Chilima urges accountability on projects
Vice-President Saulos Chilima has urged Malawians to hold hands in ensuring strict accountability over public resources so that common citizens receive full benefits of various development projects the government implements.
He was speaking in Lilongwe on Monday night after being officially unveiled as Malawi’s Construction Sector Transparency (CoST) champion, following his appointment to the post by President Peter Mutharika last month.
“As we look forward to the next 50 years, as Malawians, we need to take responsibility of our own destiny and this should start with us being accountable for the resources that we have been entrusted with,” he said.
CoST is a new globally-acclaimed initiative aimed at ensuring greater transparency and accountability in giving value for public money in projects.
A CoST champion is a respected person of good standing in society who also wields enough political power and oversight to block or take to task even government projects and personnel found flouting tender and other accountability procedures.
“I commit myself to champion the CoST agenda wholeheartedly in Malawi,” he declared, saluting Mutharika for appointing him. He noted that through CoST, Malawians can be a shining example of good governance to the world.
He pointed out that CoST not only contributes a great deal to the reduction of waste in public infrastructure budgets but also enables fairer competition in the construction sector and increases opportunities for investors.
“I am personally committed to ensure that reforms incorporate CoST principles, so that disclosures are not only limited to procurement principles but also cover the whole value chain of construction activities,” he added, later officially launching a CoST website.
