Malawi youth should be vigilant in public expenditure tracking – EAM

The Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) says youth participation in community development programmes is critical for the attainment of the country’s development aspirations.

The association’s advocacy officer, Reverend Robert Masikamu, has since challenged the youth to take an active role in the formulation and tracking of the progress of development projects being implemented in their communities.

Masikamu made the remarks at the close of a two-day training in public expenditure tracking (PET), which EAM organized for the Lilongwe-based women, youth clubs and persons with disabilities.

The training is a component of the project titled: ‘Enhancing Church Engagement in Peace Building, Electoral Governance and Decentralization in Malawi’, which EAM is implementing with funding from a German charity organization – Protestant Agency for Diakonie and Development for Bread for the World.

The project, which is worth 474,000 euros, seeks to close the gap of lack of knowledge, skills and competence in peace building and conflict management, which has been compounded by the absence of comprehensive and coordinated capacity building/training and development in peace building.

Masikamu said the objective of the training was to equip the youth with requisite skills to enable them track public expenditure and hold their duty-bearers accountable for any action they take in the community.

“The ultimate goal to ensure that the youth are actively participating in all the processes of the development projects taking in their communities. And with the skills imparted during the two days they have been here, we are hopeful that they will be able to assume a greater role in the formulation and implementation of various development projects in their respective areas,” he explained.

Chairperson of the Lilongwe EAM Youth Forum, Mirriam Chiumia, described the training as an eye opener. Chiumia said she had acquired adequate knowledge and skills to enable her demand answers from duty-bearers on development issues.

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