Not right to say Malawi has not been receiving donor budget support – MP Chiphiko
The chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee of the House, Rhino Chiphiko has said it is “not entirely right” to say that Malawi has not been receiving donor budget support.
The World Bank and EU alongside other Western financial institutions and bilateral donors suspended direct aid to Malawi over widespread concerns over massive theft of public money and called for improvement of the public finance management system.
But commenting in the local press on the K1.1 trillion budget which Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe unveiled in Parliament, Chiphiko said it is not entirely right to say that the country has not been receiving donor budget support.
“For instance, just last year, grants were projected at a total of K97.1 billion. This comprised K7 billion for programme grants, K37.2 billion was dedicated grants and K52.9 billion for project grants.
“At Mid-year, the projection was revised upwards to K130 billion with an upward adjustments of K13.6 billion in programme grants, K11.8 billion in dedicated grants and K8.4 billion in project grants,” he said.
Chiphiko added: “If you take out dedicated and project grants, the difference of K20 billion is programme grants, which culminates into budget support. It is all semantics I think.”
Donors gave Malawi conditions for aid resumption, chief among them, the tabling of the Access to Information (ATI) Bill, elimination of ghost workers in the public service and reforms in the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp).
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I thought honourable Chiphiko is simply putting the record straight. Up until now and of course taking advantage of high level of illiteracy we are told donors stopped funding the budget. The truth of matter is pass the access to information bill, do an unbiased investigation into the 577B theft and reform the highly politicised fertiliser subsidy program if you want more than what you are getting now. More importantly come up with a deliberately strategy on how to move away from donor dependence. This should be felt across the strata and not in the nepotistic fashion that we are… Read more »
So there is Budget support, so what?
I thought that is what we have been trying to get back?
I thought we were praising Joyce Band for bringing back Budget support, after it was withdrawn when Bingu sent the British envoy packing.
So now we are saying?
Very poor political mind set, always looking for something that will demonise..