Blantyre to get Gesd funding after 2 misses
Blantyre District Council has qualified for its second Governance to Enable Service Delivery (Gesd) funds after missing out on the World Bank performance-based grant for two consecutive years.
The council scored 47 percent in the 2020 Local Authority Performance Assessment (Lapa) and 63 percent in 2021, which made it ineligible to secure the development grant whose purpose is to enable district councils to improve service delivery through the implementation of projects.
However, the trajectory has changed as the district council has now qualified for the 2024 grant following its good performance in the 2023/24 financial year. With this result, the council will receive K403 million for various projects.
Announcing the results on Tuesday, National Local Government Finance Committee urban development specialist Joy Pankomera commended the council for scoring 73 percent in the 2023 Lapa.
He said: “I am impressed with the performance because if we look back, in 2020, the district scored 47 percent, in 2021 after 2 years it scored 63 percent, in 2022 it got 60 percent and in 2023 it scored 73 percent.
“So, you can see that the trajectory is positive and we are hopeful that Blantyre is improving and that it can do better.”
In his remarks, Blantyre district commissioner Alex Mdooko said it was good that the district qualified for the grant after failing to do so for two consecutive years.
He said: “Blantyre District initially missed the Gesd grant for two consecutive years and this was painful as it meant that people lost out as well as the money was meant to support the implementation of various development projects.
“Now having started getting the grant for two years and with just one Gesd funding cycle remaining, the council will work hard to get more funding.”
