‘LDF transforming communities’
Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Godfrey Kamanya has said Local Development Fund (LDF) is playing a crucial role in transforming the socio–economic status of most communities in the country.
Kamanya said the LDF has proved to be an instrumental tool in improving the status of most communities in the country by among other things increasing access to produce markets through good roads and improvement in the education sector.
“Through LDF, a number of roads have been reshaped, the education sector has seen the sprouting of new classroom blocks and additional teachers houses among others,” said Kamanya, describing LDF’s impact as significant.
He was speaking recently in Mangochi after touring the construction of Chikomwe classroom blocks, M’baluku afforestation in T/A Chowe and Monkey Bay Rural Growth Centre in T/A Nankumba projects being supported by LDF.
Kamanya said the visit was meant to give encouragement to communities to work extra hard in a bid to attract more donor support through timely completion of projects.
“Apart from encouraging communities to work hard in the projects, we also would like to have firsthand information on progress to make recommendations to donors for more support,” he added.
He said there were several projects being implemented across the country which require more funds to enhance transparency and accountability, thereby ensuring smooth execution of the same.
On decentralisation, Kamanya said the policy was important because it instils a sense of ownership in development projects, besides empowering communities for sustainability of such projects.
District commissioner for Mangochi, Bester Mandere, said the district had made strides with funding from LDF, noting that such funding has contributed towards the process of uplifting the socio–economic profile of the district.
Mandere observed that communities in the district were generally responsive to development initiatives.
“We’ve achieved so much in a short period because of the support from communities. You may be aware that it is a requirement of most donors, LDF not being exceptional, that communities must contribute a minimum of 25 per cent towards a project,” Mandere said.
The LDF was established by the Government of Malawi as an inter-governmental fiscal transfer mechanism to mobilise financial resources for poverty reduction at district council and community levels.
It operates through four windows, namely the community window which supports micro projects identified, planned, requested and managed by community structures while the LA window finances capital investments, labour intensive public works programmes and local development initiatives.— Mana
