Kunkuyu welcomes World Bank confidence on Malawi: Asks govt to be transparent on K60bn budget support

Former Blantyre City South parliamentarian, Moses Kunkuyu, who also served as Minister of Information, Tourism and Civic Education under the Joyce Banda administration has hailed World Bank for resuming budgetary support  after it announced at it has given Malawi about K60 billion ($80 million) in general budget support (GBS) after four years of suspension.

But Kunkuyu, who was the first minister to be appointed by Banda after she assumed the presidency in 2012, advised and challenged the DPP government to be transparent enough to safeguard and ensure there is continued donor support.

Kunkuyu said being transparent and accountable is the only way of fully winning back confidence from World Bank and in return this will attract more donor support.

“I on behalf of Transformation Alliance (T.A) would like to commend World Bank for making a bold decision to resume budgetary support to Malawi as this will ease some of the social and economics hardships Malawians have been going through.

“But what I can advise President Mutharika and his entire administration is to try as much as possible to be transparent and accountable in all its actions,” said Kunkuyu.

Further more, the T.A leader asked Mutharika to “walk the talk in the fight against rampant corruption” which he said continues to derails various developmental programs in the country.

Commenting on the same, Independent Human Rights Defender and activist Allie Mwachande warned government against diverting donor funds on specific donor funded projects.

“The resumption of budget aid is very commendable and it is now in the hands of government to play its cards well. Let me also take this as an opportunity to warn government against diverting donor funds as this angers the donors and ends up pulling out” Mwachande told
Nyasa Times

Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe has sisnce cautioned Malawians that there is a lot more to be done to win back the trust of the country’s major donors.

Addressing Parliament on Friday, President Peter Mutharika described World Bank GBS resumption as ‘a vote of confidence’.

“Last night [Thursday], the World Bank has resumed direct budget support to Malawi and they have approved $80 million. This is the first budget support financing approved by the World Bank for Malawi since Cashgate. This direct budget support is a vote of confidence in us and how we are managing our economy. We expect more such news from the European Union (EU), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and others,” said Mutharika.

The World Bank has said the budgetary support to Malawi Government is aimed at boosting the fiscal and agricultural reform efforts.

The bank further said the budget support—referred to as the Agricultural Support and Fiscal Management Development Policy Operation (DPO)—also aims at improving incentives for private sector participation in agricultural markets and to strengthen fiscal management through more effective expenditure controls and greater transparency.

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