Donors’ trust in Malawi government financial system low—Report
Malawi’s development partners have low trust in the Public Finance Management systems and the country’s procurement systems at the moment, a Mid-Term Review of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) III has revealed.
However, with the on the ongoing revived public sector reforms being led by State vice-president Saulos Chilima, the Tonse alliance led administration has embarked on actions to tackle corruption and for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the public sector which will possibly unlock aid support.
National Planning Commission (NPC), director general Thomas Chataghalala Munthali, whose organisation had made the analysis to consider on MGDS III pointed out that there is need for greater use of “public capital market financing for infrastructure projects, including public private partnerships.”
He said the country has not developed significantly because of over-reliance on donors whom he said have different interests than the country’s development priorities.
The five-year MGDS III runs from 2017 to 2022.
Last year, Roy Stewart, a Conservative Party legislator was quoted by The Times of London as having said that Malawi’s state of impoverishment has worsened despite it getting £4.5 billion (about K4.5 trillion) from Britain in form of aid for the past 50 years.
Malawi has been operating without budget support from its development partners since 2013 when donors withheld their funding following revelations of the plunder of public resources at Capital Hill which British forensic auditors, RSM (formerly Baker Tilly), established to be K24 billion between April and September 2013.
Further eroding confidence in government systems is the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report from the examination of public finances from January 1 2009 to December 31 2014 released roughly three weeks ago, which found that at least K577 billion—around 30 percent of total expenditure during the five-year period—was not accounted for.
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Bottom-line is the calibre there is meant to handle finances now makes the rest of the world to become sceptical. Instead of running government you are busy with trivialities. Those donors want to hear from you as government the mechanism you have put in place on how to generate funds for government maintenance. Public reform and fulfillment of empty campaign rhetoric on their own will not provide you with the means. Kaya, muona kuti mupanga bwanji.
Well done donors. It is ungodly to reap where you did now sow. Let Malawians learn to sow.
This is same old nonsense from the so called western donors.They have been singing this since the colonial times hence the need for Malawi to wean themselves from them. Even the report says Malawi has not had budgetory support from them since 2013. They like to protray themselves as good samaritans but really what they are interested in is their own interests. Take for example Britain where they had a minister called Chris Grayling. He was so incompetent and gave contracts to companies that have never even conducted business in contracts he was awarding all because they have links or… Read more »
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Go and ask Joyce Banda about all this. CASHGATE scandal where is that case now?
Malawi needs good monitoring system like pre check by internal audit, audit by independent NAO, not NAO as it is, not funded, political, and I’ll motivated. There is a need to make ACB apolitical, well trained and real invsetigators. Not taking teachers as investigators thus why mk1.7 bn case has taken over 25 years.
Conviction and recovery rates are far too low. Need to change these statistics.