribution officials say reflects the specific capacity needs identified across the participating districts.
With the scheme now officially underway, officials are hopeful the substantial investment will translate into tangible improvements in service delivery at community level, as newly skilled officers return to their councils armed with the expertise needed to tackle some of Malawi’s most persistent development challenges.
