EU auditing Malawi: Test for budget aid resumption

European Union (EU)  could resume budgetary support to Malawi if the results of verification exercise of the agreed performance target is met.

EU has engaged a team of independent consultatnt to take  verifiactaion exercice on any evidence of achievements on the agreed targets it was given for the multilateral body to resume direct budget support to Malawi.

In 2013, most of Malawi’s development partners  withdrew their budgetary support on concerns of poor public finance management.

EU press and political officer James Dolan  said: “The out come of this verification exercise will inform further decision making on budget support.”

Last year,  Malawi failed the EU test during  an assessment carried out by an independent verification team on the set targets.

A reported  titled Malawi’s Economic Malaise-concluded that overall Capital Hill failed the test.

The continued lack of expenditure controls as evidenced, for example, by the fact that “there has not been a single month of bank reconciliation” two years after Cashgate; government’s failure to produce audited accounts; poor financial reporting and oversight, are some of the problems that forced the EU not to trust   the  Peter Mutharika administration for this fiscal year.

But Treasury  spokesman  Alfred Kutengule said this time around, they are upbeat that they will pass the EU test.

He said the verification exercise which the EU is conducting is “for the assessment of benchmarks for budget support from EU.”

He said  Ministry of Finance , Economic Planning and Development has put its house in order and they they will get the nod.

Kutengule said they “optimistic” that the requirements for the EU budget support “will be met this time.”

Noting that the Cashgate revealed in 2013 was not a singular misappropriation of government funds, but the tip of an iceberg of long-existing practices going back to 2005, the EU called for more action from the reforms.

 

 

Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :