Councils, foreign missions migrate to new Ifmis

Local councils and foreign missions have migrated to the new Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis) for reporting processes in compliance with the requirements of the Public Finance Management Act (2022).

In a statement on Thursday, Secretary to Treasury MacDonald Mafuta Mwale explained that the migration to the new system resulted in funding delays in previous months.

He, however, assured that the causes of these delays have been resolved and that the new procedure has been communicated to government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

Prior to the migration, funding to local councils and foreign missions was not being managed through Ifmis, leading to frequent delays and discrepancies in funds disbursements.

This sometimes resulted in salary delays for employees in these entities, as reported in the Weekend Nation edition of July 22 2023, where workers in foreign missions faced a two-month salary delay.

Despite the initial challenges, Mafuta Mwale emphasised that Treasury will continue to provide technical support to MDAs that may face difficulties adapting to the new model, which aims to enhance prudent public finance management.

He highlighted a significant achievement: “For the first time since 2019, the government has been able to produce reports from the new Ifmis, marking a crucial milestone in the enhancement of prudent financial management and resource utilisation in Malawi.”

However, in May this year, the government expressed concern about the performance of the $13.8 million Ifmis procurement contract awarded to Zimbabwean firm, Twenty Third Century Private Systems Limited.

In a letter to the firm, Accountant General Henry Mpasa said the poor performance of the system was a threat to Malawi’s access to the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and jeopardised potential donor support.

Despite the challenges faced, he added that the successful migration of local councils and foreign missions to the new Ifmis system is considered a noteworthy reform for enhancing public finance management in Malawi.